It is a business like any other. Jails must be kept full to be profitable to jailers, police, judges, lawyers.
It is why we have out done the old South Africa and Soviet system in percentage locked up.
Now that it has been privitized there is even more demand, and they have lobbyists with bags of cash.
Across the south it is based on Felons can't vote, so it is used to control that peskey Black vote.
Turn eighteen, leave, or get a felony conviction.
Brought to you by the small town Chamber of Commerce.
In many places Blacks are arrested and given a month to six months, some 360 days, so they can be held local, and then told two days for one if they work the garbage truck, clean streets, paint the Mayors house, wash Police cars, it keeps taxes down, and money in local pockets.
During the Depression thousands were arrested and made to harvest crops, cut timber, build roads.
Many places ran prison factories.
It ran down about WWII, but came back in the 50's.
The 60's brought on a boom because of the danger that people smoking pot would be doing business with the ChiCom next, and prison building has never slowed since.
We spend more on prisons than on schools, we lead the world!
19 Feb 2009, 9:09 pm
