Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law

[ProSense]

Source: NPR

<...>

That's because prison companies like this one had a plan — a new business model to lock up illegal immigrants. And the plan became Arizona's immigration law.

<...>

The law is being challenged in the courts. But if it's upheld, it requires police to lock up anyone they stop who cannot show proof they entered the country legally.

<...>

NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.

The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.



Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741

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More at Daily Kos

[ensho]

1. true

nt

[DCKit]

2. Yet we're still being called Conspiracy Theorists.

After our experiences of the past three decades, is anything really too crazy to believe anymore?

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RedCloud]

5. To intimidate from seeing the big conspiracy: Hoarding of trillions of dollars!

[DBoon]

3. and I bet hiring out prison labor becomes a booming business

tractable prison inmates with a work ethic

or, "how can we drive wages lower and make employment even more servile than it is now?"

[DCKit]

6. At $0.25-$0.75/hour to boot. It's win-win... for the corporations.

Not to mention government employees and law enforcement officials who are on the take.

[DBoon]

10. The Russians had a word for that sort of arrangement

the word I believe was "gulag"

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. Cheap prison labor funded by taxpayer $$$ at the expense of the loss of jobs for taxpayers.

Is this a great Country or what? :silly:

[pansypoo53219]

7. the vast rite wing conspiracy

is greedy too.

[Uncle Joe]

8. The "next big market."

And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.

The for profit prison industry; is an evil institution and it will always be looking for the next big market.

Logic dictates that for profit prison lobbying efforts can only be directed toward more stringent, repressive laws coupled with draconian punishment; as this is what butters their bread.

As this industry grows in power and wealth so will their ability to lobby/bribe politicians to pass laws; which in effect persecute the American People for profit's sake; and there is absolutely no reason to believe this pattern of profit driven corporate persecution will stop with immigrants; whether they're here legally or not.

The American People would gradually become prisoners of their own nation, with the walls being built on the border as our new national symbol.

Thanks for the thread, ProSense.

[Vogon_Glory]

9. Prison Planet Conservatism

Prison Planet Conservatism--an issue that ought to spark outrage across the political spectrum--soon to be ignored by the mainstream corporate news media near you.

We ought to save that frame and use it on the Radical Right in the next election, especially if the 2010 elections go as badly as the corporate news media is gleefully predicting.

---

I'd long thought that right-wingers like Alex Jones were tin-foil-hatters, but after reading the NPR article, I'm beginning to think that I should maybe give him a little more credit for being closer to the truth.

[ProudDad]

11. AND IT'S NOT JUST PRISONS...

A.L.E.C. is ALSO behind Arizona's Prop 106 -- which would make Universal Comprehensive Health Care or expansion of any Federal or State government health care programs against the Arizona Constitution.

(They're mainly trying to setup another lawsuit against the feds' "Obamacare" -- just like SB1070 has succeeded in doing)

http://www.prop106endangersyourhealth.org/who-is-behind-it.html

So, yes, it is indeed the vast right-wing conspiracy...

FYI, the biggest "donor", The Benjamin Rush League, is an astroturf "organization" set up by the two very rich rightwing libertarian asshole doctors who got the bat-crap crazy rightwing legislature to put it on the ballot...Drs. Singer and Novak...

They also have ANOTHER piece of shit ballot proposition to make Card Check Union Voting unconstitutional in Arizona...

And another to steal money that the voters voted for from pre-school children to the republican slush fund (the "general fund) in order to finance new tax cuts for the rich and corporations...

And others to scrape some more money for environmental, park's trust funds into their millionaire's slush fund.

While spending billions every year to subsidize corporations...

[Downwinder]

12. Anyone who can't prove citizenship. Don't leave home without your passport.

They may be trying to fill a vacancy. Have to wait and see if they offer bounties.

[Odin2005]

14. Privately-own prisons should be outlawed.

[lonestarnot]

15. No shit!