Prison
populations are constantly growing, recessions lead to overcrowded
government prisons, and the government will look to private firms to
house the excess inmate population.
Crime
always goes up in a bad economy. Where's there are good times and jobs
are plentiful, people who get out of prison can usually find work
and
don't have to go back to their old ways.
When the economy fails, so do the former inmates.
Private
prison populations have increased faster than the entire incarcerated
population. During the last decade, the total prison population grew by
16%. Simultaneously, the number of federal prisoners in private
facilities grew by 120%, while the number of state prisoners in private
facilities grew by 33%.
According to the state government of California, the
average cost to
house an individual prisoner for one year is a whopping $47,102. By
comparison, the average income for an American individual is $47,200,
according to
the CIA(GDP per capita purchasing power parity).
The prison industry could be nearing a turning point.
Millions of inmates, a very large portion of the total prison
population, are serving time for non-violent drug crimes – a group that
could decrease in size with looser drug enforcement laws, like the
recent decriminalization of marijuana use in Connecticut where Gov.
Malloy said that he would prefer to use the criminal justice resources
for more serious and
violent crime.
“…
in a time of declining crime rates and tight state budgets, smart
reforms are gaining ground, and most aim to reduce the prison
population,” writes The Economist.
Interested
in conducting your own research into the private prison industry? To
help you out, here is a list of the two largest companies in the
industry.
Where do you think these stocks are heading?
1. Corrections Corporation of America (CXW):
Property Management industry with a market cap of $2.4B. It specializes
in owning, operating, and managing prisons and other correctional
facilities and providing inmate residential and prisoner transportation
services for governmental agencies. As of December 31, 2010, it operated
66 correctional and detention facilities, including 45 facilities that
it owns, with a total design capacity of approximately 90,000 beds in 19
states and the District of Columbia.
As of December 31, 2010, it
was also constructing an additional 1,124-bed correctional facility in
Millen, Georgia. It also owns two additional correctional facilities
that it leases to third-party operators. Its facilities offer a range of
rehabilitation and educational programs, including basic education,
religious services, life skills and employment training, and substance
abuse treatment. It also provides healthcare (including medical, dental,
and psychiatric services), food services, and work and recreational
programs.
2. The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO):
Security & Protection Services industry with a market cap of
$1.45B. It is a provider of government-outsourced services specializing
in the management of correctional, detention, mental health, residential
treatment and re-entry facilities, and the provision of community-based
services and youth services in the United States, Australia, South
Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada.
It operates a range of
correctional and detention facilities, including maximum, medium and
minimum security prisons, immigration detention centers, minimum
security detention centers, mental health, residential treatment and
community-based, re-entry facilities. It offers counseling, education
and/or treatment to inmates with alcohol and drug abuse problems at most
of the domestic facilities, which it manages. It also provides secure
transportation services for offender and detainee populations as
contracted.
Don't allow human beings to become commodities like oil or pork bellies
on Wall Street!
Demand
that bailed-out banks and businesses like Wells Fargo divest in GEO and
CXW, companies that make their money off of incarcerating our families
and neighbors for longer and in more harsh conditions--for profit be shut down!
Remember-
if you have a Wells Fargo account, this is a great day to put your
money in a bank that doesn’t devastate families and communities!
Thanks for visiting "The Smoke Filled Room." Visit again soon.
Peace and Love
TLW, Editor
LifePlusUs@gmail.com
