One particularly horrid example of capitalism out of control is our current “corrections” system. A number of states have entered into contracts with private firms to run prisons, only to discover it is costing more than paying off. Many contracts with prison companies include clauses requiring the states to keep their big houses full to a certain percentage – or the company can exact a large penalty. When crime rates drop, the supply of inmates dries up, so police are forced to arrest people for picayune charges, and judges must impose longer sentences.
The so-called war on drugs has turned us into the Land of the Incarcerated. The United States accounts for only 4% of the world’s population but a quarter of all inmates. Judges have their hands tied with mandatory minimums and three-strikes laws, as well as the above-referenced contractual requirements to keep prisons filled. No nation has ever locked up such a large percentage of its population. According to my research, not the Soviet Union, not Nazi Germany, not even any of the horrendous tyrannies in existence today has such a large ratio of prisoners to population. Granted, there are a few people who need to be kept out of general circulation; however, most prisoners are locked up for minor, non-violent charges, such as petty theft or possessing a teeny amount of marijuana. On top of that, a disproportionate number of minority and economically disadvantaged people are behind bars.
Inmates often serve as cheap labor for manufacturers – perhaps because those companies want to brag their products are “made in the USA” but are too miserly to pay decent wages or benefits. Families are torn apart and children are stigmatized just so some CEO can count his gold coins. The mouthpieces of the prison industry say that the detainees are learning useful skills to prepare them for when they are released, but these menial tasks are not likely to translate into meaningful employment later, especially when a prison record can be an insurmountable barrier to even the most menial work.
As if all that isn’t enough, many prisoners frequently receive food that is inadequately nutritious, even spoiled. The contractors do everything they can to slash costs per meal so the correction company’s shareholders can wallow in greenbacks. Medical care for prisoners is also shoddy. Considering that most prisoners come from the ranks of the poor, and are incarcerated for minor charges, this makes their treatment all the more reprehensible. The shills of the prison system gladly parrot the old saw “It’s prison, dammit, not a country club!” and harp on those inmates who do belong behind bars, oblivious to the sorry reality of this disaster.
Bail bond companies have license to use all manner of dirty tricks to squeeze every dollar they can out of the pockets of defendants. Getting extra bonds from people who are re-arrested while out on bond, taking fees from defendants and then returning them to custody without explanation – all that is legal. And it’s all in the name of filthy lucre. The bondsman gets the gold mine, while the suspect – who could be innocent – gets the shaft.
Finally, many court systems have handed over the collection of fines to private probation companies, who pick on those least able to pay. Instead of having the opportunity to work out a way to pay off a traffic ticket or the like, the poorest are hit with “supervision fees” that increase the burden and make it less and less likely that the penalty will be fully paid. Those who can’t pony up get locked up. One Georgia man’s $200 fine for nicking a case of beer ultimately mushroomed into thousands of dollars in penalties, far beyond his ability to pay. Yes, he shouldn’t have stolen the beer in the first place; but how can it be at all fair or just when a company can keep adding heinously high “fees” to make sure that a penalty is out of someone’s financial reach?
