Im writing this blog from the prospective of an ex felon who has experienced the ramifications of bad choices coupled with a overly aggressive judicial system. With that being said more than a decade has passed after my prior trangression ,and the institution of the Prison Industrial Complex has continued to explode.
In 1970 Richard Nixon implemented the official " War on Drugs "
Future presidents Reagan ,and Clinton all piled on "Get Tough on Crime' bills that ushered in harsh sentencing guidelines for repeat ,and first time offenders.
Soon opportunism takes over, and the "Drug War is seen as a cash cow for all involved.
As evidenced here the strategy in the 80's ran a dual fold agenda. While mounting a vigorous campaign against "Crack Cocaine" Reagan was making sure Sandanistas were being funded from sales of the drug in inner cities.
Which brings us where we are today. We have quadruped our prison population , and have earned the dubious title of the Worlds most Incarcerated .
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx
Prison is big business now ......
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dividendchannel/2012/10/08/corrections-corporation-of-america-larger-than-sp-500-component-owens-illinois/
Recently the CCA offered 48 cash strapped states the opportunity to privatize their prison systems with the agreement that the jails be kept at a 90% capacity rate over 20 years. There's only one way to accomplish that seemingly insurmountable feat. States would most likely have to enact stiffer penalties for existing laws and enact new legislation with increased penalties for different crimes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/private-prisons-buying-state-prisons_n_1272143.html
The need for profit drives this industry just like any other, however the commodity that the Prison Industrial Complex trades in is human bodies . Prison labor is also big business, as prisoners are forced to labor for mere pennies.
The need for a constant flow of prisoners is fueled , and fed by the 40year old "War on Drugs" which is essentially a war on American Citizens with no reasonable end in sight.
The impact this profiteering trend has had on the black community is devastating. From 1970 on you can see the decline of black fathers in the household , and growing numbers of single parent households with a generational recycling of the same problems. The targeting of the black community is blatantly obvious.
Even though its well known that whites ,and blacks use , and sell drugs at the same rate, but some how blacks make up more than half of the entire prison population . Something is wrong , and has been wrong for a very long time.
My summation is this. If we do not tackle the "Drug War " the problems within the black community that are cyclical in nature will continue to repeat itself.
The feel good integrity, and family value speeches will not rectify the damage perpetuated by years , and years of deliberate racist policies to profit, and subjugate young black males to the whims of private prison profiteers.
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