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[Lobbyists] NPR: Prison Lobby Created Arizona Immigration Law
Melkster
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Registered User regular
When I was a kid, I remember learning how our political system works -- both in the national level and in the state of Texas. We watched school house rock videos on what it meant to create a bill and pass it in congress, and what it meant to elect our officials. And I distinctly remember believing that our elected leaders are supposed to have the best interest of the community in mind, and that's how they made decisions.
But part of growing up means you discover that some things you were taught as a child aren't quite true. Santa isn't real. Your parents don't know everything. And politicians aren't necessarily forming their legislative agendas with the best intentions of the community at heart.
Part of that is understandable. Not all politicians are experts on health insurance, economics, the military, or whatever issue might be at stake on a particular day. And not all of them are even experts on law. So, how do they make their decisions? How do they know what's important and what's not? What legislation to pursue, and what to let die?
Well, someone tells them.
These guys.
Well, maybe it's not as unequivocal as that. But it certainly seems like it's these guys who are really making decisions in state legislatures around the country. They give money to legislators on behalf of the organizations they work for, they make connections, they make their case, and if they happen to be the most influential voices, they get what they want. Oh, and they often even draft the bills, word for word, that they want passed.
You could say that they are the ones making legislation, and the actual legislators themselves are merely rubber stamps.
Like take this case. Remember the Arizona immigration law that's currently being challenged as unconstitutional by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a number of other private groups? You know, the one that's currently blocked from implementation pending a review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals? The one that Barack Obama said, "undermines basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe."
Turns out it was totally created by these guys:
Yep. From an idea in a CCA corporate board meeting to legislation signed by the governor, it was all the direct result of the Prison Lobby.
I'll let NPR tell you more:
Read the whole thing here.
But part of growing up means you discover that some things you were taught as a child aren't quite true. Santa isn't real. Your parents don't know everything. And politicians aren't necessarily forming their legislative agendas with the best intentions of the community at heart.
Part of that is understandable. Not all politicians are experts on health insurance, economics, the military, or whatever issue might be at stake on a particular day. And not all of them are even experts on law. So, how do they make their decisions? How do they know what's important and what's not? What legislation to pursue, and what to let die?
Well, someone tells them.
These guys.
Well, maybe it's not as unequivocal as that. But it certainly seems like it's these guys who are really making decisions in state legislatures around the country. They give money to legislators on behalf of the organizations they work for, they make connections, they make their case, and if they happen to be the most influential voices, they get what they want. Oh, and they often even draft the bills, word for word, that they want passed.
You could say that they are the ones making legislation, and the actual legislators themselves are merely rubber stamps.
Like take this case. Remember the Arizona immigration law that's currently being challenged as unconstitutional by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a number of other private groups? You know, the one that's currently blocked from implementation pending a review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals? The one that Barack Obama said, "undermines basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe."
Turns out it was totally created by these guys:
Yep. From an idea in a CCA corporate board meeting to legislation signed by the governor, it was all the direct result of the Prison Lobby.
I'll let NPR tell you more:
NPR wrote:NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.
The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.
Read the whole thing here.
Melkster on
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Although I do know for a fact parliaments have often relied upon external legislation drafting - where a person or group has pretty much turned up with a pre drafted work and it is largely adopted as submitted. It isn't a new thing - although perhaps scale may differ
True, though it seems worse when the bill they're coming in with aims to throw more people in prison so they can make money off of them.
Yup, it does seem pretty mad. It is morally equivalent with theft really - but with the sanction of parliament.
If it is any consolation, today in NZ's parliament the government introduced a bill (Employment Relations (Film Production Work) Amendment Bill) and passed it under urgency that made it possible to easily waive employment rights for those in the film or game industries, in order to please Warner Brothers and keep the filming of the Hobbit films in NZ. So, yeah, governments/parliaments do silly things
What the fuck.
Arizona privatized the state capitol if I remember right. Like, they sold the actual building and are now leasing it. It's a bizarre place.
Coincidentally, a lot of people happen to escape from the private prisons, as actual security at the prison is expensive.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
It became a huge thing in the '80s when states were trimming their budgets. The ~*~War On Drugs~*~ also vastly increased the number of inmates. The CCA is the biggest private prison corporation but there are several others.
Personally I find the whole "for profit prisons are terrible" subject more interesting than the lobbyist angle being discussed here. If you're ever looking for an excellent example why, here ya go.
I don't want to delve too deep into the topic here, since it's clearly tangential, but felt it worth mention.
EDIT: The headline of that linked story, if you're on the fence about clicking it, is "Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit." Yes, really.
The UK has 12 private prisons though they don't seem to be as common as in the USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrections_Corporation_of_America I hate this world.
Stop jailing people for non-violent drug offenses.
It's like magic!
Now you just need a lobbying organization. Good luck with that.
Someone isn't thinking of the children!
Oh hey my wife won't let me allow them in the actual house so I'm going to have to tie them to the railing on my front porch.
State Governments: please contact me for details via PM. Special preference given to non-documented immigrants awaiting deportation because I loves me some enchiladas but who has the time to cook them?
The fact that we elect most judges (aside from Federal, obviously) is another horrible, horrible thing. Our whole criminal justice system is pretty screwed up. No small part of that problem is the structural issues of State and Local government to varying degrees. It's kind of maddening really, until you realize that things somehow used to be even worse.
we've had prison corporations for decades now. Wackenhut is a big one in California and elsewhere, i believe. There is a bizarre/terrible/funny saga of a 6,000 bed private prison going unused near San Diego that the private prison company is just trying to get filled with somebody, anybody. Illegals are the new craze, they used to be sent directly back to Mexico (almost regardless of where they were actually from) but now they sit around in prison for a while.
Springfield Elementary school turned to this solution to meet their budget woes.
Why hasn't anyone mentioned this before now, though?
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
In South Georgia, officials fucked people over for years before being called out on it.
http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/05/doing-time-on-their-own-dime-more-states-charging-inmates-for-stays-in-jail-prison.html The convicted continue to be fucked over throughout Georgia. Fucking assholes.
No way in fuck should we be giving people economic incentives to oppress others.
This is fucked.
Just another fine example of it to be set up with the others in a nice line like ducks in a row. Ugh.
Derp derp, tough on crime, derp derp, prisons are too nice, derp derp.
Step 1: Find some middle-class people.
Step 2: Tell them that if they work hard, they can get rich.
Step 3: Wait until they don't get rich. Tell them that the reason they're not getting rich is because taxes are too high.
Step 4: When they ask where taxes are going, show them pictures of people on welfare and inmates with televisions.
Step 5: Profit!
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Prison is where bad people go and Good Folk(tm) don't need to worry about it. Ever. So, just forget it it exists and let the State figure it out.
Some people still have the idea that making prison more uncomfortable increases its power as a deterrent.
The effect of punishment severity on deterrence is weak at best.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
face palming so hard right now.
This could financially destroy someone for the rest of their life if they were in long enough
That almost sounds like a workable plan there!
Just look how much crime there is in Norway compared to the USA with their whole 75 out of 100,000 in prison compared to our glorious 750 out of 100,000 in prison.
Too cold to do crime.
Doesn't this give you a sense of being, like, fundamentally wrong and counter to the very idea of prison rehabilitation?