Rebirth 79: I opened a bank in the United States

Chapter 474 The Origin of the Prison Industry

"On weekdays, the salary of a resident lawyer is [-], which is very high for a fledgling new lawyer! But it is much lower than working with a law firm! In addition, you don't think If additional legal support is required, does the Coffey County Jail not have to pay additional litigation fees?"

"Back and then, you can save a lot of legal costs! It's not that I, Benjamin, insist on burdening you, but this matter, if you don't do it, who will do it? Who can do it well? The county's current The cost of incarceration is $3000 per person per year, so the prison is running short every year. From a public utility point of view, Douglas needs you and trusts you to do this; from an operational point of view, the Coffey County Jail is A proper non-performing asset needs a capable person to restructure its business!"

"So why is the subsidy reduced by a thousand when you come to me?!"

Carter muttered a little depressed.Of course, murmuring was just a complaint, and Carter knew the answer clearly in his heart: save money!
How could it be possible for private prisons to flourish in the United States without saving money?

Without considering the interests of other related industries, that is, the so-called coalition of interests, we only look at the rationality of the existence of private prisons.The reason why such a wonderful thing can be born in the United States is that the original political system is the soil, and the seeds are the ever-increasing cost of imprisonment.

Especially after the general abolition of the death penalty in 67!
In fact, looking at this point in time, we can find that the time when the death penalty was generally abolished was almost the same as the time when the black people broke out in a large-scale affirmative action movement.In the 60s: Freedom Summer, Selma Voting Rights, Black Power, Birmingham, sit-ins and Freedom Ride, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s Freedom Movement in Chicago
If you browse casually, you can find piles of black movements similar to BLM.And it affects a wide range, from Chicago in the north to Mississippi next to Georgia in the south
It can be said that during that period, turmoil was everywhere!

Combined with Colonel Ronald's explanation when he refused to support ROTC students holding guns, it is not difficult for Carter to analyze that in order to quell the turmoil, the United States even sent troops to suppress it by force.So much so that after that period, some kind of compromise should have been reached between the forces of various parties (local and federal, black movement leaders and conservatives).What is shown now, and what Carter clearly knows is that the military has stopped intervening in domestic affairs since then.
What happened back then is difficult for Carter now to explore, and the exploration is of little significance.It’s just that if you look at these things from a macro perspective, knowing that the “North-South Swap” and the “two-party change” are taking place in American history, it seems like a coincidence to look back at that era The concentrated black affirmative movement broke out.
The taste here is different!

Coincidence?
From the start of the Little Rock incident that caused a sensation in the United States in 57 to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, it was just ten years.The black affirmative movement that broke out is unparalleled in both quantity and scale!Never before has there been such a wide-ranging political movement in the United States.

Perhaps the early days of the black movement were just the unbearable struggle of the discriminated blacks.It is the helplessness of having to rise up under pressure.
But just like countless insurgents in history, perhaps in the early days, peasant uprisings were real peasants.And once there is momentum, the support of the gentry group will inevitably be indispensable in the middle stage of the struggle.

Carter instinctively thought of the Democrats, but think of Little Rock
Eisenhower, who ordered the famous 101st Airborne Division to be "occupied" by the governor of Arkansas at the time, ordered the use of the National Guard to block schools and prohibit blacks from entering Little Rock, Eisenhower, who escorted nine black students to school with soldiers from the Airborne Division, was a Republican.

If this basin of dirty water is poured on the Democratic Party for no reason, it seems that it is not rigorous.But no matter which group was speaking for the interests of black people at that time, the "weapons" they could use should be unified: the so-called natural human rights!Everyone is equal!
Ok, so here comes the problem!

Black people are people, are criminals people?
If this question is put in the eyes of the Chinese, it is definitely a question that makes people laugh.Law-abiding citizens and criminals, can that be the same?If this could enjoy the same treatment, wouldn't it be a big deal?This must not be confused!

But in the United States, this is a good question!Let’s put the simple values ​​aside, that is, ignore the attitude of the American public towards people with criminal records, and consider another direction first:
You know, there is no so-called "deprivation of political power" in the United States!What does this mean?It means that criminals also have the right to vote and be elected in the United States!

Just as it has never been stipulated in the U.S. Constitution that criminals cannot be president!
In that period when the incarceration rate was still normal, the votes of criminals, a special group, might not be able to cause such a stir as the black movement.But if you zoom out and focus on the city where the prison is located, or even that district!
then the situation is different
First of all, the population density is usually low near the prison, right?Who wants to live next door to a prison?
The prison itself is a place with a very high population density, combined with the surrounding environment
This seems to form a kind of situation, a prison has a huge proportion of votes in the district where it is located!Most of the previous elections in the United States were based on the constituency system, just like the presidential election.
A state is a constituency, as long as you can get more votes in this state, all the votes in this state will be credited to your name.A winner-takes-all constituency system is implemented!

In this environment, the votes in the hands of the group of people in the prison are very important!For those aspiring to run for mayor, do you think they will compete to protect the interests of criminals?
For example, to improve the basic quality of life, such as stipulating that forced labor is not allowed, or that criminals still need to be paid for their labor, etc.
Under the guise of human rights, do things that are easy to do!
In fact, this routine is basically the same as what was done when facing the black group, basically changing the soup without changing the medicine.And in this way, the increase in the cost of imprisonment is justifiable!Even abolishing the death penalty, this proposal was brought to Parliament, and Carter could guess the reasons for it:

It is nothing more than the right to life is a natural right that cannot be deprived!What should be kind, the death penalty is too cruel, the criminal should be given a chance to reform, etc.
Facts have proved that this law is useless in the later stage. In 76, in less than ten years, 38 states in the United States resumed the death penalty!It is obvious that the abolition of the death penalty has nothing to do with the reformation of criminals!
"Isn't this believing in your ability, hahahaha! $2000, it's okay, it's okay! You know, the average cost of imprisonment in Alabama is only 1500. You're five hundred more than them!"

"Alabama should be the lowest, right? What about the cost of incarceration in New York and Los Angeles? How much are they?"

Carter looked at Benjamin teasingly
If my judgment is not wrong, the cost of imprisonment in such a blue state should be higher than that of a red state.
"I don't know about Los Angeles. It's estimated to be more than 5000? It may be higher. Anyway, New York is currently 6600 US dollars per person per year. Oh, you can't compare it like this. The land price in New York is so expensive! Look at us here"

　The data I found is a bit early, and it was before the epidemic. Alabama was the lowest in the United States, at [-] dollars a year, and New York was the highest, at [-] dollars.But it seems that I heard that California has reached more than [-]
　　It's outrageous, many Americans now earn less than 7 a year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)