A call for sanity in U.S. incarceration rates

[LuckyTheDog]

Mass incarceration in the United States has gotten so out of hand that the costs now outweigh the benefits, according to a new report from a committee of the National Research Council (NRC).

It is time, the committee concludes, to reevaluate the laws that determine who goes to prison in the U.S., and for how long.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/call-sanity-u-s-incarceration-rates/

[oneofthe99]

1. Decriminalize possession of drugs

[get the red out]

3. Definitely

It is rediculous how people who use drugs are looked at as such criminals instead of people who might need help.

[LuckyTheDog]

4. Agreed.

Drug use is a public health issue.

[ladjf]

2. The prison problem is just part of the overall insanity of how this

Country is now operating.

[Shandris]

5. It is, but the ones already there are hard to let out...

...until we solve the jobs problem. Nominally, that hiring former criminals is something few people do, they have fewer rights recognized by employers, tend to work more under the table, and so will make less money...which is an incentive back into crime, even if they have turned their lives around.

To my eyes, we cannot even begin to fix the problem until we have the Basic Income in place (or something similar). Everything else seems to inform off of it.

[BlindTiresias]

6. Basic income

An excellent idea that would experience total and complete bi-partisan opposition despite having support from both ideological sides in the literature. Unfortunately we would also likely have to re-instate extensive wealth taxes to fund it, which currently has no serious support from the Republicans and the leadership of the Democrats.

[Shandris]

8. Very sadly true.

But the time is approaching rapidly when there won't be any question about it, and they'll be forced to accept the necessity of it by reality itself. Not rapidly enough for my tastes to be certain...but rapidly.

[BlindTiresias]

12. Doubtful

The elite would rather see the country destroyed than turn over that level of freedom and power to the population.

[Shandris]

13. I agree that they'd be inclined to; I just don't think it will be possible.

I think the level and speed of...(side note: roboticization? Is that a word?)...the replacement of people's jobs by robots will cause enough unrest, fast enough, that there won't be another option. Many of them may well flee the country, but...I'm not so sure that's a bad thing, because the technological pogrom is worldwide and eventually they -will- run out of places to hide...at which point they'll have to face the reality.

[BlindTiresias]

14. Read Days of Destruction Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges

Automation will render most humans useless in terms of capital production. In the United States we already have a violent and eliminationist streak as evidence by our eradication of the "useless" natives. If mass automation really brought things to that level you would quickly see a purge a worst and mass ghettoization at best of the population in a manner similar to the natives. We already have large areas of the country and their populace being sacrificed along similar lines.

[Shandris]

15. Thank you for the reading title! I've added it to my order list...

...of good recommended reads.

I'm hopeful it doesn't come to that. And I think that if enough people were forced into such circumstances, they might be able to fight back against it instead of being purged. Hope is a powerful thing sometimes, ya know? Still, one simply can't rely on hope alone and because of that I'll have to consider this author's point of view. No one is perfect, but I do try to gather ideas from a lot of different sources and see how they best fit together with what I see, and what I believe. I think it's the best we can do sometimes.

As a curiosity note, which parts of the country do you see as being like this at present? I have my guesses, but I'd prefer to hear directly.

[BlindTiresias]

16. He specifically says

Detroit, Michigan and Camden, New Jersey are the test beds for what he calls "sacrifice zones", as well as the whole of the indigenous reservation system.

[Shandris]

17. I got one of them. Detroit seems like an obvious one.

I didn't know of anywhere else being even remotely like Detroit, so I think I'll do some looking into Camden while waiting to be able to purchase the book. Thank you.

[ladjf]

7. Your ideas about the problem sound right to me.

Another thing: I don't think former prisoners should be required to reveal their prison record. They've served their time and should be allowed to move forward without the stigma.

[Shandris]

11. Once they're free and completely served...

...I completely agree. I do think the sentences could be reduced with an attached adjustment in parole such that most of a sentence was served, and any 'good time' earned would knock off a commensurate amount of parole time. The point of this being to make it sooner from the time of leaving prison to complete removal of all criminal justice system attachment (to accomplish what you wrote -- no stigma). As it currently is, with sentences being far shorter than parole time quite often, such a thing couldn't safely happen in a lot of instances (particularly instances involving things like sexual harassment, rape, battery, and the like). So by shortening the length of actual judged sentences in most cases, but countering by extending required time served until parole hearings, you can keep the length of most sentences relatively stable or shorter (in cases where they should be shortened, like drug sentencing/rehabilitiations).

...I hope that made sense, it seems awfully wordy but I don't seem to be firing on all cylinders today lol

[ladjf]

18. You apparently have been giving this problem a lot of thought.

Stay after it. Do what you can to get some good legislation done.

[davidn3600]

9. Part of the issue is the privatization

A lot of the private prisons have made contracts with the states that demand a certain occupancy always be met. So there is always pressure to put people in prison, even for minor offenses, and for longer periods of time.

[spanone]

10. stop the privatization of prisons...now.

we pay for empty cells because that's how we contracted with the private owners.

we guaranteed a percentage of occupancy....

bad business.

[ladjf]

19. Good post! nt