US Justice Department to end use of private prisons.

[zenkai]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ivate-prisons/
http://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-...ons-1471538386
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...rivate-prisons


Private prison stocks were down 40% after the DOJ announcement.

Let this be yet another word of caution for those who view privatization as a panacea for any given industry.

What? You can't compare something like Prisons to something profit driven based on sales.

[Lenonis]

Took long enough. There are some elements of society that people should absolutely not profit from, prisons are high on the list.

Now lets get the healthcare sector not-for-profit.

[Grym]

Why would prisons be ran for profit in the first place anyway?

If there are profit elements, meaning Government can run the prisons themselves, and keep that extra bit of profit elements and use it for other things, although most likely in the politician's pockets anyway

[zenkai]

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Why is everything always in terms of black and white? If you dare, dare, criticize capitalism you must be a hardcore pinko commie, right? Christ, so sick of this sort of blind thinking. No.

People like Celista, and I happen to agree with her, recognize the simple fact that privatization of certain industries is not always a good idea. That something shouldn't be motivated by profits, but by the welfare of society, and those things, which would include prisons, would probably be better off government run.

That's not "communism." Communism would be if I said "lets take the entire economy and give all of it to the government." No one is arguing for that.

I agree with that, but I read it in different context, probably because of their posting history.

[Jotaux]

I don't understand why prisons would be privately run. If they do a good job and increase rehabilitation it would decrease profits which obviously is not in their interest. Reminds me of that doctor that was misdiagnosing cancer in order to sell them expensive chemotherapy.

[Adam Jensen]

Took long enough. There are some elements of society that people should absolutely not profit from, prisons are high on the list.

Now lets get the healthcare sector not-for-profit.

Prisons and healthcare definitely the top two on the list of Things That Should Not Be For Profit.

[Xeones]

Why would prisons be ran for profit in the first place anyway?

If there are profit elements, meaning Government can run the prisons themselves, and keep that extra bit of profit elements and use it for other things, although most likely in the politician's pockets anyway

Uh... it doesn't work that way. Profit prisons take a bunch of money from the government and then try to cut costs as much as possible to pocket as much as they can and turn around to fund more laws and bribes to get people in prison.

The government can't get "profit" from them because they don't get income from the prison.

[Tijuana]

What the hell is wrong with you people?

Why is everything always in terms of black and white? If you dare, dare, criticize capitalism you must be a hardcore pinko commie, right? Christ, so sick of this sort of blind thinking. No.

People like Celista, and I happen to agree with her, recognize the simple fact that privatization of certain industries is not always a good idea. That something shouldn't be motivated by profits, but by the welfare of society, and those things, which would include prisons, would probably be better off government run.

That's not "communism." Communism would be if I said "lets take the entire economy and give all of it to the government." No one is arguing for that.

I agree with a lot of what you said here.

Capitalism is the greatest tool there is for efficiently managing innovation, production, and distribution of goods and services. However, not every tool is good for every job. In some cases, Capitalism is effectively a hammer when you needed a screw driver. The most common case of this is where the consumer doesn't have actual choice. It's safe to say that, like healthcare, the prison consumer (the public) isn't actually being given a choice. Therefore, competition among providers cannot occur, and cronyism will be the only way to increase profit, aside from cutting costs. In the case of prisons, both of those would be bad.

It's sad to me that so many people don't even understand the things they believe in and fight for.

[Forgettable]

For-profit prisons doing the minimum they can to maximize profits? Colour me surprised.

[zenkai]

For-profit prisons doing the minimum they can to maximize profits? Colour me surprised.

I don't have that in my crayon box

[Forgettable]

I don't have that in my crayon box

Exclusively available in Canada.

[Tijuana]

I don't have that in my crayon box

The silver and gold ones taste the best anyway.

[XDurionX]

That's good news.

[Gorgodeus]

For-profit prisons doing the minimum they can to maximize profits? Colour me surprised.

Including negotiating 90%+ guaranteed occupancy into their contracts, meaning it encourages incarceration by the courts.

[Tijuana]

Including negotiating 90%+ guaranteed occupancy into their contracts, meaning it encourages incarceration by the courts.

Actually, no. You are dealing with separate branches of government there, guy. The judicial branch has literally nothing to do, in any way, of managing prisons or concerning themselves with occupancy rates.

What that 90% contract does, is ensure prisoners go to that prison before they are farmed out to others.

[Gorgodeus]

Actually, no. You are dealing with separate branches of government there, guy. The judicial branch has literally nothing to do, in any way, of managing prisons or concerning themselves with occupancy rates.

What that 90% contract does, is ensure prisoners go to that prison before they are farmed out to others.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that at the state and local level, the judiciary is not encouraged to incarcerate to keep private prisons filled up. When Judge Billy Bob knows the private run county jail is only half full, and the contract calls for 90%+, you cant bet your ass he is more likely to be harsher on sentencing that he would if the jail was full.

[IIamaKing]

Is this real? Fucking great news.

[Tijuana]

Don't fool yourself into thinking that at the state and local level, the judiciary is not encouraged to incarcerate to keep private prisons filled up. When Judge Billy Bob knows the private run county jail is only half full, and the contract calls for 90%+, you cant bet your ass he is more likely to be harsher on sentencing that he would if the jail was full.

No. Just, no. Put down the tin foil and slowly back away. This isn't Vietnam, Smoky. This is bowling. There are rules.

Your conspiracy theory would violate handfuls of laws with no gain to the law breaker. That just doesn't happen in real life. You literally do not understand that nearly all the jails are already full, and that the 90% quota is merely to ensure a specific jail is full, over other available options. You are probably also unaware that private prisons make up a small minority of prisons.

Nobody is being put in jail for corporate profit, that is just nonsense and you should consider seeing a doctor if you believe that. Seriously, conspiracy theory belief and paranoia could be a medical issue.

If you want to argue private prisons are shitty, I'll join right in. But judges can't just sentence people all willy nilly, as they see fit. There are guidelines.

[Gorgodeus]

No. Just, no. Put down the tin foil and slowly back away. This isn't Vietnam, Smoky, this is bowling. There are rules.

Your conspiracy theory would violate handfuls of laws with no gain to the law breaker. That just doesn't happen in real life. You literally do not understand that nearly all the jails are already full, and that the 90% quota is merely to ensure a specific jail is full, over other available options.

Nobody is being put in jail for corporate profit, that is just nonsense and you should consider seeing a doctor if you believe that.

If you want to argue private prisons are shitty, I'll join right in. But judges can't just sentence people all willy nilly, as they see fit. There are guidelines.

Except no laws are violated. Judges have a range in which they can rule. They often can choose to suspend a sentence or not. Now which do you think they will do in the situation I described. Hint: It has already been proven to be the case. This is far from tin foil hat.

Just gonna leave this here:

An analysis of private prison contracts from across the United States reveals that state and local governments commonly enter into agreements that require them to keep prisons filled or pay for unused, empty beds.

In the Public Interest (ITPI), a Washington, D.C.-based research and policy group on public services, reported in September 2013 that it found so-called bed guarantees in around 65% of the more than 60 private prison contracts it analyzed, including contracts from Texas, Ohio, Colorado and Florida. The bed guarantees, or “lockup quotas,” ranged from 70% minimum occupancy in at least one California facility to 100% occupancy at three Arizona prisons. The most common bed guarantee was 90%.

Public officials who agree to lockup quotas, according to corrections experts, become obligated – against their communities’ best interests – to keep prisons filled to ensure that taxpayer dollars aren’t being wasted.
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news...lockup-quotas/

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

Good, now let's see them actually change some laws and not incarcerate so many damn people unnecessarily.