America's fixation on over-criminalization costs us $152 billion every year (UPDATED)
Police State America's fixation on over-criminalization costs taxpayers $152 billion every year!
According to a report by the Prison Policy Initiative nearly $81 billion goes to running the correctional system and all of the costs that families have to pay to support their incarcerated loved ones.
"The government payroll for corrections employees is over 100 times higher than the private prison industry’s profits."
Important note, the report doesn't include criminal justice fines and fees which would add untold billions to the total. (Click here to lean more.)
image credit: Price Economics
What's wrong with this picture?
Bail bond companies collect $1.4 billion in nonrefundable fees from defendants and their families. The industry also actively works to block reforms that threaten its profits.
Specialized phone companies that win monopoly contracts charge families up to $24.95 for a 15-minute phone call.
Commissary vendors make $1.6 billion a year selling goods to incarcerated people.
Why do the Feds only allocate $4.5 billion each year towards indigent defense? Is the justice system a multi-billion dollar money making machine designed to help balance budgets?
Updated 2/6:
Well known political science professor admits the war on terror is a lie
MIT assistant professor of political science Richard Nielsen answers questions about the war on terror.
Q: War and terrorist activity pose significant threats both to human health and to the health of the planet. What can political science scholarship contribute to addressing these threats?
Nielsen admits, "the odds of dying violently are lower now than they’ve ever been."
"Counterterrorism policies can have serious unintended consequences. For example, some of my own research shows that drone strikes against jihadist preachers makes their ideas more popular. Others have raised the concern that drone strikes might fuel terrorism by adding to the grievances of the vulnerable populations in which terrorists circulate Nielsen said.
This is Democracy at it's finest. The Feds and corporations are making billions incarcerating Americans. What would happen if we stopped arresting so many people, would our justice system collapse?
1/2 a million Americans who are legally innocent are behind bars
image source: Prison Policy
Following the money of mass incarceration
image source: Prison Policy
Words to think about:
“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” –Tacitus, Roman Senator and Historian.