The Prison-Industrial Complex introduced by Eric Schlosser, is a theory that claims that the prison system is constructed by political pressures, economic requirements, and commercial demands. The prison system has been continuously growing in the last three decades, regardless of the actual need for it. The PIC is specifically harmful to the most vulnerable of people, such as homeless people, mentally ill, etc. The PIC does more harm, than good, therefore, it is a poor system all-around.
In the book Are Prisons obsolete? Davis describes the role of prison industrial complex in the rise of prisons. Prison industrial complex is a term used to characterize the overlapping interests of government and industry that use policing, surveillance and imprisonment as a result to social, economic and political problems. Private prisons operate a lot differently from prisons that aren’t private. For example the federal state, lease system and county governments pay private companies a fee for each inmate. Which means that they are able to keep prisoners as long as they want to keep their facilities filled. “Important evidence of the abuse that takes place behind the walls and gates of private prisons, it came to light in connection with a lawsuit filed by one of the prisoners who was bitten by a dog” pg. 96.
From the genocides of different ethics, to freedom is taken away in minority nations. Angela Davis expresses her views on political aspects of hard punishment upon human beings Americas’ society. She composed many books supporting her idea on political activism. In chapter 9, “Freedom Is A Constant Struggle,” opens different viewpoints, as a results of a transition in today’s society, starting from the 1960’s to the age of Obama. In addition to the few minority groups, as she relates in this book, the similar of a constant struggle for freedom with in the different ethics groups. In her other book chapter 5 “Are Prisons Obsolete?” Angela Davis conveys the ideology of imposers using racism’s and prison labor for profit in advantage to the elites. She expresses her claim by including the data of black males
The United States of America is known across the world as one of the biggest superpowers, both in its military and economy. It is a democratic nation that runs on a successful capitalist system, which especially benefits those in positions of power. In the 1960’s, 200,000 people were incarcerated across the country, however this number has increased rapidly in the last fifty years and now more than 2 million people are incarcerated in prisons and detention centres all across the United States, leading to what is described as an age of mass incarceration. There is evidence to suggest that mass incarceration does benefit the American capitalist system and that the institution of criminal justice is beneficial to capital gain. America is a nation that prides itself on truth and justice for all its citizens, however it could be argued that America values its capitalist advancement more than the individual rights of the people who live there and consequently marginalises and discriminates against its African American and Latino communities in order to further its capitalist system.
This case study will assess the government of Florida, a state government. It will touch on several important issues such as providing a general overview of how the government functions and what resources it provides, as well as some current issues the State of Florida is facing in government administration. Because the State of Florida is a state government, it tends to “resemble the national government in composition and organization of their executive branch agencies” (Milakovich, 2013, p. 21).
In the United States there are more people incarcerated than any other nation in the world. Recently, many states have taken drastic steps allowing private companies to buy prisons and operate them as profitable businesses. The business models of these companies relies on a high incarceration rate and the ability to operate at a very low cost. This could put a large portion of the prison population at serious risk of having their safety put behind the revenue they earn. Even though these for-profit prisons show no evidence of saving the federal government any money, and have dubious health and safety records, some politicians still push for legislation that is good for private prison companies. Those who support the privatization of prisons
In recent decades, there has been a trend developing in America towards the privatization of America’s prisons. Independent companies have contracted, built and staffed prisons in several different states instead of having the government in control of these facilities. There is still much uncertainty, however, if private prisons will be able to succeed. Some companies have failed while others cling to average revenues. Some people believe that these measures will save taxpayers money while other are afraid that private prisons have no real interest in rehabilitating prisoners.
In the last several decades, the prison industry in the United States has been expanding at a detrimental rate. With well over 2 million individuals incarcerated as of 2013 (), the US prison population trumps that of any other country. With 5% of the world’s population, the United States accounts for nearly one quarter of the world’s known prison population. With an industry of such epic proportions, evidently funds, resources, and management are in huge demand. In this current situation, private prisons, run by for-profit corporations which aim to provide higher quality services at a cheaper cost, could be viewed as beneficial to society, and even a solution to the growing problem that is the staggering rate of incarceration. Nevertheless,
Finally, the cost and quotas associated with these particular prisons further promote dehumanization. Privatized prisons reduce the cost of housing inmates but at what cost? Private prisons have the authority to overcrowd their cells. This can be considered an aspect of dehumanization because the inmates would not have any space. The report from In the Public Interest dove into the areas of prison life that one would not even know existed such as minimum occupancy guarantees or low crime taxes that some states found themselves wrapped up in. In the Public Interest discovered a number of interesting statistics regarding occupancy clauses and low crime taxation rates:
Often known as the Father of American Literature to many educated individuals, Ralph Waldo Emerson in his oration “The American Scholar” brilliantly provides a sublime example of how Emerson earned his title through the appliance of diction, syntax, allusions, and many other rhetorical devices and strategies. Indicated towards his highly educated audience, the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Emerson introduces the idea that the common class and common concepts of everyday life are becoming the future of art and literature through purpose, credibility, and tone.
During the 17th and 18th century, millions of slaves were imported from Africa to the United States of America. They were bound by chains and were not treated like humans. They were merchandise for people to use to make money off of. Slaves were later freed with the Emancipation Proclamation under President Abraham Lincoln, but the question that should be considered today is if privatization of prisons is modern day slavery. According to Suevon Lee’s article, “By the Numbers: The U.S.’s Growing For-Profit Detention Industry”, 128,195 prisoners were held in privately managed facilities as of December 2010. Though this may not seem like a massive number compared to the 2 million+ Americans in jail/prison, the second largest private detention company, The Geo Group, Inc., made around $1.6 billion total revenue in 2011. This much money was made by the 65 correctional facilities that The Geo Group, Inc. owns. Like slaves, prisoners are sent to these private prisons where they are seen as less than human while an outside source profits off of their struggles. Private prisons should be abolished from society. Their existence is immoral because the fact that people are being seen as subhuman and private prisons are profiting off the incarceration of people. We must further educate ourselves on what is truly happening with private prisons and reevaluate the United States prison system as a whole.
Mark Twain, an 18th century humorist, was known for his critical and satirical writing. In one of his most famous essays, “ Fenimore Coopers Literary Offenses” Twain addresses Coopers inability to realistically develop a “situation” and his failure to effectively back up his stories in order for them to be more plausible. To dramatically convey his unimpressed and sarcastic attitude, he applies biting diction, metaphors and hypophora throughout this work .
I believe that the the abolition of private prisons would be the best course of action to take. It is completely unconstitutional, from my perspective, to allow enterprises to make a profit off of prisoners, who are, in reality, just people who have made a mistake. It is a given that there are exceptions to this, but as Representative Ellison stated, “Incarceration should be about rehabilitation, not profit.” The fact that nothing has been done due to the clutch these corporations have on legislators is terrifying to me, and taking a stance against them would be sending a message to all wealthy businesses across the U.S., making it clear that the government can not be bought out. In a cost-benefit analysis, as the Justice is Not for Sale Act provides, it is much more fiscally responsible to invest in the rehabilitation of inmates than it is to hire private prisons.
In “What We Are to Advertisers” and “Men’s Men and Women’s Women” both Twitchell and Craig reveal how advertisers utilize stereotypes to manipulate and persuade consumers into purchasing their products. Companies label their audience and advertise to them accordingly. Using reliable sources such as Stanford Research Institute, companies are able to use the data to their advantage to help market their products to a specific demographic. Craig and Twitchell give examples of this ploy in action by revealing how companies use “positioning” to advertise the same product to two demographics to earn more profit. Craig delves more into the advertisers ' plan by exposing the science behind commercials. Advertisers are able to create content based on
The US prison population makes up 25% of the world’s prison population while the rest of America only makes up 5% of the world population. The cost of keeping these 2 million people in the US behind bars is an astonishing $80 billion. With such a gargantuan price, politicians, economists, and concerned taxpayers are struggling to find ways to reduce costs. Two ways have been identified as the most promising: privatize the prison industry or put inmates to work. There have already been successful implementations of both around the country, yet inmate labor is likely to be stifled and greatly discouraged due to its association with slave labor. The privatization has a much more positive connotation due to its relationship with capitalism, yet thus far prison privatization has been a spectacular flavor but with considerable reform will be successful.