Contributions Paid Off

The Republican governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, recently released his budget which includes severe cuts to higher education and a state healthcare system. However, his budget found room to continue to pay $30 million per year to CCA to operate one prison.

But this should come as no surprise. Damon Hininger remarked during a conference call with investors last year that CCA's future operation of the prison was far from certain. So CCA got their checkbooks out. They donated $2,000 to Haslam's campaign directly (in addition to the oodles they gave the Republican Governor's association, which he undoubtedly got a cut from). CCA then upped the ante by donating another $7,500 to inauguration day fesitivities for Haslam.

Then the governor decided not to cut their budget at all, while sacrificing higher education and healthcare. He also is going to release thousands of prisoners early, which means the corrections budget clearly was in need of a cut. What a huge surprise!

I think it's pretty clear at this point that Republicans care only for corporations, and couldn't give a hoot about American citizens. This is just yet another example of corporate interests and profitability taking precedent over important social welfare programs. Republicans literally want to destroy the middle class as we know it and return the workers of this country to indentured servitude. They defund and dismantle democratic party contributors (unions), they take money from education and social welfare programs, making people sicker and dumber (thereby less likely and able to revolt), and they continue to peddle out taxpayer dollars to corporations with little accountability. Republicans are absolutely nothing but a party designed to promote and legalize corporate interests.

This massive push in public discourse for more privatization and less government is nothing less than an assault on the very values that made this country great, perpetrated by corporations who stand to profit from such a perception.