Ed Lightsey writes in GeorgiaTrend for March 2011, Valdosta/Lowndes County: Taking Off about many good developments in Lowndes County. But among them is this:

About two years ago, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) began looking for sites on which to build a prison, and after an 18-month search chose Lowndes County, a decision that promises 400 to 600 new jobs. “It’s a $150-million investment,” Lofton says. “That’s the second largest investment in the history of the county. And of those promised jobs, about 120 will require post secondary education; they are nurses, physician assistants, dieticians and vocational rehab folks.”

CCA is the fifth largest penal system in the country, behind Florida, Califor-nia, Texas and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to Lofton. “They have about 20,000 employees across the country,” he says.

So why do we need them here?

The U.S. has more prisoners both total and per capita than any other country: more than Russia, more than China. We have 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. Is that anything to be proud of?

Not only that, the south leads the U.S. in prison population, with Georgia as number four nationwide.

The south also leads the nation in obesity, but is that any reason to want more of it? Or maybe Project Excel really is Project XL.

-jsq

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