because we all know that our government has little interest in actual crime. See our war and economic criminals eg. It's always about money when a country goes so far off the rails as this one has.

Shameful, predatory capitalism. Using human beings as fodder for the money machine. Is this any different than the old days of slavery when human beings were used for commercial purposes?

No wonder they don't want to legalize MJ.

higher than

russia

china

north korea

iran

sadam hussain's iraq

any any other oppressive country you can think of

maybe orwell was right maybe freedom IS slavery

the kind of infrastructure and jobs program I was hoping for. So much greed and human suffering.

but I read that one state offers some prisoners time off their sentence in exchange for their work. And we thought it was bad competing against Asians for $2 a day, now we are competing against Americans working for free in exchange for shorter sentences.

When are Americans going to wake up? When it's too fucking late, that's when.

always think someone else is taking care of things for them. Well, they are, they are turning them into financial slaves, and many are too F'en clueless to comprehend what's going on. And many don't seem to get it that often when it comes to $$$$$ and big money, R=D=I!

because longer sentences mean more revenue - so while a private prison may *claim* a lower cost of incarceration per day, you may end up with more days of incarceration to pay for

there are reasons to ask one's representatives for longer sentences, there are reasons to ask for shorter - but the WORST reason to ask for longer, is that the private prison you operate will make more money. and that's exactly what happens. you think a private prison corp ever lobbied for shorter sentences?

there should never be that motive in the decision to take another person's freedom. but that
's exactly what using private prisons does

it is not an exaggeration to call it a 'Prison Industrial Complex'. It has the exact same issues that Eisenhower identified with the military industrial complex - a large industry with massive conflicts of interests toward the society it supposedly serves

Big corporations making huge profits from the suffering of others. What makes America a "first world country?" Hell, we place last (or close to it) on every indicator of a fair, equitable and humane society.

I have wondered for the last 30 years of my life, "what will it take to make our citizens take to the streets en masse, and reject "our" countries barbaric policies?"
Only (IMO) if the wealth of the elite oligarchs was put in jeopardy, would we see this happening. Of course since there are so few of them, most protesters would be paid.

"what will it take to make our citizens take to the streets en masse, and reject "our" countries barbaric policies?"

I have no idea what it will take. When I talk about issues like this with family & friends they look at me with that "there she goes again" look. It seems to be a sad truth that most people have to be personally affected before they pay attention. I fear by the time a critical mass of people have been affected, it will be too late for any peaceful change. It may be too late for that already. The 'lesser of two evils' at the voting booth isn't working out too well.

RKP5637 nailed it above, where she stated: when it comes to $$$$$ and big money, R=D=I!

for imprisoning human beings.

eom

I think that the powers that be would rather use cheap labor. It all about profits for them.

and the only debt you will have, will be to society

Welcome to DU

now charge the incarcerated person big bucks for each day they are locked up....

head per Month! So, yea---they're making out Big time for making New Laws. Longer Sentencing etc turning otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals-For Profit-turning our "justice system" into an agency of armed revenue agents?

That is pushing $10,000 per month, or $120,000 per year. Actual cost of housing an average medium security inmate is around $28,000 per year.

If my math is anywhere near accurate, that is a LOT of profit.

Last I could find it varied from state to state somewhere between $2900.00 to $3400. per mo.

Cheer louder if it upsets you.

O-BA-MA! U-S-A! O-BA-MA! U-S-A!

It wont help tho.

Last edited Tue Mar 26, 2013, 05:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Official and unofficial propaganda continuously
drums home the message that the friends and allies of the nation
are virtuous and the enemies evil. The average man in the street
has a firm belief that the governments (and possibly the people as well)
of certain nations are his friends in a very personal sense while others
are his enemies. He is willing to pay high taxes, obey regulations that
may be detrimental to his private interests, and even go to war and kill
people in support of his nation's foreign polley. He would he shocked
and horrified if his government suddenly asked him to alter all his
opinions and fight on the side of the nations he dislikes against the nations
he likes. Sudden changes are therefore made particularly difficult
by the role of modern public opinion.

Organski, A. F. K. (1958). World politics (p. 353). New York: Knopf.

prison industry

I'm not 'pro-drugs', but long sentences for prison profits is not the answer

all the propoganda jacking up the public's emotions to DEMAND AN ANSWER!! (and we have one for you, that makes us a tidy profit)

it's where i began to really question the motives of much of our press

are ordered to protect the opium (heroin) fields in Afghanistan?

will help keep the shareholders of these prisons happy.

When a government creates for itself the ability to constantly monitor and comb through everything people say or do, it is not hard to make sure that lots of people end up in prison.

I don't like the idea of private prisons, but I don't believe that either of those prison corps is anywhere near the government's top contractor.

Edited for clarity.

are not directly subverting the justice sytem for profit.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-01/buying-prisons-require-high-occupancy/53402894/1

Private purchasing of prisons locks in occupancy rates

WASHINGTON – At a time when states are struggling to reduce bloated prison populations and tight budgets, a private prison management company is offering to buy prisons in exchange for various considerations, including a controversial guarantee that the governments maintain a 90% occupancy rate for at least 20 years.
....
"You don't want a prison system operating with the goal of maximizing profits," says Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat and advocate for reducing prison populations through less costly diversion programs. "The only thing worse is that this seeks to take advantage of some states' troubled financial position."
....
Ohio's deal requires the state to maintain a 90% occupancy rate, but Janes said that provision remains in effect for 18 months — not 20 years — before it can be renegotiated. As part of the deal, Ohio pays the company a monthly fee, totaling $3.8 million per year.

Roger Werholtz, former Kansas secretary of corrections, said states may be tempted by the "quick infusion of cash," but he would recommend against such a deal....."My concern would be that our state would be obligated to maintain these (occupancy) rates and subtle pressure would be applied to make sentencing laws more severe with a clear intent to drive up the population," Werholtz said.

should be required to help the prison meet it.

Other private prison contracts including some with the federal government are in the 93%-95% range.

People would be smart enough to demand unions and no one would wear teabag hats.

posting this misleading information:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2434829

I know:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2434845

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2434881

so expect that to be the norm...also private schools. Stupid trend, but our economy likes it so the PTB will keep it up.

This seems straight out of some of the most repressive regimes in South America.

is morally and ethically despicable.

There is no way to rationalize, justify, or put lipstick on this.

At the risk of point out the obvious, with more than four years of experience, Obama and other 3rd Wayers have no intention of bringing back the American economy for most Americans.

A means to employ those soldiers returning from war?

A) bring mfg. to US, B) provide cheap slave labor and C) provide returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan jobs.

Last edited Tue Mar 26, 2013, 04:26 PM - Edit history (1)

about the Obama admin. It seems to come down to whether you want someone in office who has made a deal with the devil or the devil himself. What a choice.

here is proof.

And the other hard pill to swallow is that about the only person in any kind of position of power voicing any kind of opposition to this is Rand Paul.

It comes down to which kind of police state would one choose..with him and his father. What's wrong is that we didn't have enough Dennis Kucinich supporters on the Dem side to make a difference.

It has n many ways become a choice between a shit sandwich and a turd croissant.

"And the other hard pill to swallow is that about the only person in any kind of position of power voicing any kind of opposition to this is Rand Paul."

...Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Leahy?

Senator Leahy Says “No” to Mandatory Minimums, But Will Congress Listen?
http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/senator-leahy-says-no-mandatory-minimums-will-congress-listen

Strange Bedfellows Call for Mandatory Minimums Reform
http://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/strange-bedfellows-call-mandatory-minimums-reform

This from a President who signed the Fair Sentencing Act.

The fact that Lehey and Paul are teaming up on this makes it "strange bedfellows" indeed.

But it is more weasling from the President; we have to look at things, we have ask questions, this is a problem, but again Obama disappointing with no solutions and just some vauge idea that something needs to be done.

I read the OP title as "The Obama administration is aggressively growing private PENSIONS," and clicked excitedly. Imagine my two-fold disappointment.

This is something that should not be up for debate. Another group profiting handsomely from our suffering.

It is corporate "morality" replacing human morality.

Probably he is accelerating the imprisonment of human beings for profit, by accident.

It's like when he sent his DOJ all the way to the Supreme Court to argue against strip searches for any arrestee, and when they got there they accidentally argued for the wrong side.

I hate when that happens.

through both appointments and federal contracts, as my post made clear. I am not sure why you titled your post to attempt to excuse him, given that the rest of your post seems to recognize the horrific implications of supporting and growing this despicable industry.

Since he appointed the owner of a private prison consulting firm to head the US Marshals Service, federal contracts for private prisons have exploded.

That is a devastating truth about which you should be outraged.