How Corporations and Politicians Get Rich Off of Prisoners

This is why Governor Rick Scott and other politicians don’t want cannabis legal in their states.

If there were less cannabis users caught and imprisoned, that would mean less money for the for-profits prisons that contribute (bribe) millions of dollars to their campaign.

Rick Scott, among others, are in bed with the for-profit prison industry and they give them big favors, like making sure there is more of a chance that people get arrested for possession or use of cannabis. Cannabis has the largest number of arrests and prisoners nationally.

Here’s the real catch.

States contract with a company to run the prisons with a clause of a certain occupancy rate, usually 90-100%. Yes, even 100% or more. If crime happens to drop and they fall short of their occupancy quota, the state (aka taxpayers) has to pay a fine of millions of dollars to the company. That in itself completely negates the money-saving investment side of this that legislators insist is the reason for using for-profit prisons.

In addition, many contracts are for 20+ years. The occupancy clause is the biggest failure of prison privatization. Even hotels set standards of occupancy which ebb and flow.

But if crime drops, most people would look at that as a good thing, but with this system, it’s “bad for business” and we the taxpayers are the ones who are forced to pay and insure their profits.