60 Minutes.....

[LoneLaugher]

Watching the current episode.

German prisons are more effective than ours.

I recommend watching this segment. I'm sure it will be available soon.

Common sense American thought sometimes fails.

 

[MisterBeale]

Was it all about how the prison industrial complex is a slave labor market all about making profits for Wall Street regardless of the crime rates?

If not, it was probably just corporate propaganda.

Shocking Facts About America's For-Profit Prison Industry
Shocking Facts About America's For-Profit Prison Industry


In late 2013, a new report from In the Public Interest (ITPI) revealed that private prison companies are striking deals with states that contain clauses guaranteeing high prison occupancy rates–sometimes 100 percent. This means that states agree to supply prison corporations with a steady flow of residents–whether or not that level of criminal activity exists. Some experts believe this relationship between government and private prison corporations encourages law enforcement agencies to use underhanded tactics–often targeting minority and underserved groups–to fill cells.


“The report, ‘Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and ‘Low-Crime Taxes’ Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations,’ documents the contracts exchanged between private prison companies and state and local governments that either guarantee prison occupancy rates (essentially creating inmate lockup quotas) or force taxpayers to pay for empty beds if the prison population decreases due to lower crime rates or other factors (essentially creating low-crime taxes),” reports Salon.


As a result, there are now over 2 million people living behind bars in the United States. That’s half a million more than China, which has a population five times greater than the U.S. Many are incarcerated for non-violent crimes, like the use or possession of marijuana, and other problems that would be far better served through a rehabilitation or education program.


The worst part is that once captured by the prison industry, inmates are forced to work for pennies an hour, providing cheap labor for some of the most profitable enterprises in the world, including the U.S. Military.


So, in the end, it really doesn't matter "how effective" America's prisons are, they will always be full.