Human rights at home?

[Joanne98]

Published Jul 13, 2008 9:55 PM
Have the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prison scandals slowed down U.S. politicians’ jibes and attacks about “human rights” against governments that don’t bow to Washington? Not a bit. Imperialism’s spokespeople treat these concentration camps as if they are exceptions or as if they don’t exist at all. In truth, these two world-class crimes are only an extension of U.S. imperialism’s home-grown police state.

Let’s look at the numbers:

The United States is number one. Not in Olympic medals, but in number of prisoners. With 2.3 million total prisoners, that’s far ahead of China’s 1.6 million, even though China’s population is four times larger. And the U.S. is number one in prisoners per 100,000 residents. The figure is 690, compared to France’s 80, Italy’s 40 and nearby Canada’s 120.

http://www.workers.org/2008/editorials/human_rights_0717/

[flashl]

1. Prisons are US #1 growth industries, employer, creates bubble economies in rural America,

redistributes voter representation and federal dollars.

What other win-win scenario where an industry has so little overhead?

Reports have shown:

prisons compete with local businesses

taxpayers pay for bonds to build private prisons

taxpayers pay per bed charges

prisoners are advertised as a 24/7 workforce to U.S. corps

prison stocks rises on increased census data

prisoners are charged for their 'maintenance' while in prison

prisoners are paid a little as 17 cents an hour

prisoners and their families are goughed by prison telephone and canteen companies

prison labor (slavery) and its subsidiary capitalist systems are doing just fine on the stock market

school budgets are cut in deference to correction costs