Unbeknownst to many, the prison system has become a for-profit business
in which inmates are the product–a system that has shocking
similarities to another human-based business from America’s past:
slavery.
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.
According to the Left Business Observer,
“the federal prison industry produces 100 percent of all military
helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants,
tents, bags, and canteens. Along with war supplies, prison workers
supply 98 percent of the entire market for equipment assembly services;
93 percent of paints and paintbrushes; 92 percent of stove assembly; 46
percent of body armor; 36 percent of home appliances; 30 percent of
headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21 percent of office furniture.
Airplane parts, medical supplies, and much more: prisoners are even
raising seeing-eye dogs for blind people.”
When you can get that kind of labor for less than a dollar a day,
it’s hard to see the government’s motivation for incarcerating fewer
people. And it’s all done at the taxpayer’s expense.
See here for more facts and figures
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