NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT: THE LOGIC OF THE MARKET February 20, 2009
Posted by wmmbb in Australian Politics, US Politics.trackback
Australia was fortunate to have state run prisons from the settlement of Botany Bay onwards. Then we regressed to private prisons, at least for refugees.
As usual, in all matters or fundamental regression, we were just the followers, not the leaders. The United States as in all things free market is the shining city on the hill, including private prisons. Once private prisons are established the logic of the market takes over. Then as night follows day, children are incarcerated in private prisons and judges are bribed to keep the numbers flowing.
Amy Goodman reports, via Common Dreams:
As many as 5,000 children in Pennsylvania have been found guilty, and up to 2,000 of them jailed, by two corrupt judges who received kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities that benefited. The two judges pleaded guilty in a stunning case of greed and corruption that is still unfolding. Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and Michael T. Conahan received $2.6 million in kickbacks while imprisoning children who often had no access to a lawyer. The case offers an extraordinary glimpse into the shameful private prison industry that is flourishing in the United States.
Prisons are part of the system of retributive justice. There are alternatives to violence: restorative justice and transformative justice.
One effect of the financial crisis may be a search for alternative systems of justice, of which the prison or correctional system is a part, that provides greater economic and social returns, rather than electoral political returns.
Privately run prisons seems to me an inherently problematic proposition, and that seems suggested by the evidence. I am not suggesting that state-run institutions are great either. So what works, and what works best? These are important questions since prisons affect people who many us are happy not to think about, but for whom we have some responsibility.
A “SINGLE VOICE PROJECT” is the official name of the petition sponsored by: The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP)
THIS PETITION SEEKS TO ABOLISH ALL PRIVATE PRISONS IN THE UNITED STATES, (or any place subject to its jurisdiction)
The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons (NPSCTAPP) is a grass roots organization driven by a single objective. We want the United States government to reclaim sole authority for state and federal prisons on US soil.
We want the United States Congress to immediately rescind all state and federal contracts that permit private prisons “for profit” to exist in the United States, or any place subject to its jurisdiction. We understand that the problems that currently plague our government, its criminal justice system and in particular, the state & federal bureau of prisons (and most correctional and rehabilitation facilities) are massive. However, it is our solemn belief that the solutions for prison reform will remain unattainable and virtually impossible as long as private prisons for profit are permitted to operate in America.
Prior to the past month, and the fiasco of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and now the “Big Three” American Automobile manufacturers, the NPSCTAPP has always felt compelled to highlight the “moral Bottom line” when it comes to corrections and privatization. Although, we remain confounded by the reality that our government has allowed our justice system to be operated by private interests. The NPSCTAPP philosophy has always been “justice” should not be for sale at any price. It is our belief that the inherent and most fundamental responsibility of the criminal justice system should not be shirked, or “jobbed-out.” This is not the same as privatizing the post office or some trash pick up service in the community. There has to be a loss of meaning and purpose when an inmate looks at a guard’s uniform and instead of seeing an emblem that reads State Department of Corrections or Federal Bureau of Prisons, he sees one that says: “Atlas Prison Corporation.”
Let’s assume that the real danger of privatization is not some innate inhumanity on the part of its practitioners but rather the added financial incentives that reward inhumanity. The same logic that motivates companies to operate prisons more efficiently also encourages them to cut corners at the expense of workers, prisoners and the public. Every penny they do not spend on food, medical care or training for guards is a dime they can pocket. What happens when the pennies pocketed are not enough for the shareholders? Who will bailout the private prison industry when they hold the government and the American people hostage with the threat of financial failure…“bankruptcy?” What was unimaginable a month ago merits serious consideration today. State and Federal prison programs originate from government design, and therefore, need to be maintained by the government. It’s time to restore the principles and the vacated promise of our judicial system.
John F. Kennedy said, “The time to repair the roof is while the sun is shinning”. Well the sun may not be shinning but, it’s not a bad time to begin repair on a dangerous roof that is certain to fall…. because, “Incarcerating people for profit is, in a word WRONG”
There is an urgent need for the good people of this country to emerge from the shadows of cynicism, indifference, apathy and those other dark places that we migrate to when we are overwhelmed by frustration and the loss of hope.
It is our hope that you will support the NPSCTAPP with a show of solidarity by signing our petition. We intend to assemble a collection of one million signatures, which will subsequently be attached to a proposition for consideration. This proposition will be presented to both, the Speaker Of The House Of Representatives (Nancy Pelosi) and the United States Congress.
Please Help Us. We Need Your Support. Help Us Spread The Word About This Monumental And Courageous Challenge To Create Positive Change. Place The Link To The Petition On Your Website! Pass It On!
The SINGLE VOICE PETITION and the effort to abolish private “for profit” prisons is the sole intent of NPSCTAPP. Our project does not contain any additional agendas. We have no solutions or suggestions regarding prison reform. However, we are unyielding in our belief that the answers to the many problems which currently plague this nation’s criminal justice system and its penal system in particular, cannot and will not be found within or assisted by the private “for profit” prison business. The private “for profit” prison business has a stranglehold on our criminal justice system. Its vice-like grip continues to choke the possibility of justice, fairness, and responsibility from both state and federal systems.
These new slave plantations are not the answer!
For more information please visit: http://www.npsctapp.blogsppot.com or email: williamthomas@exconciliation.com
To sign the petition please visit: http://www.petitiononline.com/gufree2/petition.html
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
William Thomas
National Community Outreach Facilitator
The National Public Service Council To Abolish Private Prisons
P.O. Box 156423
San Francisco, California 94115
Thank you William for the information, not least about the petition.
Just on the reference to the “new slave plantations”, it is striking that without exception it seems true that minority groups seem most likely to be over represented in the prison systems. For example, it is true in Australia and New Zealand. I wonder why?
Thank you, wmmbb, for this very thoughtful piece. I am also appreciative for William’s words and the work highlighted. Thank you both.
In reading the words above, I could not help but to think of all of the very young minorities who are shuffled through prision doors and how it benefits private industry; the incentive to fill prisions and the rate of recidivism become paramount for capital investment.
Attorney General Holder has been derided for his “nation of cowards” comment regarding racial things and our voluntary social segregation. On a fundamental level I wonder if we really shared initimacies will some social ills be lessened and justice reign more in our courts.
Thanks so much for your comment Judith.
The rates of imprisonment may vary between countries, but I suspect the pattern of imprisonment is a common feature. I am wondering whether there is some quantitative analysis in which variations are to linked to correlations.