The problem with private prisons

posted by The Vidiot @ 9:28 AM Permalink

What is the motivation of private business? To make a profit. How does a business make a profit? By minimizing costs and increasing revenues. Now, when it comes to privately owned prisons, minimizing costs is easy. Just reduce what is spent per prisoner. But how does one raise revenues? Well, one way is to try getting as many prisoners as possible.

Two US judges charged with taking more than $2m (£1.4m) in kickbacks from a privately-run detention centre have pleaded guilty to fraud.

Prosecutors say Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took the money in return for giving young offenders long sentences to serve in the centre.

I'm I the only one who thought that the whole concept of private prisons was outrageous? There's just too much greed and avarice within people in positions of power for it to ever work. Besides, I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Companies involved in building, financing and operating private prisons gave $3.3 million over two election cycles, channeling nearly two-thirds of the money to candidates and party committees in states with some of the toughest sentencing laws. This report looks at overall giving, as well as contributions by the companies and their lobbyists in 10 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

But I'm not sure that even the Ron Paul libertarians meant private prisons with all their free-market mantras.

And yes, I'm little miss anti-government these days, but that doesn't mean that the government should hand over the prison reigns to private industry. I want the government out of incarceration altogether, but that won't happen until we destroy the system we live in. As long as there is capitalism, as long as people are demoralized and marginalized, as long as wants and desired far exceed access, prisons will be necessary. But without those things, without profit and money as motivators, crime would practically disappear. Sure, they're be the occasional sociopath, but communities would be able to deal with that, not government.

Labels: capitalism, prisons