Facebook Publication Date: 1/15/2022 7:01

I have said, for years now, that racism and white supremacy are primarily economic constructs.

This article puts this fact in sharp relief.

One of the byproducts of lessening and mitigating mass incarceration is that some prisons will close.

If the population of prisoners decreases, there is less need for brick and mortar and Metal buildings to house them.

There is also less need for workers that work there.

We’re seeing that here in this article.

There are some nuggets in this article that struck me: firstly, the 3/5 rule, or an iteration of it, is alive and well when it comes to prison population.

The town profiled in this New York Times article received, not only funding from the federal government to operate the prison that basically funds the town oh, it also gets extra income because of the population of the prison.

There are 7000 prisoners housed between two institutions; about the same number of residents of the town that benefits from that prison; but for purposes of federal funding for roads and education and medical services and such the population is about 14000.

This is a big deal.

This as well: conservatives the Law & Order aficionado talk about getting tough on crime and reducing crime, but I I have to wonder if that is truly their agenda.

They want to profit from crime. And the harsh truth is that they need a steady population that is incarcerated.

The entire Justice System depends upon criminal acts, and it seems that the dirty little secret is that they don’t necessarily want criminal acts to decrease; because prisoners are the product.

The town that the New York Times profiles is a very Republican town; almost 80% of the residents of the town voted for Trump and more than 80% voted for Gavin Newsom’s recall, in no small part because the governor picked this particular prison to close as part of his campaign promises to the state when he was elected.

It is *no*t lost on me that as a black woman I probably would not be welcome in that town, but my black and brown brothers are there shoring up residential house prices, paying for roads and schools, and in various and other sundry ways paying for the life of that town.

It’s also notable that the town has sued to keep the prison open; which means there needs to be at least three thousand prisoners to justify it, that is a strong disincentive for prison reform, and for laws that keep people out of prisons in the first place.

The town would rather keep the prison then get creative and find other ways of financing their way of life such as attracting other industries.

But, as in most cases with towns that depend on correctional facilities, they were allowed to get lazy and not diversify.

They were company towns, except in this case instead of producing widgets, they imprison people.

We need to take a hard look at the economic benefits for some for the current correctional system, not just in California, but across the country.

Casting the residents of a town like this one as victims because fewer eggs will be sold and cafes will close because we as a country have become less draconian and more Humane in the way that we treat prisoners or potential prisoners is something that desperately needs discussion.

As well, the role of the justice system as a whole– from how arrest happens to how prosecutions happen, and the role of Probation and Parole needs to be unpacked and scrutinized.

As long as the role of the justice system is less for rehabilitation and more as an economic engine, this will continue.

And it should not stand.

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