Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypski
I beg to differ in one respect. When Carter was president, and IF he had gotten an second term honestly (no Iran hostage, Iran/contra bullshit) he would have followed the recommendation of the Schaffer report and cannabis would not be treated today as it has been by GOP presidents. Nixon, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II. And since the so-called 1994 GOP Revolution, things have gotten far worse then during Carter.
True, a good government is less government but making that happen is nearly impossible today. It has become too intrenched an has become an occupation. The founders intended to have representatives and senators have their real occupations as shopkeepers and the like, not lawyers and career politicians. :twocents:
The issue that Carter had during his presidency that ultimately cost him a second term was that he had a democrat controlled congresss to contend with, extremely high inflation rates, a recession that had been fueled eartler in the 70's, and his administration could grasp control of an economy. I remember people with excellent credit only being able to attain 21 percent interest rates on housing and cars. Things have gotten far worse since Carter because of the Congress and who controls it, an increasingly socialistic/communistic group of elitists who can stop spending and think you should do what they say, and they're exempt.
Ronald Reagan, did exactly what classical economic theory (3000-5000 years plus of existence, dating back to the Egyptians and the peoples of the Near East); he cut taxes, cut governemnt spending, and even with the recession that occurred because of a congress that could let go of pork projects, his presidency had the greatest growth of any presidential administration ever.
During his term as governor of California, he was the ONLY governor to actually operate the state in the black AND provide tax cuts and rebates to citizens of that state.
Bush 1 was not so effective.
Clinton had a democrat controlled congress for the first part of his administration during which he floundered with our country and economy experiencing steady growth. His administration was held to the test when the Republican revolution of 1994 took place and the second largest period of economic growth occurred.
Bush 2 had an increasingly left leaning congress that refused ot pass bills upward, reducing his effectiveness, with 9/11 being a huge problem. That attack was aimed directly at the economy of our country. I think that he did as wel as any other president could have done all things considered, but during the last three years he was increasingly weak and unable to lead because of the congress he had to deal with. He was not a great president but he beats the hell out of Carter, who is considered by many political researchers and economists to be the worst President ever elected.
Obama is a different story. He is without a doubt a socialist who brought absolutely zer experience and qualification to the table, campaigned on change (which EVERY candidate does when challenging that office) and he voted for out of emotion, not issue.
He has spent more money that we don't have than every other administration combined, and with a socialist and elitist congress, is intent on increasing government control and intervention into every aspect of our lives.
We are about to experience an anomoly that will include hyperinflation, a depression, and that coupled with a true national unemployment rate of closer to 17-18 percent when all true unemployed persons are included, will damage the nation so badly that it will takes decades to overcome.
Think Russia during the 70's and 80's, when people were standing in line for whatever was available. You and I are about to experience a true command economy with very little market or traditional economic properties. Our true enemy is our current congress, who has never met a crisis they couldn't stretch as "if we don't do something now...." only to expand pork projects and increase government dependency while removing constitutional rights. This is making the Patriot Act look like a boy scout badge.
On the cannibus issue, not one president has ever looked upon the plant favorably since it was made illegal in 1938, when it the depression was so bad that mexicans were shipped out of the country because they were taking white peoples jobs. Marijuana was but one of the things thay blamed upon them, along with crime, etc...
Yep I totally agree, no one should be in jail for mj, I personally think jail or prison is for those who have broken laws and acted against society so badly they cannot be trusted or our safety is at risk as citizens.
I believe its the congress we have to fear, not the President. They are our biggest enemy. Just my opinion. For what its worth, for a living I study and research economics and the influence of the government upon market economies. I spent years in the entertainment industry and if you want to see some real winners to throw rocks at, look at people like Sean Penn and Madonna, there are some examples of sperm who should not have won that swimming race.
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Presidents are like football coaches, they get too much credit for good times and too much blame for the bad times. Too bad they can only get fired every four years.
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Quote:
Originally Posted by senorx12562
Presidents are like football coaches, they get too much credit for good times and too much blame for the bad times. Too bad they can only get fired every four years.
Excellent analogy.
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
With sincere respect to TruePyroman and I'm not even trying to be a smartass or anything but seriously asking, who do you think should run the state prisons that have been contracted out to private companies?
I personally think that if a private organization can with oversight to ensure the safety and rights of the prisoners, can more efficiently and effectively operate a prison, then so be it if the state government with the blessing of the citizens should. Again, very close oversight should be used to make sure that no one is being tortured or abused beyond what basic human rights should dictate.)
Bear in mind the last figure I heard was that it costs an average of $38,000 per prisoner, per year to house and confine a prisoner. If the state cannot even manage its own budget like California, Michigan, and so many others, then perhaps a company that is contracted with legal oversight should. This would prevent more unionization that would drive costs up even further. Not anti-union at all, as they have both their positive and negative qualities.
I would also think that all people who are imprisoned for any crime related to Marijuana that is nonviolent should be released immediately. That in itself would lighten the burden of cost. (The idea that a naturally occuring plant that has no history of causing death, has so many uses including medicinally and economically, and has a the ability to provide so many more untapped uses could be illegal is absurd...I agree...Fuck Anslinger.)
Who do you think should operate and manage them if not a company that specializes in that? Should it be just the state or should they all be federal government?
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
i spent 4 years in prison in michigan and a couple were private owned but most of them are the fed gov. gives each prison about $45,000 per prisoner and in return only spends $10,000 total on each per year with a strict starvation diet of about 1,100 calories a day any more than that you have to hustle or what ever but first 30 days is the hardest dealing with food imagine your plants with half light and half water
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phunnyman
With sincere respect to TruePyroman and I'm not even trying to be a smartass or anything but seriously asking, who do you think should run the state prisons that have been contracted out to private companies?
I personally think that if a private organization can with oversight to ensure the safety and rights of the prisoners, can more efficiently and effectively operate a prison, then so be it if the state government with the blessing of the citizens should. Again, very close oversight should be used to make sure that no one is being tortured or abused beyond what basic human rights should dictate.)
...
Phunnyman, I think you make a good arguement here. I believe in free market capitalism, too, and would agree with this on most things but I believe prison is a whole other kettle of fish. It has always just seemed different to me for some reason, it is a sort of trust or an agreement that we all have as Americans that no person shall ever be subject to cruel and unusual punishment, not even if they are inprisoned.
If you look at the Bill of Rights that Madison and Jefferson introduced at the First United States Congress in 1789, half of the ten amendments concern rights of Americans against unfair treatment by the criminal justice system. The eithth amendment seems to sum it all up well in just sixteen words.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Our founding fathers understood the dangers of a prison state and felt the need to write protections into the Constitution. This Constitution is still the law of the land today, despite the confusion by the pols.
Private prisons don't save money for tax payers. Any savings becomes profit for the share holders, so they cut costs by understaffing, paying guards minumum wage, cutting all medical needs and basically letting Americans die in a cage. Profits becomes bribes to judges and pols who continue to feed the market with insane laws like cannabis prohibition.
The good news is Cheney and Berto have been indicted in Texas for Prison Profiteering. Its a start, but they need to line up all those bastards. :twocents:
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Hi Boaz,
Hope all is well with you and yours and enjoying a Happy New Year. I agree with your statement and also believe that all those who were profiteering on this need to be held accountable. I'm not a huge fan of the Bush Administration, and I'll even go out on a limb here and state that there where things about them I did like, but overall I wasn't impressed. I feel the same way about the Clinton admin as well. I'm a fan of Ronald Reagan, perhaps its the old comic and actor in me but I liked him for his ability to communicate, he really made me proud to be an American. I like Kennedy too, he could have changed the entire outcome of the sixties and seventies.....
You are absolutely right I think, on the amendment and its purpose. As an advanced country, we should be leading the way in ensuring human rights abuses are not tolerated in any way shape or form. I've always thought that leading by example was the way to go, and not by dictating what others should do. That's my arguement with this congress and our current President, as well as the past eight years before. It's an elitist group, regardless of the ideology, they are not leading by example, and they are certainly not showing any sense of fiscal responsibility or accountability at all. Communism has never worked successfully in any country, and repackaging it and marketing it doesn't change what it really is. Just my opinion.
I wish you the best and hope you have a great week. Hopefully we'll meet in person one day and have a great debate over a wonderful bowl!
G
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
^ sounds good to me, i'm always ready to smoke a bowl and bs. :jointsmile: yeah, i gotta admit i kinda miss Raygun, too, just for his speaches, they were inspiring, whether you believed him or not.
best you and yours, too, my friend.
go cowboys. :smokin:
oh, yeah, that sig is cracking me up big time. :D
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
well lets see here...we pay the police to ticket,harrass, and arrest us by any means necessary, then you go to court that we pay for (they are paid quite well as a matter if fact) and their job is to fill prisons so that stocks will go up(marijuana is their bread and butter crop of prisoners) making the big wigs smile and roll around on their beds naked with all that money and when profits dwindle they push more prisoners so the politicians start pushing the police to crack down heres an extended budget to accomplish your goals plus a little spending money for you this was all preceded by a wonderful public statement by joe politician about how we are going to crack down on drugs followed by a talk with the judges to be less lenient on drug crimes now if you cant afford an attorney one will be appointed for you, now this guy doesnt make shit for income so hes just there to make it seem like your rights are actually being protected but we all know your ass is going to be in pain here pretty soon because were all just dollar signs to anyone in that arena. this my friends is why marijuana is still illegal.
in summary this is what i have concluded..CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Prisons are privately owned? WTF?
Quote:
Originally Posted by eastbaygordo
Keep the scumbag repubs who love to lock us up out of office and support peace and freedom by voting Democrat in 2010.
They're all the same. R. D. You need both wings to fly and if we can't get some kind of credible 3rd party to break through and control the head, some foreign hunter is gonna shoot the bird and eat us.
Vote your conciense, not your party. If we all did that then the constitution might still be valid. As it is now, our country is nowhere near free. Only pretends to be.
It gets worse every time we trade partys. None of us win. Just lose more freedom.
