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QI - US Prison Population

(tip to Pedantsareus)

Tags: prison

Posted by Norm on February 7, 2010 5:54 PM | Permalink

Comments

Stupid Git | February 7, 2010 6:06 PM | Reply

Thanks. I'll be passing this link around.

Tim | February 7, 2010 6:15 PM | Reply

This is simultaneously sad, embarrassing, and infuriating.

Stupid Git replied to Tim | February 7, 2010 10:30 PM | Reply

Ad to top it off, we've begun the even more disastrous practice of privatizing our prison system.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Crime/BG650.cfm

Stupid Git replied to Stupid Git | February 7, 2010 10:50 PM | Reply

Despite accounting difficulties, the evidence to date shows strong cost advantages of private operation over government operation due to such factors as the absence of civil service regulation, lower private-sector pension and benefit costs, and improved productivity.

Basically, they save money by paying their employees crap wages, giving them little to no benefits and other fun anti-labor practices.

Oh, and by hiring out prison labor to outside corporations and taking their own cut from the prisoner's paycheck.

RedSeven | February 7, 2010 6:56 PM | Reply

Sort of makes the phrase, "Land of the Free" seem rather absurd doesn't it. Land of the obsessed with control is more accurate.

Better to lock people up than have some sort of equal distribution of wealth that avoids theft by giving positive reinforcement for being productive in society.

This is a prime example of where religion has been used to manipulate the lower classes into supporting absurd policies that are actually completely counter productive to societies needs.

gypsy sister | February 7, 2010 11:15 PM | Reply

Is it the Danish prison that is located on an island? I tried searching but don't have the right term(s).

pedantsareus replied to gypsy sister | February 8, 2010 10:35 AM | Reply

Is this what you are referring to, Gypsy?

http://penal-system.suite101.com/article.cfm/denmarksprisonsystem

gypsy sister replied to pedantsareus | February 8, 2010 1:27 PM | Reply

Thanks for the link; it sheds more information on the subject at hand than the video I was thinking of does. Norm posted about Fullen a year or so ago.

T-Cash | February 8, 2010 8:16 AM | Reply

I recently listened to a great podcast lecture primarily on this issue.. by Ethan Nadelmann

http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1462

It's about the war on drugs but it's really not the generic "here's some info about the war on drugs and this it's bad" talk. It's an incredible lecture, and touches on some very interesting aspects of the prison system in california.