You know how there are those things that people say so often it seems like it must be true? Well, one of those things is that “private prisons are the problem,” with regard to incarceration in this country. Now, don’t get me wrong! They’re terrible and it is absolutely grotesque and bizarre to turn a profit off of imprisoning people, but private prisons actually only make up about eight percent of all prisons, so … clearly we got some other problems, you know?
One of those problems is price gouging — which occurs in just about any place incarcerated people or their families have to spend any money at all, from phone calls to the commissary. These things are often privatized, even in state-run prisons that are not.
This week, The Appeal released the first-ever database of prices for goods at prison commissaries in every state in the union — which, unsurprisingly, produced some rather galling results.
While not everything was marked up 6000 percent, the price structures for certain items in some states, coupled with prison conditions, make it seem like they might be running something of a racket, especially when you consider that incarcerated people are likely making around 30 cents an hour.
Many prisons, including those in the southern United States, do not have air conditioning, which means that they can get dangerously hot for prisoners in the summer. Guess what one of the things that gets a high markup is? Fans. And water.
Via The Appeal:
In Delaware, an 8-inch fan at Sussex Correctional Institution cost almost $40. In Georgia, where most prison labor is unpaid, a 10-inch electric fan was marked up more than 25 percent and cost about $32. In Mississippi, an 8-inch fan was sold for $29.95. Despite the brutal summer heat, most of the state’s prisons lack air conditioning in their housing units. Fan prices are just one of many high costs incarcerated people face in hot prisons. Last June, in Texas, the state and commissary vendor raised the price of water by 50 percent.
Not too long ago, a study out of Brown University determined that 13 percent of deaths in Texas prisons, 70 percent of which have no cooling systems, could be attributed to extreme heat.
So basically, they are keeping people in extreme heat and then charging them up the wazoo for fans and water.
Another known issue in prisons is that while inmates get three meals a day, the food is, actually, “terrible, and in such small portions.” And, every so often, someone finds a roach.
So, naturally, why not mark the food up?
One package of ramen goes for about 35 cents at Target, but many commissaries charged over 40 cents per package, according to documents obtained by The Appeal. Prices for identical products also differed greatly from state to state. Maruchan-brand ramen noodles cost 57 cents in Missouri prisons, for instance, but $1.06 in Florida prisons—about three times more expensive than at Target.
Prices can differ within states, too. In Arkansas, a package of chicken-flavored ramen sold for different prices at almost every prison canteen in the state. At one prison, the item cost 29 cents and at another 49 cents.
The Appeal also found that markups varied across the country, with some being particularly exorbitant:
In Georgia prisons, a denture cup was marked up over 600 percent. Peanut butter had a markup of more than 70 percent.
In Missouri, ramen noodles and Tums antacids were marked up more than 65 percent.
In Arkansas, all food items “deemed healthy” and over-the-counter “health aids”—including reading glasses and denture adhesive—were marked up 40 percent, and all remaining items were marked up 50 percent.
In Wyoming, departmental policy set a 20 percent markup on “luxury goods,” including reading glasses and shower shoes, and a 30 percent markup on so-called “premium goods,” including ramen and Velveeta macaroni and cheese. There is no markup on “basic hygiene items” or religious items.
Things are bad enough in prisons without inmates or their families getting charged exorbitant prices for necessary items, particularly those that the prisons create the need for to begin with.
No one needs to be turning a profit on incarcerating people, and this includes the state.
PREVIOUSLY:
When you look at small towns across America, you see a pattern in what kinds of businesses are the largest employers.
I would say the Big 3 are:
- Food processing plants
- Hospitals
- Prisons
So if you take away the profit from prison operations, you're just hurting Real Americans in Real America whose livelihood depends on incarcerating and exploiting "urban" thugs.
Why do you hate America?
OT: MSNBC treating the loss of two jurors as if it is the end of the world and A SIGN that trump can't get a fair trial. Also, too, doing Cletus Safari in New York asking people their opinion of serving on a trump jury because that's super helpful. Everybody wants to hear what dumbfucks think. They're pretty sure that a full jury can't be accomplished because reasons. JFC. Just report that two jurors left and move on you fucking numptys.