10/30/2024
PRISONERS EQUAL PROFITS
by Dennis Mintun
From what I can see, if all the prisons in the United States were suddenly abolished, there is a good chance that the American economy would collapse.
Prisons contribute literally billions of dollars to the economy. Of course, there is the obvious... hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the prison industry across the country. And, the vast majority of prison jobs (including guards) require very little experience or education.
Virtually anyone can gain employment at a prison. Even former felons can get a job. Generally not as a guard (euphemistically referred to as "corrections officers"), of course. But they frequently can work as teachers, counselors, food service employees, etc.
But, much more than providing income for those who work at the prisons are the hundreds (thousands?) of private industries.
With lobbyists and hundreds of thousands of dollars going to campaign contributions, private prisons make sure politicians remain "tough on crime"... to keep the multimillion dollar private prison industry solvent.
Many companies exist solely to provide goods and services to prisons. There are directly linked ones, such as the Bob Barker Company which makes clothing and other items for prisons - using extremely low-cost labor (prisoners and laborers in other countries).
And then, there are companies which directly profit from prisoners and their families. Business such as Comcor and Securus sells or provides personal tablets to inmates. In some places, like Idaho, where I am at, the prisoner must pay roughly double (around $120) what a similar tablet would cost on the "streets" (no phone or camera).
Some prisons do provide tablet free of charge to the residents. But this is made up for by selling games, music and other apps at very high prices. The average price for one song is around $2.00. And games... most of which are free on the internet... average around $7.00. Movies are rented for five to ten dollars each. I don't know about elsewhere, but in Idaho, almost a third of the movies are made by various Christian organizations... and can be obtained free by non-prisoners.
Then, there are commissary companies, such as Walkenhorst or Keefe, which charge extremely high prices, and almost always insist on non-competition clauses in their contracts with prisons.
A television set that would sell for around $100 at the store or online is sold to prisoners for around $250. A twenty cent ramen sells for about triple that. A fifty cent pack of tortillas costs $2. And so on.
These are just a few examples. Many people might be of the opinion that, since these are prisoners be gouged, it's no big deal. But, that's not who suffers the most. The people most impacted by high prison prices are families and loved-ones of those who are incarcerated.
Most people in prison come from low-income families. However, these families love each other... even those in prison. So, they want to be able to give them what little comfort they can. But, because of the exorbitant prices for even basics like soap and toothpaste, these families must scrimp and sacrifice.
There's no doubt we need to find a way to do away with the antiquated business of locking people away when they make a mistake. But, until we can stop the lucrative profiteering gained by keeping people in prison, it just won't happen.
