That private prisons have contracts stipulating a minimum number of prisoners with long-term guarantees is dystopian on its own. Every bit past that is a shit cherry on top. The incestuous relationship between government and private industry exists because regulatory capture is ridiculously difficult to frugally undo once contracts are in place. How no one has tracked down the ceos of Corrections Corp of America et al., I honestly don’t know. There’s a very small, specific, actionable set of people making the world worse.
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Even non-private prisons suck.
Here in WI, the state owns the prisons, but contracts out a lot of stuff such as commissary, phones, and healthcare. The issue with these contracts is that they create a monopoly inside. Want a ramen? It's going to cost. Want to call relatives? It's going to cost. Want healthcare? Well, that one they're not supposed to deny you, but they charge a $15 copay, which is an arm and a leg when you make .15 an hour. And if the healthcare sucks, you're shit out of luck.
That's just privatisation with extra steps.
That's what public prisons are. Everything has been contracted out so it's almost the same as a private prison. It just doesn't have a minimum capacity contract.
It’s kind of a viscous cycle. Politicians have convinced themselves, and lots of voters, that private industry is cheaper than “government run.” They forget that the only time that might be true when there’s sufficient competition in the market to drive costs down - which there usually isn’t. They also forget that private companies’ motive is profit, not rehabilitation. In fact, rehabilitation is the last thing they want. You’ll find that private correctional companies often lobby pretty hard for stricter laws, and tougher sentencing guidelines. Now, why do you think these companies would want MORE people in prisons!?
Yay! Capitalism!
I guess they didn't watch John Oliver episode about it.