WTF happened??

[Are_grits_groceries]

http://www.reddit.com/

Drug laws?? Prisons for profit??

[sazemisery]

1. Both. n/t

[FourScore]

2. WOW. K&R. n/t

[radfringe]

3. 1980 - reagan

1988 - poppy bush

1992 - clinton

2000 - dubya

[tekisui]

4. The Profit first capitalistic model overtaking the prison system.

The for profit prisons, supply side economics. They build more and more prison complexes, and they have to be filled with people. That is were racist and over-reaching drug penalties are employed.

Truly disgusting.

[Rockholm]

27. Wasn't there a report on "60 Minutes" about this?

Why this isn't an outrage, I am not sure.
Yes, there are some really bad people that need to be put away, but prisons are an "industry."

[tom_paine]

5. Rushpublican Voter Suppression and "fascistization" program

The most wildly successful since Hitler.

[marketcrazy1]

7. the "drug war" and for profit prisons

I am embarrassed for my country......................

[dmr]

35. And don't forget bigotry

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=432696#432770

Sheriff Joe Arpaio & his deputies are an abusive example of bigotry disguised as immigration work.

- snip -
In January of this year, Valenzeula paid the $135 fine that resulted from the arrest by the Sheriff's Office last April.

One month later, on February 4, as he walked out of Soto's Store in Guadalupe, he was handcuffed and arrested on an outstanding warrant.

Manuel Valenzuela still owed 40 cents on the $135 ticket he paid off.
- snip -

What lawman would intensely and intently go after 40 cents except an abusive, out of control bigot?

[KansDem]

6. The fact that this all began in 1980 is highly significant...

Reagan's "War on America"

[Minimus]

8. I would say both of your guesses have much to do with it.

Idiotic drug laws, three strikes laws, and corporations owning prisons for profit.

As a Quaker I will add - lack of actual reform and educational programs that lead to recidivism.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. drug war and mandatory sentencing

bullshit laws

[sinkingfeeling]

10. St. Ronnie and the 'war on drugs'.

[slackmaster]

20. The term was first used by Richard Milhouse Nixon in 1969

Quick and dirty - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Drugs

[elizfeelinggreat]

11. Yikes

I agree with all of the above. Reagan started it and ignorance perpetuates it.

We must stop this, it's horrifying to me that someone who uses a recreational drug can be thrown in prison so easily and forgotten.

Prison for profit was a horrible idea.

[CrispyQ]

12. K&R for a truly mind boggling graphic. --nt

[aikoaiko]

13. Incarceration rate is the same for Reagan, Bush1,&Clinton, but decelerated under Bush2

What's up with that?

[formercia]

15. They ran out of people. n/t

[baldguy]

16. They ran out of room.

Suburban white folks are all for putting as many coloreds as possible behind bars, but don't want the prisons anywhere near them.

[nichomachus]

32. Exactly -- most states can't take any more prisoners

In CA, they currently have to let someone out if they put someone in -- they're at their limit.

[olegramps]

65. Thanks, that is funny.

[file83]

60. The Army lowered it's standards.

:hide:

[formercia]

66. Now the gangbangers are trained killers.

No telling how much ordnance has been stolen and stashed away for a rainy day.

[madrchsod]

14. the de-industrialization of the big cities ...

[reggie the dog]

37. that is part of it for sure

[slackmaster]

17. The War On (some) Drugs

Started during the Nixon administration, and escalated in the Reagan/Bush I era.

[leftchick]

18. cheney the dick has a stake in for profit prisons

Cheney charged over jail 'abuses'

A Texas grand jury has charged US Vice-President Dick Cheney for "organised criminal activity" related to alleged abuse of private prison inmates.

The indictment says Mr Cheney - who has invested $85m (£56m) in a company that holds shares in for-profit prisons - conspired to block an investigation.

The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.

Mr Cheney's spokeswoman declined to comment, saying his office had not yet received a copy of the charges.

One Texas lawyer said the charges were politically motivated.

'Conflict of interest'

The indictment was overseen by county District Attorney Juan Guerra, an outgoing prosecutor at the end of his term of office.

He cites the case of Gregorio De La Rosa, who died on 26 April, 2001 inside a private prison in Willacy County, Texas.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7737093.stm

[dysfunctional press]

19. ronbo raygun happened.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

21. 3 Strikes You're Out. Mandatory Sentencing Laws. Fucking Reagan. Fucking Bush.

[Blue_Tires]

22. the graph should also take into account the population rise over that time period

i'd be interested in seeing a percentage graph over that time...

[surrealAmerican]

26. That's just what I was thinking.

This would be much more meaningful if it showed the prison population as a percentage of the total population.

[Wednesdays]

50. I don't have a chart, but here are some numbers...

(From Wikipedia): The Fourteenth United States Census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from January 5, 1920, determined the resident population of the United States to be 106,021,537...

http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html:
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 03/19/09 at 18:03 GMT (EST+5) is 306,040,769

So, if I read the graph above correctly, there were around 100,000 prisoners in 1920, which is about 0.1% of the total population.

According to the graph, today there are around 2.4 million prisoners, which is 0.8% of the total population.

Therefore, even factoring in population increases, the prison population is eight times what it was in 1920. It also shows that 1 out of every 120 human beings in this land is behind bars.

[HughMoran]

30. I made the assumption that the rate before 1980 extended out would approximate the pop. incr.

The sudden jump is still quite alarming, though I'm glad some of the career criminals I grew up with in the city have found a new life away from me and my kids.

[Zynx]

51. Population rose by about 1/3 between 1980 and 2005.

The prison population almost quintupled.

[hughee99]

56. And the number of crimes dropped by about 18%

At least according to these numbers. The rate per 100K citizens also dropped significantly 5.9% in 1980 vs. 3.7% in 2007

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

[seabeyond]

23. 80's, me me me, divorce (breakup of family unit), n/t

[NashVegas]

28. Chickens Coming Home To Roost?

I could see that, in part, but suspect it has more to do with social and political pressure to lock up the subversives.

Wut they weren't all breaking the law.

My spec: Kids from families of divorce had real security issues and were hitting voting age. "Reagan wants to lock 'em up? Looks good to me."

[xiamiam]

24. cheney needed to make money...nt

[barbtries]

25. yes, and yes

mandatory sentencing. greed. "war on drugs" - huh.

[ThatsMyBarack]

29. Did they bring back debtors' prisons??

A lot of people can't pay the ever-increa$ing costs of medical care, so....

[HughMoran]

31. "Just Say No" (or you'll be thrown in jail)

Fuckin' Reagan.

[BlueJac]

33. Prisons for profit!!

[tangent90]

34. Well, it's not -quite- as bad as that graph makes it appear. If you calculate

the per capita rates of incarceration over the last 60 years, have increased by about 4 times. In 1946 it was ~1 in 560
and in 06 it was 1 in 130 (according to census figures and estimates)

Your chart doesn't say if the numbers include people in jail as well as prison, at any given time there are a few million
-jail- inmates awaiting preliminaries, bail hearings, trials, etc. I guess it's a matter of opinion whether those should be
considered inmates for purposes of this discussion...I think they shouldn't.

Doesn't an increasing population automatically produce higher rates of crime?...after all if a society has only 100 people,
there are only 99 potential victims; if there are a million people now there are 999,999 possible. And crowded societies
aren't tolerated well by a fair percentage of their members.

editing: I forgot, I do agree the WOD is a huge factor and we have put FAR too many people into the prison system for
what I consider fraudulent reasons.

[reggie the dog]

36. just say no, the war on drugs

they want to put people like me in a cage where our risk of being raped is much higher than outside because we get high from the wrong drugs, good republicans only smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, and perhaps do a little line now and then.....

[Echo In Light]

38. FASCISM happens...especially when people are simultaneously aloof, and cocksure it can't happen here

[Octafish]

45. Bingo!

America's version is the War Party, except they don't call it that, either.

[Echo In Light]

53. Perhaps redundant, but it should be noted that America's phony "wars" always target its own populace

The ongoing one not being an exception to that rule.

[byronius]

39. Remember those PA judges --

-- that sentenced thousands of innocent juveniles to be incarcerated in for-profit facilities they owned stock in.

Surely -- you don't think -- can't be --

[Echo In Light]

40. I sourced that ugly article at another forum and not one person opined

[spanone]

41. prisons for profit, madatory minimum sentencing....just a few

[mod mom]

42. Where was the dip for the Clinton years since he was a Democrat?

just wondering. :eyes:

[Echo In Light]

43. But...but...but what does that say then about the party?!

[spanone]

49. democrats like profits too.

[mod mom]

58. Money Party members like money-imho

[kentuck]

44. Damn! That is scary !!

Are those numbers for real?

[Motown_Johnny]

46. Reagan elected in 1980, took office in '81

[EFerrari]

54. Bingo.

[Political Heretic]

47. War on Drugs and mandatory minimums

[SoCalDem]

48. Prisons R Us

A look at MOST "bad" graphs, and you'll see that 1980 was the "turning point" that they all have in common..

Ole GHWB & his buddies had their Ronnie Puppet change a whole-lotta things, and nothing's been all that great (for most of us) ever since..

Most things when graphed, show a nice gradual progression, with a few blips here and there, but since reagan, it's been chaos...

[Jack Rabbit]

52. Reagan

[malaise]

55. For profit prisons

That is all

[Horse with no Name]

57. Reagan happened

and the shitslide has not stopped since.

[Dreamer Tatum]

59. You forgot to control for, oh, everything...that's what happened

Population growth, demographics, economics, prosecution rates...


For now, it's just a graph. Big deal.

[Warren Stupidity]

63. We have the highest incarceration rate on the planet.

[BlooInBloo]

61. White folks finally got to start rounding up scary black folks.

[Naturyl]

62. "Drug laws?? Prisons for profit??" - pretty much, yes.

It's called the prison INDUSTRY for a reason.

[leveymg]

64. GOP and GOP-Lite

Time to change brands. Both. Throw out the old stock that's still on the shelves, too.

[Sunnyshine]

67. Prisons for profit, systemic failures, joblessness, poverty, drug abuse, ignoring young people,

inequality in education and health care. Drug laws make it impossible to overcome all of these.
Parents (or the lack there of) can certainly be a big part of the problem,
but even great parents have troubled kids. We are failing in all kinds of ways.

Sad to see this cold reality and wondering if we are ever going to overcome these statistics.

[havocmom]

68. Pot/recreational drug users make for a peaceful prison population

which makes more profits in private corporate prisons: easy group to handle, fewer guards needed, get by with less experienced (lower paid) guards. less expensive facilities to hold prisoners.

Prison population with lots of peaceful drug offenders = really good, cheap labor to contract out to corporations that want to be able to slap a 'Made in US' label on things (as a marketing ploy) but still get by with paying slave wages.

No surprise at all that after 1980, when the top 1% decided upon 'greed was good' as mantra and national religion, that the prison population skyrocketed. The GOP set up the whole system to bring that very condition to fruition .... as an economic policy that made it easier for corporations and harder for working class on the outside to compete in the market.

[lonestarnot]

69. Prisoner commodity trading, for profit private prisons. They are looking for you as a warm body!

[chrisa]

70. War on Drugs nt

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

71. And lookee here: