Privatization = Government Waste

Proponents of privatizing government services (i.e. "conservatives") love to talk about supposed improvements in efficiency and delivery of services the private sector offers compared to the government.  In reality, attempts to privatize government services, including everything from military service to social security, are nothing more than government welfare for wealthy corporate donors and empowered individuals.  Politicians give contracts to companies and individuals who contribute to their campaigns and causes, not to companies who will perform the services in good faith.  The private prison industry is a shining example of this phenomenon.

Which brings me to this article.  I'll let the author speak for herself: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have continued to use troubled detention facilities despite documenting flagrant violations of their own detention standards, including poor medical care and mistreatment of detainees."

ICE's own records indicate a litany of areas in which private prison operators have failed to live up to contractual obligations and failed to operate safe, humane facilities.  Yet they continue to get contracts, due in large part to the millions of dollars the industry spends in lobbying and campaign contributions every year.

I Just Don't Understand...

I won't go into a rant on this article, at least not this early in the morning.  So I'll let the author give you some insight into the insanity that is Michigan's corrections policy:

"Gov. Rick Snyder has talked a lot about new ideas and reinventing government... But on one of Michigan's biggest quandaries - the state's bloated prison budget - the administration is embracing the failed policies of the past."

The state plans to bring in private contractors to operate some prisons and eliminate 2,000 government jobs, as well as privatize the medical and mental health care systems for prisoners. This comes even though the state acknowledges that the prison run by the GEO Group is one of its most expensive and inefficient.

Challenging Privatization in Arizona

                Arizona is one of a few states looking to further privatize its prison system despite the industry’s consistently poor performance, after intensive lobbying campaigns convinced the legislature it was a good idea to continue to throw money into this black hole.  The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the state’s plans to privatize its prison system until it completes a cost/benefit analysis to demonstrate that private prisons can save money, as is mandated by the state constitution.  All available evidence seems to point to the contrary.

                The plan is also being challenged on the grounds that the state has failed to perform bi-annual audits of private prisons to compare the efficiency of their services to the government sector.  The state says they are working on a study, to be completed around January 2012, but still plans on just awarding contracts for up to 5,000 additional private prison beds in the meantime.

                Unfortunately a judge denied the motion, because AFSC could not prove that their interests would be harmed by the privatization.  Judge Anderson has basically permitted for the DOC to respond to the lawsuit, rather than filing an injunction to prevent the privatization, which is the proper legal avenue to take.  But as Caroline Issacs of AFSC said, “Certainly, the taxpayers are harmed by wasting $650 million.”

The Mighty Political Influence of Private Prisons

I'm not going to go off on a tangent here; I just want to share with you a link to a fantastic article by Bob Ortega of the Arizona Republic.  Mr. Ortega details the tremendous amounts of influence and leverage the private prison industry has cultivated in both state and federal legislatures over the past few decades through campaign contributions, lobbying, and the revolving door between the industry and government.  The amount of money donated to politicians is staggering, and greatly helps to explain the continued success of the industry in securing contracts despite performing less efficiently than its government counterparts.

Eff Steve Owen

(Warning: My post today contains strong language. Sorry - I couldn't help myself. In fact, I think I kept it rather restrained, at least compared to what I'm thinking...)

Private companies seem to have been quite successful in their lobbying efforts last election. In addition to the hoopla in Florida, Ohio is embarking on an audacious privatization scheme which it hopes will generate millions in revenue to plug a budget shortfall and save money in the long run. They won't. But Governor Kasich, another anti-government, pro-corporate politician (ignore the hypocrisy in that, if possible), who hired a former CCA employee to be the director of the state's Department of Corrections, seems hell-bent on getting this deal done. He has undoubtedly been influenced by the more than $40,000 MTC has contributed over the past 2 years, along with the maximum-allowable contributions from both CCA and the GEO Group to his inauguration fund, to think that private prisons can somehow save money or provide more efficient services than the government.

These notions have been consistently refuted by nearly all available evidence and research not funded by the industry, but that doesn't stop CCA shill Steve Owen from lying through his goddamn teeth: "We’ve been able to deliver on the value proposition,” Owen said. “Marry that with the oversight and accountability of government, (and you get) the best of both worlds." Mr. Owen is dead wrong about private prisons being able to deliver "on the value proposition," as well as about the accountability. Private prisons are exactly that - private, as in companies that aren't bound by open government/public records laws. Oversight of the industry is notoriously weak and ineffectual, because private prison operators are not held to the same standard as government-run prisons, despite the fact that they perform an inherently governmental function. 

But he wasn't done there. Mr. Owen also conveniently either forgot his own company's history or just loves to misrepresent facts (a familiar conservative tactic), because he said “We’re not in the business of public policy. We don’t grow our business by impacting crime and sentencing laws. We grow our business by providing safe, secure facilities.” That's complete BULLSHIT. The connections between CCA and Arizona's SB1070 (The "Breathing While Brown" law), and copycat laws across the country, are well-established. What is less well-known is how CCA was also heavily involved in the American Legislative Exchange Council throughout the 90's, when it successfully passed laws like 3-strikes (you may have heard of that) and "Truth in Sentencing," both of which have directly contributed to the explosion in our prison population over the last two decades.

So Mr. Owen, I'm calling you out for being a giant fucking lying asshole. You intentionally lie and deceive politicians and the general public to push a product that benefits absolutely no one but your douchebag self and your company's stock. You are a disgusting excuse for a human being. You deceive people so that your company can turn a profit by incarcerating, humiliating, and abusing US citizens and immigrants. You literally prey on human misery and suffering, and steadfastly refuse to tell the truth because the truth would hurt your bottom line. You take taxpayer dollars to perform a governmental function, do it less efficiently than the government, with no accountability, then turn that money around into lobbying for longer and harsher sentences to lock up an ever-growing segment of our population. You and your company, and the entire industry, are the absolute lowest of the fucking low, and you make me sad about the future of our country, and indeed the entire human race.

 Thankfully, Matt Lundy and Carlton Weddington (love that name), 2 state senators from Ohio, are challenging the proposal. They have submitted a public records request to release the bids that private prison companies have put in to operate the facilities. Mr. Weddington puts it in great perspective: “I reiterate concerns today over the privatization of five state prisons. The CIIC’s (Correctional Institution Inspection Committee) recent report showing massive overcrowding coupled with the announcement of 950 jobs being lost should raise red flags for the public and the Kasich administration,” Weddingon said. “Our safety and the safety of inmates are at risk. It is simply inexcusable that Gov. Kasich continue to keep the legislature and the public in the dark while our safety and security are at risk.”

Florida's Prison Privatization Mess

Florida is embarking upon the largest prison privatization plan in history.  As part of a last-minute budget amendment, the state legislature mandated the privatization of the correctional services of 18 counties in south Florida, for a total of nearly 30 correctional facilities.  No state has ever undertaken such an ambitious expansion of their private prison system, and for good reason; private prisons consistently fail to live up to contractual obligations, don’t save money, and provide less efficient services than government-run prisons.

But that hasn’t stopped Florida from forging ahead, even despite the fact that the Senate’s Budget Chief at one point even called this initiative an experiment to see if the state could save money by privatization .  While that’s not a gamble most sane politicians would ever want to make, JD Alexander was probably swayed, as were many other politicians, by the more than ¾ of a million dollars that the GEO Group spent lobbying the state legislature in the last election cycle.

Thankfully, one of Alexander’s fellow Republicans, Mike Fasano is able to easily identify the root of the deficiencies of private prisons, and has been challenging this plan from the get-go.  "Talk about a dangerous situation for the public! Because, in my opinion, privatizing our prisons, you bring a private company in, all they care about is the bottom line. That's why they're a company. That's why they trade on the New York Stock Exchange, that's why they trade on any exchange for that matter, they have stockholders, they have board members to be answerable to; therefore, they have to make a profit and by doing that, in my opinion, you put people at risk."  (The article cited here goes into a lot more detail on the lack of oversight and transparency of the industry, which in turn results in a breakdown of accountability)

In addition to Mr. Fasano’s agitation within the legislature, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the union for COs in the state, has also come to the rescue of Florida’s prisoners by filing a lawsuit seeking to prevent the privatization push.  The lawsuit contends that the process by which the plan was passed actually violates the state constitution, part of which is designed to keep budgetary and policy decisions separate.  By utilizing the budget as the sole forum for discussing the plan, legislative leaders avoided a public debate that could have proven disastrous to the interests of privateers.   The legislature also pulled a nifty trick by tying the plan to the entire corrections budget, making it virtually veto-proof.

And as with all privatization ventures pushed by conservatives, this plan isn’t quite as rosy as it first seemed.  The state initially thought it was going to save nearly $20 million in operating expenses by converting these prisons to private operation.  But – oopsie! – both Governor Scott and JD Alexander, the budget chief, forgot to tell lawmakers about the $25 million the state would still be on the hook for in compensation for the literally thousands of state employees who will lose their jobs as a result of the privatization.  Now I know what you’re thinking – anyone could overlook a $25 million payout.  Well you’d be right, if you were talking about legislators who’ve already been purchased by the private prison companies that stand to make a killing off this deal. 

The White Knight, Mike Fasano, has now called for a hearing to review the privatization plan that had the hidden $25 million tab.  I really love this guy, because he just tells it like it is; “Unfortunately, the private-prison issue was pushed down everyone’s throats during the session and done very quietly and behind the scenes… There were never any public hearings.” ... "This is all about the almighty dollars for the GEOs of the world…It's all about political contributions that were made, and the taxpayers are going to pay the consequences." 

A Terrible Combination in Florida

Quick link here to an article by Bill Cotterell, analyzing the influence of the $1 million spent on lobbying prison issues in Florida in the past election cycle combined with the government's efforts to neuter its only effective means of oversight of private prisons. This would almost be laughable if it weren't so terrifying; it's the logical iteration of conservative ideology at its worst. Candidates take millions of dollars in campaign contributions from powerful corporations and lobbyists to turn a blind eye to both the human suffering inflicted by these companies and their consistent failure to even live up to contractual standards. They then work to dismantle regulatory agencies that could serve as the only buffer for society against the excesses of these corporations and provide a check on their inefficient wasting of taxpayer money.

This is the conservative model for America. Handing over the operation of government functions to inefficient and dangerous private companies, then preventing the government from enforcing any means of oversight or accountability. The vaunted "free market" is bullshit. Conservatives are only interested in keeping the government from stopping them from screwing us all over with our own money.

Good News from Maine

Maine's legislature has put off for at least another year a proposed bill that would permit for the privatization of Maine's prisons. Maine is one of a few states that explicitly prohibits sending its prisoners to private facilities, and the decision to not act on this piece of legislation in this session is a victory for all Mainers, prisoners and non-prisoners alike. Prisoners will undoubtedly benefit from not being thrust into private facilities that cut every possible corner to maximize profit. Free Mainers will benefit from not having a private corporation perform an inherently governmental function, less efficiently than the government, for at least the same cost.

This comes after lengthy negotiations that took place between CCA and the town of Milo, Maine, which unveiled what amounted to a quid-pro-quo deal that went bad. CCA had been courting Milo for years, while trying to get a bill passed that would allow them to build a private prison for Maine prisoners. When that bill failed to pass, CCA decided to pass on building a prison in Milo. Shocker.

WHY?

Georgia, which already has the 4th-highest incarcerated population in the country, wants to further privatize its prison system. It's typical republican jargon, mainly focused on how the private sector can provide better services (they can't) for a cheaper price (again, they can't). In fact, the new governor said, "I think we should look at a lot of privatization."

I sometimes feel like for all the progress that's ever made in society, we often take 2 steps back before taking one forward. In this case, and seemingly all concerning private prisons, it seems like republicans are looking to take us backwards.

Tulsa, OK Saves Nearly $15 Million by De-Privatizing Jail

The sheriff of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has saved his town approximately $14 million over the past 5 years since he took over operations of the jail from CCA.  His initial budget proposal was $2 million cheaper than CCA's in 2006, so the county properly decided he should take over operations.  With some clever ideas to bring in new revenue streams and by improving efficiency, he has saved the taxpayers of Tulsa millions of dollars that would have otherwise gone into the pockets of CCA executives.

As the county's fiscal officer, Jim Smith, puts it:

"If CCA would have continued operating the jail, the Criminal Justice Authority would have been millions in the red by now."

Case Study: Privatization can be more expensive and less efficient

A short piece concerning the jail in Bay County, FL. The county sheriff took over operations of the jail from CCA in 2009, and has run the jail for significantly less money, and with less complaints from inmates, than CCA had. This came out in response to the situation in Hernando County, where the sheriff has proposed taking over the operations of the local jail, claiming he can also run it cheaper than CCA. Though he hasn't made the best case for it so far, I tend to think he's right that he can run the jail better and cheaper than a profit-driven company.

A Costly, Inhumane, and Inefficient Mess

Just a quick link to a story in today's NYT by a great reporter named Nina Bernstein, who has written extensively on the failings of our immigration detention system. Enjoy

Debunking the Savings Myth

Pirvate prisons are more expensive than public facilities. Well, at least in Oklahoma they are. A recent study found that housing prisoners at a private prison, reagrdless of security level, is more expensive per day than housing them at a public facility, or very comparable. Now that this cat's out of the bag, I wonder what CCA and GEO will rely upon to claim they're still relevant and needed.