(Revised 9/16/2010 PM)
The current proposal for a Globe private prison appears to be dead (for now) but I'm disappointed that local politicians still haven't rejected the idea itself. Even if it could be arranged so that Globe and its taxpayers could be protected from any financial loss, this is still a moral and ethical issue.
To say that ethical arguments should not be part of the discussion is a sign of remarkably shallow and unenlightened leadership. This is not the first time that money and the vague promise of future jobs have been enough to make anything else acceptable.
There's a multitude of information about shady dealings by the private prison industry. (If you yourself haven't done anything wrong, you are not blameless if you know your partner is a crook.) Plus the fact that the more prisoners there are, the more money the prisons make. This leads to the very real possibility that some people may be put in jail who don't really deserve to be there.
It's no coincidence that some strong anti-immigrant politicians have ties to the private prison industry.
If incarcerating human beings for profit is the best idea that our community leaders(?) can come up with, we're in big trouble.
Here's another view from Globe-Miami Times News n Views:
The Emerald City: A Risky Partnership
September 15, 2010
By Linda Gross
Several months ago, the Globe City Council in a 4-2 vote gave the green light to Private Prison developers; the Emerald Companies and James Parkey, to bring a private prison to Globe as part of a DOC plan to build 5000 more beds in the State.
Since then, some who voted for the “green light” have admitted that they have reservations including:
1: They don’t believe the numbers which Parkey and Emerald are presenting in their package. IE: The number of jobs, the amount of revenue, or the ease at which “beds will be filled.”
2: Therefore they concede it is a “risky” venture to those who choose to invest in this project – but they make the distinction between the investors and the “rest of us” who will get all the benefits and none of the risk.
3. Yet, they admit they don’t trust Emerald Companies and James Parkey.
And still, the City Council wants to move forward with bedding down with the very same Emerald Companies & James Parkey.
This determination to build a private prison on our back doorstep with these people appears to confirm a lack of good old fashioned business sense.
Anyone in business who has ever considered bringing on a partner knows how difficult this can be. Most partnerships are formed to fill a need in the business; talent, financial or otherwise. And many a business has made the mistake of taking on a partner because it seemed to be expedient at the time, only to find their problems compound.
While some partnerships do result in a win-win for both parties, others result in ugly ‘divorces’ as business owners discover their new found partner more concerned with what they are getting OUT of the business than what they can put INTO the business.
Historically, this appears to be the blueprint for those selling their services to develop and manage for-profit prisons. It would seem then that all signs point to saying NO to this proposed partnership. It is simply bad business to enter into a business partnership with people you don’t trust from the beginning.
Also read: Globe Citizens Opposed to a Prison Town Pack the House
More on the Web:
Brewer Linked To Private Prisons Housing Illegal Immigrants
The Truth About Private Prisons
America's Private Gulag
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