For Profit Prisons -- Are You Insane?!

How did this ever happen?

Here's the Wikipedia version of a private prison. And below is a WONDERFUL article written by Global Research.

A private prison or for-profit prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit prisoners and then pay a per diem or monthly rate for each prisoner confined in the facility.

The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery?

What has happened over the last 10 years? Why are there so many prisoners?

“The private contracting of prisoners for work fosters incentives to lock people up. Prisons depend on this income. Corporate stockholders who make money off prisoners’ work lobby for longer sentences, in order to expand their workforce. The system feeds itself,” says a study by the Progressive Labor Party, which accuses the prison industry of being “an imitation of Nazi Germany with respect to forced slave labor and concentration camps.”

Somebody explain to me how anybody thought this was a good idea? How are we to have reformed prisoners, when the actual goal of the private industry is to continue to make money.

As pointed out above, no prisoners equal no profit. This means they have a vested interest in keeping a lot of people in jail for longer. What you get usually is the following:

*Longer Sentences On Minor Crime
*Minimum Sentences On Major Crime and Minor Crime
*Ambiguous changes to the state and federal code as to what constitutes a crime or not.
*The Exponential Growing Prison Population.

This is a MAJOR issue. Think about how many people are denied voting rights. Think of all the tax income we'd get from the 1 million people currently in jail for non-violent offenses, that should NOT include jail time.

You all are bleeding money from every point, yet can still afford a Prison Industrial Complex that ONLY supports private corporations and line their pockets.

Let's not even get into the forced slavery of the inmates, having to work for cents on the dollar for in some cases brutal work that you'd have to pay VERY good wages to anybody otherwise.

~Tenth

It's the same all across the charts. We've got private para-militaries as well. If we can't legally invade a country, then we use these paramilitary units to go in and make a mess. If we have too many "useless eaters" in our country, cities contract out private detention centers which cut corners, and are guaranteed 90% capacity rates. They are funded with tax payer dollars, and often times work labor for pennies on the dollar.

I've been following Max Keiser for years now. He's been reporting this stuff since the beginning. He predicts that most people in the US will be slaves in these detention centers sooner or later. Not sure I can disagree with him at this point.

Maybe they're preparing for the day that AI robots make 90% of the population effectively obsolete. Let's say that's 10-20 years away. They won't have to do squat when that day comes, except systematically exterminate them in their already controlled environment...private detention centers.

Correction Corps of America is taking over state prisons nationwide. In the contract Correction Corps of America demands a 90% occupancy rate, which means that more people are going to jail/prison for reasons that used to not warrant incarceration. This is a serious problem and nothing good will come of it.

It is clear that accountability of Government is bygone, if it ever existed. The transparency of American government has been clouded by private interests to the benefit thereof. Behind closed doors now are created regulations and laws which serve not the interest of the people, but the flow of money to these corporations.
We see this over and over, with Monsanto guys and Pharm heads in the FDA. Weapons merchants have infiltrated the Defense Department. Treasury officials walk in from Wall Street. And here, the hugely growing
Security industry, which thrives in direct proportion to citizens' loss of freedoms.
The very agendas such companies become the agenda of of our Nation, as they line the pockets of our crooked politicians:

*Longer Sentences On Minor Crime
*Minimum Sentences On Major Crime and Minor Crime
*Ambiguous changes to the state and federal code as to what constitutes a crime or not.
*The Exponential Growing Prison Population.

.

Corporate entities have even less accountability to the public. So a very real danger here, is that prisoners might suffer at the hand of a sadistic few who answer to no one. And in the case of prisoner, there is no one to turn to when human rights are violated.

reply to post by tothetenthpower

This is exactly the issue what is wrong with 'capitalism' and 'individualism' - also the moment one criticizes it one becomes a 'commi'.
Money has no conscience. 100$ can buy food, fuel, rent, a prostitute, drugs or a prison. common sense is legislated away and as long there is unchecked profits to be made there will be incentives to 'invent' new crimes' etc.
What our world has to find is a new understanding of community. Where we again become a people and identify as a people. Where the WHOLE of us shares the wealth of its nations and shares its responsibilities. We all know it 'costs' to keep people in prison. So do we want to have more people in prison so that a few can make profit for themselves? I am not about to start a rant for socialism or communism. We need something new! A common unity and ownership defined as a stewardship for the common good of all. We have to begin to understand that the happiness and equality of all people ensures us safety. And if wealth is not distributed evenly, and the have not begin to seek an income outside the law, than no matter how we much more criminalize each action, it will only get worse. Pvt prison systems are finally showing us how far we have been led 'willingly' into the abyss.

reply to post by OptimusSubprime


thats not entirely true
they demanded a guarantee that they would be paid for a minimum occupancy rate of 90% (and hey if youre paying for a service you may as well use it right?)

i would also like to ad many prisons will force prisoners to reimburse them for their own imprisonment or will allow prisoners to work for reductions of their sentence in lieu of a wage (essentially turning them into indentured servants who must work their way to being free men)

I think the OP misses the goal, the goal is not to keep people out of jail, but to figure out a way to get them in. This has been the goal for a thousand years, those in charge of the planet have had it with their, their, slaves being on the loose. The reason for profit prisons happens is because someone, actually few, really want it and because they do, it happens. Don't be shocked, things happen because people want them to happen, the confusion arises because folks refuse to see the actual agenda.

reply to post by crankyoldman


Perhaps my OP was a bit vague? I am stating exactly what you have. Corporations who control prisons have a vested interest in keeping occupancy high.

This means that in conjunction with keeping inmates in longer, they also engage in lobbying efforts among other things to increase the amount of offenses that can include/lead to imprisonment sentences.

~Tenth

I can also point out other things that are insane to be profit based.

Education
Medicine
Police
and the Military

...just to name a few.
Those are suppose to be money drains or in other words, investment to enhance society and the rest of the system. People don't have children to make profit, they invest in their child's future and I see raising society in the same way.

Originally posted by theMediator
I can also point out other things that are insane to be profit based.

Education
Medicine
Police
and the Military

I could not agree more. Social services that are designed specifically for the benefit of our country or society, should not be profit based. The model is insane, and only encourages greed, mismanagement and in the case of prisons, dubious morals.

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Corporations are going as far as hiring inmates to actually work for them as marketers. The inmates are not lying when they introduce themselves and the companies they are representing. They "cold call" and collect all sorts of private information, meanwhile, the person on the other end of the line is oblivious.

Money is everything to corporate America, even if it means enslavement, as mentioned by many.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by crankyoldman

 

Perhaps my OP was a bit vague? I am stating exactly what you have. Corporations who control prisons have a vested interest in keeping occupancy high.

This means that in conjunction with keeping inmates in longer, they also engage in lobbying efforts among other things to increase the amount of offenses that can include/lead to imprisonment sentences.

~Tenth

You were clear, the point is they are only doing what they are told to do. Others are instituting the system, in spite of the fact that NO regular joe like you and I would agree this is either civilized or a good idea. Few "constituents," if any would ever agree to this, but someone is making it happen. Those folks simply hate nearly all humans.

reply to post by tothetenthpower
[moThis has been going on for quite some time.I spent time in a corporate run prison in Texas in the 90's.As far as prisons go it was a hell of a lot nicer than a state run prison.Now whether that is a good thing or bad would definitely depend on which side of the fence your on. At the private facility the food was noticeably better,and security tighter.The unit I was in was only medium security as I was a non-violent offender.I would assume the private run High Security units,if there are any,are much different.Honestly,I have not put much thought in to the Texas prison system since I was a guest there.One thing I will say,now that I am no longer an inmate,is that in my opinion,the prisons are much too easy and accomodating.Hard time should be hard.
At the time I was an inmate the rumor circulating was that Texas had dozens of brand new facilities sitting empty,waiting for future convicts to be shipped in from other states.I cannot say if this were true,but I would not be surprised.

It just goes to show how inept the government is. Once again, our tax dollars have been at waste. Yaaaay for capitalism.

The big corporations exported jobs overseas leaving people unemployed. The unemployed is taxing that system to where you can only get benefits for so long. People then steal to get money. They go to jail and do the rest of the jobs that smaller companies weren't big enough to export out. Whether that all was planned in advance or not is beside the point. It was all a matter of course. Supply and demand. "Necessity is the mother of invention" and all that jazz.

Any questions?

""YOUR TAX DOLLARS"""......


Who the heck are YOU? America never was and never will be a Democracy.

It's a REPUBLIC. A Corporate Republic.

Not only have they been caught convicting innocent people to put into "For Profit" Prisons with the Judges gettting kick backs.......

Federal Research Money has funded mad scientists to use those prisoners to test "things" on. A pool of bodies they can closely watch to see the effects of drugs. viruses, Directed Energy, biologicals.....you name it....they've been making it and testing it on them.

Pick up a book called "Project Day Lilly".

Brings to mind the supposed letter written by a former music executive "The Secret Meeting that Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation"

This anonymous letter landed in my inbox about a minute ago:

Hello,

After more than 20 years, I've finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I've simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren't ready for.

The rest of it

Here it is being read if you prefer ...


Its authenticity has been debated but to me it is not outside the realm of possibility. Good way to create revenue for the for profit prisons ...

Disclaimer: I don't necessarily support the ideas or thoughts from the video, just wanted to post an audio version of the letter.

Originally posted by OptimusSubprime
Correction Corps of America is taking over state prisons nationwide. In the contract Correction Corps of America demands a 90% occupancy rate, which means that more people are going to jail/prison for reasons that used to not warrant incarceration. This is a serious problem and nothing good will come of it.

You're absolutely right, Optimus, and stocks in prisons have been on Wall Street for many years. Prison is big business in America, and has been for quite some time.

this has been going on for a long time, and you will see countless stories of minor offences being blown into full on jail terms because judges are on the books of the prisons corporations. send more people to jail = more money.

This is just my two cents thrown in here but what is wrong with having privatized prisons? These prisons could be run as restitution centers....to compensate their victims....to pay their child support...to send money to their families to help support them. It would certainly get some off welfare.

In Texas County Jails, for instance, you cannot force someone to work ,so an inmate signs up to be a trusty or to join the work crew. Most inmates do not want to sit in their cells 24/7. Why couldn't sentenced inmates be given the choice of going to one or a state run? In these private prisons they learn useful skills, skills they can be utilized after they are released. Also, a portion of their pay is used to pay for their room and board. They will not be indentured servants. Think about it..what is one of the terms of release for an inmate given parole? To have a job and work....and in most cases they are paying a fee for being on probation...I don't know about a fee on parolee's.

I also agree,most non violent offenders should not be sent to prison. They should be farmed out to county jails to serve their sentences. This would help many counties with an additional source of revenue. Times are hard everywhere and jobs are scarce. It would also help more people to be gainfully employed because the state has set ratios of so many correction officers per so many inmates.

Well I'm going to get off my soap box.

"grumpy"