The Omnivorous Police/Prison State and the California "Budget Crisis"
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Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Hottest Place In Hell Is Reserved for Those Who Build Prisons
There are few things that shock me anymore. But the manufacturing of this self-imposed Californian "budget crisis" has come pretty close.
Plain and simple, this current "crisis" is due to the militarization of US society at every level. Federally, the morally bankrupt "war on terror" occupies and imprisons sovereign countries. State-wide, billions of dollars are used to construct new prisons to hold more people, people who are being yanked back into prison from parole or for "breaking" hundreds of new laws that target the Black, Brown and poor. On the county and city levels, we are seeing 1000s of more cops and sheriffs to profile, raid and imprison folks. The omnivorous prison/police state has become Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees hacking away at the social welfare state and the remnants of the victories of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.
What Is the Common Link?
- Police, prisons and military are the main growth industry (even Obama's stimulus plan has 6 billion earmarked for prisons and police not counting the Department of Homeland Security piece of the pie); and
- It is always the same sector of people that bear the brunt of these racially targeted policies. From the West Bank to West Oakland, East LA to East Timor, from South Lebanon to South LA-Black, Brown and poor.
In the US, 1 in every 100 people is in prison; 1 in every 45 is either in prison, on probation or on parole. Blacks are 12% of the US prison population but are more than 40% of the 2.3 million in US jails and prisons. Add that to Latinos and Black and Brown together make up 60% of the people in cages while only being 25% of the US population.
California's Corrections
In 1984, California prisons captured 24,000 prisoners, today they hold 173,000; in 1984 the CA Department of Corrections budget was $300 million today it is $11 billion. Over 70% of those sent to Californian prisons and jails are there for technical parole violations in other words they were not convicted of a new "crime." It has taken a hearty bi-partisan effort to achieve this impressive rate of growth.
The California state legislature is continuously passing more laws to be used to encage more people. Because of these legislators gone wild prisons are at 200% capacity. Because of overcrowding, the federal govt. is threatening to force CA to release prisoners but instead California passes AB900 to build more cages as the solution for an eviscerated social safety net.
AB 900 and ABX1-10: The Largest Prison Construction Project In the World
So let's look at how the police/prison growth industry has been affected by the economic downturn.
At a time when the California government can't pay its bills or cut welfare checks to the neediest, a time when it is sending IOUs for tax returns, it is driving forward (guns a blazin') with the largest prison construction project in the world: a project that would have the California prison system (projected at 225,000 prisoners) eclipse the entire federal prison population (199,618 as of Dec/07), in other words almost a 10-fold increase in California prisoners in 24 years.
We're talking about AB 900 and its evil twin ABX1-10. Together, these bills represent the latest bipartisan attempt to incur more state debt in addition to the projected $42 billion deficit by the end of FY 09-10. Passed by the Democratic legislature almost a year and a half ago with the support of the Republican governor, they would lasso $12 billion for 53,000 new prison and jail beds. Of course, this is only for construction and not the additional $1.6 Billion a year to pay the guards time and a half overtime, the barbwire, the shackles and shotguns (aka-operations).
AB900/ABX1-10 is an abomination; its racially targeted web will wipe out entire communities. We have to organize against it. Even if you're a liberal minded person who turns a blind eye to structural racism or who thinks that we live in a "post-racial" society, I would hope that in the interest of ensuring that the prison beast doesn't take away social welfare programs that you care about you would still be able to agree that this is pure lunacy and must be stopped.
What to do:
- No mandatory parole for those released from prisons
- End technical parole violations
- Release elderly and ill prisoners
- Cut overtime for prison guards
- End mandatory minimumsRepeal three strikes
- No more gang enhancements
- Treat addiction and mental health issues medically
- Get involved with Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)
The Strategy Center is involved with CURB's work to tame the prison beast. Your organization should get involved, too.
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The 3-strikes Law is the single most dominant factor in the CA prison atrocity today! First, it implies that crimes where no violence occurred is a violent crime because violence could of happened. When we factor "could of's" into our legal structure, all boundaries are eliminated. Second, it quadruples the amount of time a human being will be incarcerated by doubling the sentence and mandating 80%. When you combine the First and Second, you take a person that committed a crime that "could of" been violent and label them as a violent offender uner the three strikes law so that when this person is arrested the second time for a drug addiction, their sentence is doubled and mandated at 80%. The addict which needs help is now thrown into prison for 6 years costing the taxpayers an estimated $200,000 while the CCPOA and local law enforcement is touting how they are keeping the streets safe for you and me. It's interesting to note, while they cause you to believe you are safe they spend your money recklessly forcing the state to shut down kindergartens and close needed health programs for our elderly. Who are the real criminals? The one who is addicted to drugs and punishes himself or the one who lies to the public and takes their money. The last I checked, a crime was defined by those who inflict misery on OTHERS! Back to the 3-strikes law, Thirdly, It imposes life sentences on those who have committed crimes where no violence occurred yet the crime "could of" been violent. Let me repeat. It imprisons those for life whom have never committed harm on anyone!!! The CCPOA knows that the 3-strikes law ensures a growing business despite the economic strife we all face. In 2004 prop 66 (re-define the 3-strikes law) lost due to a massive television campaign by Arnold Schwarzenegger approximately 2 weeks before the vote where Arnold stated that you would release rapists and child molesters. Arnold Schwarzenegger initially put prop 66 on the ballot. Why the change in opinion for Mr. Schwarzenegger? Simple, the CCPOA publicly stated that if prop 66 passed they would ruin Mr. Schwarzenegger's political career and that he would "never run for any public office again". The people have been lied to while their hard earned dollars have been pillaged from them all in the name of safety. 99.99% of prisoners have addiction problems. It's time we face the real problem and treat those with addiction problems as human beings and not criminals. It's time we protect our fellow humanity and stop Unions and Governments from enslaving us for job security. The prison industry is the new non-racial slavery. It effects every race and all income brackets. To say that it only affects one class of society disables the effect by separating the cause. We are all people of humanity whom are imprisoned at the expense of the hard working citizen for the benefit of job security for the Unions and Government.