> The best theory I've seen put forth is that prison's are a booming for-profit industry in the U.S., and profits breed corruption. Corruption need not be dire

> The best theory I've seen put forth is that prison's are a booming for-profit industry in the U.S., and profits breed corruption. Corruption need not be direct, or directly for profit. The Corrections Officers' Union in California is a formidable force. They can make sure that only those "tough on crime(tm)" get elected; and until recently, they were all for prison expansion, harsher sentencing (remember "three strikes"?), etc. But, thankfully, recently they seem to have been shown to be defeatable: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/09/california-prison-guards_n_5961926.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/09/california-prison-g...