Private Prisons: A Growth Industry

by Polly Mann, WAMM

Michael Lerner says in his book, The Politics of Meaning, that humankind does a disservice to itself when it sets in place a worldwide governance system based solely on competitive profit-making. Under this system, known as globalization, human needs are not viewed as challenges, but rather as opportunities for accumulating wealth. A prime example is the privatized prison system, removed from the oversight of government and turned over to private corporations.

These corporations are not concerned about the ethics of incarcerating nonviolent offenders for years on end at costs equal to that of a prestigious college education. They are one-dimensional Cyclops whose single eyes see only profit-making possibilities in any situation, even situations involving tremendous human suffering.

Many of us grieve over the increase in our prison population which has grown from 500,000 in 1980 to two million today. But these numbers only stimulate the corporate hustler to look for all the ways that money can be made off the system.

Despite steadily declining incidents of crime, new prisons continue to be constructed. Some of this increase can be attributed to recent legislation. "Three strikes" and mandatory minimums (harsh, fixed sentences without parole) are two examples of laws which must be overturned.

The ever-increasing disparity in incomes within the U.S. also plays a role in the increasing prison population. The middle class and poor grow poorer and observe the great wealth enjoyed by the few. The average worker works longer hours for less pay than 20 years ago, considering the increasing cost of food, housing, and health care.

Social service programs designed to ameliorate the deadening effects of poverty have suffered enormous cuts. In poor, urban neighborhoods school buildings are crumbling; after-school programs are being dismantled; and libraries, parks, and drug treatment centers are closing. All this has been accompanied by the construction of 150 new prisons, massive federal allocations to the military, and a proliferation of police stations and police officers.

Private prison maintenance contractors are paid a fixed sum per prisoner, which means lower wages for employees, no unions, more overcrowding, fewer services for prisoners, abuses by poorly-trained personnel, and less public scrutiny. Can you imagine what prison meals must be like, when a provider's primary concern is profit?

With rural areas suffering from loss of income, many rural residents see the construction of a prison in their community as a source of employment. Rural communities see prisons as a means of enlarging their tax base.

Meanwhile, corporations see prisons as profit makers. The investment firm of Smith Barney, as well as American Express and General Electric, have invested in private prison construction. Subsidiary businesses have been spawned by the private prison industry and armament makers have gotten in on the action. Westinghouse, for example, now supplies the criminal justice system with "Night Enforcer" goggles first used in the Gulf War and "Hot Wire" fencing used by NATO.

Communication companies like AT&T, Sprint, and MCI gouge prisoners with exorbitant phone calling rates, often six times higher than the normal charge. Firms dedicated solely to the prison phone business provide computerized prison phone systems, fully equipped for surveillance.

More and more prisons charge inmates for basic necessities: medical care, toilet paper, and use of the law library. Many states now charge "room and board." The prisoner must then work to pay his/her upkeep. The result is that while government cannot actually require inmates to work at jobs for less than minimum wage, the inmates are forced to by necessity.

Those industries which employ prisoners often compete with private industry. For example, federal prisoners can be employed by UNICOR, which recycles furniture. Working a 40-hour week, inmates receive about $40 per month. Small furniture manufacturers complain they are being driven out of business by UNICOR.

In Austin, Texas, U.S. Technologies discharged 150 workers when its plant was closed. Six weeks later, the plant reopened in a nearby prison.

I cannot end without some message of hope. I believe that there is more discontent with our unjust economic system than at any period during my lifetime. This can be good, if the discontent spurs needed change. The demonstrations in Seattle and Washington have brought increased awareness about economic issues which affect us all.

I truly believe that growing numbers of people recognize that consumerism is not something upon which one can build a life and that human relationships must be built on mutual respect, compassion, and generosity.

We will have arrived when we empty our prisons of all but violent criminals and institute programs for them that offer humane rehabilitation. We must build an economic system based on cooperation, compassion, community, and a recognition of our obligation to each other--including our incarcerated brothers and sisters.

PRISON ACTIVISM RESOURCES

Women in Prison/Children in Crisis
Meets the first Wednesday of each month
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Carondelet Center
1890 Randolph
St. Paul, MN 55105
612-922-5636 (phone)

Women's Prison Book Project
Arise! Resource Center and Bookstore
2441 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55405
612-722-1071 (phone)

Prison Activist Resource Center
P.O. Box 339
Berkeley, CA 94701
510-893-4648 (phone)
510-893-4607 (fax)
parc@prisonactivist.org
www.prisonactivist.org