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The link you cited points out that private prisons...drive up the cost of prison. While private prisons are cheaper on a per-day basis, they hold prisoners beh

The link you cited points out that private prisons...drive up the cost of prison. While private prisons are cheaper on a per-day basis, they hold prisoners behind bars longer than public prisons (an average of 90 days) due to increased use of behavioral infraction citations, which negates most of the savings. The link also notes that other costs, like the lawsuit settlements, negate any remaining theoretical savings that exist from using private prisons. WSU researchers noted that this this increased incarceration period alone cost Washington state taxpayers an additional $10.6 million/year over what it would have cost to house those prisoners in public facilities. (https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2020/09/15/privatized-prisons-lead-inmates-longer-sentences-study-finds/ https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2020/09/15/privatized-pri...) And indeed, an audit by Georgia noted that private prisons cost at least 10% more than public prisons on a per-day basis for each prisoner incarcerated (https://apnews.com/article/af7177d9cce540ab9f2d873b99437154 https://apnews.com/article/af7177d9cce540ab9f2d873b99437154), and that a substantial portion of the behavioral infractions issued to justify extended incarceration terms were unsupported by evidence. Yes. The usual suspects. Today I learned that an engineer, the family of the UPS founder, the Ford family, and one of the pioneers of the American metallurgy industry are the "usual suspects" in destroying the economy. Leaving aside the fact that the Ford company revolutionized industrial manufacturing, introduced the concept of "fair wages," and was one of the first companies to embrace the shortened (i.e., 5-day) work week that you enjoy today. Or that Langolier pioneered the American metallurgy industry and played a vital role in its existence. Or that UPS was one of the pioneers of the telegraph and parcel delivery, and played an instrumental role in making non-local commercial sales a viable market. Or that Heising is an EECS that owns 6 patents in integrated circuits. Or that MacArthur was an insurance and real estate tycoon who built most of Palm Beach and conducted his business from one of the shops (out of hundreds) that formed in the cities he built.

hello_computer 3y ago
You wrote 2-3x. Per Wikipedia, WADOC has an annual budget of $2.2B.[0] Even if private prisons did cost Washington taxpayers another $10.6M a year, that is nowhere near 2-3x in a budget that large. Add another 10% to that, and we're still nowhere near 2-3x. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Department_of_Corrections https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Department_of... > the "usual suspects" in destroying the economy Where did I accuse anyone of "destroying the economy"? (Oh, I kinda did in my first post. And in the case of George "Open Society Foundation" Soros and Thailand, and probably some of these other hedgies, that is also the case.) But for the most part, these people have done wonders for the economy, and if by "the economy" we mean the sort of people who work at and buy into hedge funds, doubly so! Ordinary people and the environment, however, are another story.
- gamblor956 3y ago
  Private prisons cost 2-3x as much per prisoner, and the research demonstrates that. Of course they don't cost 2-3x more than an entire state prison system. Even the Southern states that love private prisons couldn't afford that.
  - hello_computer 3y ago
    Why won't you cite that research then, instead of these baby numbers--quoting a top estimated savings of under $11M over an entire state system (i.e. with budgets on the order of billions)? The one I originally cited, which was arguing against private prisons, conceded that private prisons were nominally $5,000/yr cheaper than public prisons, but taking the 90-extra-days (on average) spent at private facilities into account incurs a "value of freedom" cost, which they have estimated at $1,000 per sentence. The paper they were paraphrasing[0] from claims, "delayed release erodes half of the cost savings offered by private contracting". In other words, the other half of the cost savings are still intact. Or there's this Brookings paper[1], which is a little more in your favor: > Private prisons cost the state an average of $46.50 per prisoner per day in 2012, while the state’s comparable public facilities ranged from $35.11 to $40.47. Taking the smallest state figure, the private prison is 32% higher; the largest state figure, and the private prison is 15% higher, neither of which are 2-3x more. [0] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2523238 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2523238 [1] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_2016...

hello_computer 3y ago

You wrote 2-3x. Per Wikipedia, WADOC has an annual budget of $2.2B.[0] Even if private prisons did cost Washington taxpayers another $10.6M a year, that is nowhere near 2-3x in a budget that large. Add another 10% to that, and we're still nowhere near 2-3x. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Department_of_Corrections https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_Department_of... > the "usual suspects" in destroying the economy Where did I accuse anyone of "destroying the economy"? (Oh, I kinda did in my first post. And in the case of George "Open Society Foundation" Soros and Thailand, and probably some of these other hedgies, that is also the case.) But for the most part, these people have done wonders for the economy, and if by "the economy" we mean the sort of people who work at and buy into hedge funds, doubly so! Ordinary people and the environment, however, are another story.

gamblor956 3y ago
Private prisons cost 2-3x as much per prisoner, and the research demonstrates that. Of course they don't cost 2-3x more than an entire state prison system. Even the Southern states that love private prisons couldn't afford that.
- hello_computer 3y ago
  Why won't you cite that research then, instead of these baby numbers--quoting a top estimated savings of under $11M over an entire state system (i.e. with budgets on the order of billions)? The one I originally cited, which was arguing against private prisons, conceded that private prisons were nominally $5,000/yr cheaper than public prisons, but taking the 90-extra-days (on average) spent at private facilities into account incurs a "value of freedom" cost, which they have estimated at $1,000 per sentence. The paper they were paraphrasing[0] from claims, "delayed release erodes half of the cost savings offered by private contracting". In other words, the other half of the cost savings are still intact. Or there's this Brookings paper[1], which is a little more in your favor: > Private prisons cost the state an average of $46.50 per prisoner per day in 2012, while the state’s comparable public facilities ranged from $35.11 to $40.47. Taking the smallest state figure, the private prison is 32% higher; the largest state figure, and the private prison is 15% higher, neither of which are 2-3x more. [0] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2523238 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2523238 [1] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_2016...