General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPrison profit CREATES a demand for more prisoners… Damn Skippy!
Human rights organizations, as well as political and social ones, are condemning what they are calling a new form of inhumane exploitation in the United States, where they say a prison population of up to 2 million mostly Black and Hispanic are working for various industries for a pittance. For the tycoons who have invested in the prison industry, it has been like finding a pot of gold. They dont have to worry about strikes or paying unemployment insurance, vacations or comp time. All of their workers are full-time, and never arrive late or are absent because of family problems; moreover, if they dont like the pay of 25 cents an hour and refuse to work, they are locked up in isolation cells.
There are approximately 2 million inmates in state, federal and private prisons throughout the country. According to California Prison Focus, no other society in human history has imprisoned so many of its own citizens. The figures show that the United States has locked up more people than any other country: a half million more than China, which has a population five times greater than the U.S. Statistics reveal that the United States holds 25% of the worlds prison population, but only 5% of the worlds people. From less than 300,000 inmates in 1972, the jail population grew to 2 million by the year 2000. In 1990 it was one million. Ten years ago there were only five private prisons in the country, with a population of 2,000 inmates; now, there are 100, with 62,000 inmates. It is expected that by the coming decade, the number will hit 360,000, according to reports.
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.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-prison-industry-in-the-united-states-big-business-or-a-new-form-of-slavery/8289
MH1
(17,600 posts)Too bad more kids don't get Econ in high school
The Magistrate
(95,244 posts)We are seeing the re-establishment of hereditary aristocracy at one extreme, and re-establishment of chattel slavery at the other.
burrowowl
(17,638 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)spanone
(135,823 posts)SalviaBlue
(2,916 posts)Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)profit in them thar convicts!
And the thing is, the more profits and contracts with occupancy rates, (90%) with states, the more draconian the laws and the stiffer the sentencing.
Nobody but the wealthy will be immune to this. When you or your kids get sucked into the system without trying, see how that goes.
There should be a major movement to reverse and stop this trend, but it is worldwide. This is Prison Planet and the future has bars.
Lady Freedom Returns
(14,120 posts)And they will have plenty of prisoners thanks to cities placing laws to make it harder on homeless.
And what a great idea ( )! Take desperate people that has been kicked around and place them with harden criminals to teach them how to be real criminals.
A scarier world, brought to you by Corporate America!
MrScorpio
(73,630 posts)malaise
(268,930 posts)It's slavery by another name
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)there's very very bad karma in there somewhere.
moondust
(19,972 posts)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs#History
woo me with science
(32,139 posts)hay rick
(7,604 posts)Response to MrScorpio (Original post)
bezrodny Message auto-removed