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I know someone who stayed in a GEO prison. Based on everything I heard about it, I have to imagine that there's some mid-level accountant who knows exactly, dow

I know someone who stayed in a GEO prison. Based on everything I heard about it, I have to imagine that there's some mid-level accountant who knows exactly, down to the penny, how much money they make per inmate per day. One example: when you're given a spork with your first meal, you might think that was the spork for just that meal, and toss it out with your meal tray. Wrong move. That was your prison-issue spork. Enjoy eating with your hands for the remainder of your incarceration.

hugh4 11y ago
That gives me an idea: prison vouchers. Give each prisoner a voucher for a certain amount and let them choose where they want to serve out their sentence. Prisons will compete to offer tolerably humane conditions to inmates while still keeping under budget. (Prison escapes will be punished by huge fines so there's no incentive to cheap out on security.) Flaws with this system: do prisons have to take a given inmate? If not, there will be troublesome inmates nobody is willing to imprison. If so, there will be a lot of incentives to try to get rid of these troublesome prisoners as soon as they arrive. Also, there's potential for cosy arrangements between gangs and prison operators to direct business towards them in exchange for favourable treatment.
- risk 11y ago
  I'd like to ignore everything you ever do on this website hereinafter. Is there a feature for that?
- PebblesHD 11y ago
  And now I can't stop imagining how a free market economy for prisons would work out. Fascinating thought, especially in relation to the idea of gangs using the system in such a way! EDIT: I wonder what would happen the the idea of jurisdiction under such a system, would prisons within a certain locality get preference or would it be nation wide?
- marcoperaza 11y ago
  You're not supposed to like prison. It's a punishment for serious misdeeds. If your suggestion was implemented, the result would be despicable. Prisons would be competing to have the most plush accommodations. The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    > It's a punishment for serious misdeeds. That's one view. The other is that prisons are for correction and rehabilitation.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - pascalmemories 11y ago
    > The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel And there's a myth about prison right there. Spoken by someone who clearly has no idea how horrible prisons really are. And how dangerous and deadly they are for anyone even accused of offenses against children.
    - marcoperaza 11y ago
      I'm talking about hugh4's suggestion for "prison choice" with vouchers. I said nothing at all about the current prison system.
  - zeveb 11y ago
    > The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel. He shouldn't live, period: he should go straight from the jail where he was waiting trial, to the gallows. Prison should be for those who are bad enough to remove from society for a time, but not bad enough to execute; and since they will be returned to society, we should try to make sure that when they re-enter it they do so as productive, mentally-well members of society, rather than as beaten, brutalised future recidivists.
- nevdka 11y ago
  The ultimate goal of prisons is (or should be) to reduce crime. Why not directly incentivise prisons to reduce recidivism? Pay big bonuses if the ex-inmates aren't arrested/convicted/etc in the 3-5 years after they're released.
  - hugh4 11y ago
    Yes, that's probably a better way of aligning incentives. Plus it could be trialled on a small scale at first with just a few prisons. The main thing you'd need to watch out for is that prisons didnt just start working hard to offload their worst prisoners elsewhere.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - dalke 11y ago
    Or use the money that would go to such a system and instead direct it towards increased social services, to help reduce the number of people who commit crimes and enter the prison system in the first place.
- anonbanker 11y ago
  I laughed really hard at this post. I've long compared schools to prisons, but never with this much flair. People thought you were serious, to the point of wanting to ignore your future posts. That's some good satire right there. kudos to you, sir.
- Jordrok 11y ago
  ...I think this is satire... Right? Poe's Law is really kicking my ass here. The fact that it's so hard to tell is the scary part. In any case, I alternately applaud/decry this hilarious/appalling idea.
  - hugh4 11y ago
    C'mon man, I at least critiqued my own wild-ass idea, you can do the same instead of dismissing it.

hugh4 11y ago

That gives me an idea: prison vouchers. Give each prisoner a voucher for a certain amount and let them choose where they want to serve out their sentence. Prisons will compete to offer tolerably humane conditions to inmates while still keeping under budget. (Prison escapes will be punished by huge fines so there's no incentive to cheap out on security.) Flaws with this system: do prisons have to take a given inmate? If not, there will be troublesome inmates nobody is willing to imprison. If so, there will be a lot of incentives to try to get rid of these troublesome prisoners as soon as they arrive. Also, there's potential for cosy arrangements between gangs and prison operators to direct business towards them in exchange for favourable treatment.

risk 11y ago
I'd like to ignore everything you ever do on this website hereinafter. Is there a feature for that?
PebblesHD 11y ago
And now I can't stop imagining how a free market economy for prisons would work out. Fascinating thought, especially in relation to the idea of gangs using the system in such a way! EDIT: I wonder what would happen the the idea of jurisdiction under such a system, would prisons within a certain locality get preference or would it be nation wide?
marcoperaza 11y ago
You're not supposed to like prison. It's a punishment for serious misdeeds. If your suggestion was implemented, the result would be despicable. Prisons would be competing to have the most plush accommodations. The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  > It's a punishment for serious misdeeds. That's one view. The other is that prisons are for correction and rehabilitation.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- pascalmemories 11y ago
  > The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel And there's a myth about prison right there. Spoken by someone who clearly has no idea how horrible prisons really are. And how dangerous and deadly they are for anyone even accused of offenses against children.
  - marcoperaza 11y ago
    I'm talking about hugh4's suggestion for "prison choice" with vouchers. I said nothing at all about the current prison system.
- zeveb 11y ago
  > The guy who was raping little kids in his van shouldn't serve his time in a nice hotel. He shouldn't live, period: he should go straight from the jail where he was waiting trial, to the gallows. Prison should be for those who are bad enough to remove from society for a time, but not bad enough to execute; and since they will be returned to society, we should try to make sure that when they re-enter it they do so as productive, mentally-well members of society, rather than as beaten, brutalised future recidivists.
nevdka 11y ago
The ultimate goal of prisons is (or should be) to reduce crime. Why not directly incentivise prisons to reduce recidivism? Pay big bonuses if the ex-inmates aren't arrested/convicted/etc in the 3-5 years after they're released.
- hugh4 11y ago
  Yes, that's probably a better way of aligning incentives. Plus it could be trialled on a small scale at first with just a few prisons. The main thing you'd need to watch out for is that prisons didnt just start working hard to offload their worst prisoners elsewhere.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- dalke 11y ago
  Or use the money that would go to such a system and instead direct it towards increased social services, to help reduce the number of people who commit crimes and enter the prison system in the first place.
anonbanker 11y ago
I laughed really hard at this post. I've long compared schools to prisons, but never with this much flair. People thought you were serious, to the point of wanting to ignore your future posts. That's some good satire right there. kudos to you, sir.
Jordrok 11y ago
...I think this is satire... Right? Poe's Law is really kicking my ass here. The fact that it's so hard to tell is the scary part. In any case, I alternately applaud/decry this hilarious/appalling idea.
- hugh4 11y ago
  C'mon man, I at least critiqued my own wild-ass idea, you can do the same instead of dismissing it.