I have had several family members go to jail/prison. It's unfortunate the money they make off of humans caught in the prison/jail system. Modern day slavery is alive and well. To speak to someone over the phone in prison or in jail, in 2015 for 300 minutes it cost about $70.00 plus tax. Why? I don't pay that much on my cell phone bill each month. Then once the inmate is released, the funds put on the call time you're able to get back but the company that provides the prison phone service taxes the hell out of it and often it's just pennies left. If you don't claim your pennies, they take them too...
A family that has lost a member to the system is often left to care for the family alone thus; falling into a deeper state of poverty, making more crime, unfortunately. I knew some kids that came into a store I was working in, and they stole some food. The store's loss prevention shared that their dad had just gone to prison and their mother was out looking for a job. They simply had no food, and they were hungry. The store prosecuted the boys, and they were thrown in juvenile detention. The private prisons know this well thought out money making scheme will make more prisoners. "Kick a dog while it's down and make money off of its shit." (R.M.Woods)
But what I am starting to notice in my community of Malonated people, is that there is a wave of awareness and awakening that has hit in a big way. We are becoming more aware of what our rights are and not falling into the cunning traps that are set to keep us in our so called place. I see kids here in downtown Atlanta selling water on the side of the road. I see people selling handmade crafts on the porches of residents, and when I stop to buy a hand crafted piece of jewelry, I speak. What I have found is that we are not following these church or political leaders that have worked towards and benefited from the enslavement of the poor communities anymore. That we finally caught on to the concept of owning our own and not working for someone. We started turning off our television, picking up books and using our words effectively with people of all cultures.
This was the complete opposite of what the media systems wanted. See, the plan of making each so called black community "pop off" when they show one of our people being killed by police in the streets on television didn't work they tried to get us to riot. I went to the meetings, unknowingly to them I was in film and media, it was strange to see this "new face" in my community urging us to "riot and protest." Then when I arrive with my camera along with the rest of ATLANTAS film and news crew, I barely saw any so called "BLACK PEOPLE" protesting. I say that to say this, and I apologize for the long response, but "all communities outside of the elites" are waking up and we are using our words to reclaim our freedom. Felons can't vote, but they have a voice stronger than they think. We had begun using our words when we knew our rights were being violated at that traffic stop. Then it is lights, camera, action because of our friend or whoever decides to live stream the authorities, it begins to change the mathematics of the prison count.
The Chip
So yes prisons can demand more prisoners all they want, but I bet this "cry out" for more prisoners has something to do with the fact there is an overall decline in how many people are going to prison. I personally don't feel that half the people in our prison system really did anything to deserve to be there. Murderers, thieves, child and people abusers, and rapists yes... but not because you had some weed in your pocket or couldn't afford to pay parking or traffic fines. This old system is dying and trust me they are going to find a way to fill them. I have a feeling that this chip that they are implanting into people in Milwaukee is going to be somehow linked to how they fill their "Hell Cells" again.
source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-shammas/end-the-prison-industrial-complex_b_4561459.html
No offense but I have to take exception by several of the ideas you are advancing. First of all, the people paying for other people's stay in prison are working tax payers, which is most cases is not the person serving time or their families.
Secondly, very rarely does someone do any significant amount of prison time for stealing food - unless they are a repeat offender - or there was some other element like drugs or weapons also uncovered, or use of violence during the crime.
Thirdly, no one is forcing someone to commit a crime. I resent people that try to make everything that happens to them in life about race when it is really about behavior.
Also, there is no good reason for anyone to steal food. Us working stiffs are robbed blind to support so many social entitlement programs for subsidized housing, food stamps, SNAP, EBT cards, medicaid ("free health care for non-workers), and on and on.
Instead of people railing about being "poor" and "forced" into committing crimes, maybe they should honestly take the time to look in the mirror and re-evaluate their own lives and how their own choices and behavior have contributed to their situation. With freedom comes responsibility. Work hard, be responsible and make wise choices and good things will come your way. Yes, life knocks us all on our asses at time regardless, but patience and persistence in hard work and good choices does eventually pay off.
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The kid's dad went to prison. The mother went to find work, and the kids went to steal food and were sent to do time in juvie.
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I understand that; however, it was the mother's bad decision to get knocked up by someone that didn't have a sense of morals or see fit to obey the law. There is an old saying: "Be careful what type of person you hitch your wagon to" and it applies with the person you marry or have kids with especially.
The mother also made the mistake of not teaching her children that it is wrong to steal, and compounded that mistake by leaving her kids unsupervised which allowed them to get into such a situation. I definitely applaud someone trying to find work, but leaving your kids to run free and get into trouble while doing so is a bad choice and shows poor judgement.
While I can empathize with people who find themselves in bad situations, I often find that their misfortune can be directly traced to a series of their own bad choices and irresponsible behavior.
As I mentioned, there are many programs to help people in need with everything from housing to food to even child care. There is really no good reason why someone needs to steal food. As I alos mentioned, unless the kids have a prior history of this type of behavior, they are not doing any significant time for an isolated incident. If anything, they could have said they needed the food because they were hungry and child protective services would have stepped in and take action. It sounds more like these kids were teenagers who definitely knew better and could even have gotten jobs and earned money to buy their own food. Sorry, tired of the excuses.
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