America has a strange "Culture of Imprisonment". We're about 4% of the world's population, but have 25% of the world's prison inmates. Something that Joe Stalin or Pol Pot would be proud of.
We lock up young kids too. We even have a tradition of executing them sometimes.
Especially if they're Black.
Child prisoners are not uncommon. The above illustration is 'not' an exaggeration. I think we've all seen pictures of kids in orange in the news, and on TV. As I said just now thing is they're mostly Black or very poor White kids.
So who cares.
Right?
Stay Tuned.
That's curious. The statistic you've cited reflects another that I've heard many times. The US also has about 4% of the world's population, but consumes roughly 25% of global wealth in raw materials, consumer goods and energy. Just coincidence, maybe..?
ReplyDeleteZ
Yeah interesting concurrence of figures there...hummm.
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that...Just check your local sex offender registry...They will stop incarcerating people when it stops being profitable for the states to incarcerate. I earned the great state of Where I Live about 25 grand a year from Uncle Sam for each of the five and a half years I was behind the walls, with the exception of the year I was in "The Program," when they made 100 grand or so off my sorry ass.
ReplyDeleteEven now I have to pay them 50 bucks yearly for the privilege of having my name splashed all over the internet. never mind that everything that went down happened nearly 30 years ago.
The Prison-Industrial complex is a sweet little racket for the states, and a heck of a cottage industry for those making money off it.
Chips
Well the good news is that Uncle Sam is broke, though trying to sweep it under the QE rug, and our batshit crazy wars are accelerating the downward plunge. But I bet this putrid prison boondoggle will be one of the very last to get sucked down the black hole of insolvency.
ReplyDeleteZ
Geez I nearly got to wear the Orange a few times in my adventure. I was just lucky. Gee officer where did all that cocaine come from. That or, "...I'm on a mailing list for What?" ...surely there's been some mistake. Etc.
ReplyDeleteSorry they grabbed you. Evil bastards. Me I would'a been shanked in some hallway on general principle. As we know from history living during an end of an Empire is not an especially good idea.
Not for anyone.
Not the Proles or the Bleeps on top. As they say the French Aristocracy never saw it coming.
Neither will our crop of upper class twits.