David Royse wrote for the News Service of Florida yesterday, Scott Will Explore Ways to Privatize Prisons without Law Change,
Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday he will explore opportunities to privatize state prisons on his own following the Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have required some prisons be bid out to private companies.
Speaking to reporters Thursday morning after a public event on insurance fraud, Scott acknowledged that initially he didn’t consider privatizing prisons a priority, but was disappointed the Senate voted down a bill that would have done that, and said he’ll explore what many backers of the Senate plan said was a possibility that the governor could order privatization unilaterally.
The irony:
Scott pointed out that there are fewer inmates than anticipated and that it didn’t make sense to spend state dollars on half-full prisons.Maybe nobody told Gov. Scott CCA wants guaranteed 90% occupancy.
More irony:
“Why wouldn’t we save that money and put the money into education, into textbooks, and to make sure we have the right health care safety net instead of spending the money where we don’t need to?“
That from the governor who insisted on drug-testing welfare recipients,
to the tune of $178 million, finding 2% positive, saving Florida $60,000,
for a net loss to the state of $178 million.
Floridians should trust this man about saving money?
And Georgians should trust anybody who claims private prisons save money after the mounds of evidence that they do not? How about if we just stop building prisons and stop locking so many people up so we can spend those tax doollars on rehabilitation, health care, and education? Here’s a petition to stop the private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia.
-jsq
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