Another report about money and private prisons
(in addition to the
ACLU’s Banking on Bondage),
this one
Public Campaign and PICO National Network,
Unholy Alliance: How the Private Prison Industry is
Corrupting Our Democracy and Promoting Mass Incarceration.
It establishes that the
“kids for cash” scandal,
in which two judges accepted kickbacks in exchange for locking up
juveniles, was just the tip of the iceberg.
Yet the reality is that private prison lobbyists regularly buy influence
with state and federal officials, not only to win lucrative contracts,
but also to change or preserve policies that increase the number of
people behind bars. Private companies have made huge profits off the mass
incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, and are now turning their
attention to increasing the detention of Latino immigrants—the newest
profit center for the prison industrial complex. Ultimately there is no
way to reverse the costly trend toward mass incarceration without reducing
the influence of these companies and their money in our democracy.
Here’s another example
David Donnelly wrote for Huffpo 17 Nov 2011,
Private Prisons Industry: Increasing Incarcerations, Maximizing Profits and Corrupting Our Democracy,
Earlier this year in Louisiana, a plan by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) to
privatize prisons narrowly failed in a legislative committee by a vote
of 13 to 12. The 12 members of the House Appropriations Committee who
voted to approve the prison privatization plan have received more than
three times more money from private prison donors than the 13 members
who voted against the plan, according to an analysis of data from the
Louisiana Ethics Administration and the National Institute on Money in
State Politics. Gov. Jindal himself has taken nearly $30,000 from the
private prison industry.
And of course in Georgia there’s HB 87, which isn’t really about
excluding immigrants;
Continue reading → bidding procedures within our county. Having spent 12 years in government construction contracting I know the detailed safeguards that have been enacted to protect the taxpayers from contracting fraud & crony capitalist back door agreements. It is my observation that these safeguards are being bypassed by end around tactics & the current popularity of public/private partnerships has a plethora of possiblities for good old boy system abuses.
by the local newspaper. The city’s answer to the illegal contracting procedures was to issue a contract change order for $143,807 with a 10% contingency. It has been my experience that anytime a contractor starts work on an unfunded project said contractor eats the cost of any work completed & all contractors are aware of this rule.