Re-Imagining Private Prisons

 

As part of his pledge to promote racial equity, president Biden signed an executive order calling on the justice department to end federal contracts with private prisons. 

"We must change now," the president said. "I know it's going to take time, but I know we can do it. And I firmly believe the nation is ready to change. But government has to change as well." Read full AP story here.

News of the official order sent shares of private prison stocks plummeting. CoreCivic and GEO Group stocks dropped over 7% immediately after the news broke.

But could this signal a potential buying opportunity for these beaten-down stocks?

According to The Marshall Project, both CoreCivic and GEO Group have anticipated this move years ago, and have moved away from full-time incarceration facilities to halfway houses and prisoner-monitoring services, like ankle brace monitoring. 

In Texas and many other states across the country, private prisons are major employers in rural counties, so the economic impact of shutting them down could be regionally devastating.

But can these facilities be re-designed and have staff retrained for other uses?

• Mental Health Centers - The Harris County Jail (Houston) is largest provider of mental health services in the State of Texas.  Think about that for a second. People are committing crimes in order to receive the mental health services they need but can't afford. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and other debilitating  diseases could be treated compassionately in these facilities until patients are stabilized and returned to society with access to the medications they need to function in society. People suffering from mental health problems should never have to get arrested to get the treatment they need.
  
  
• Substance Abuse Recovery - Sections of facilities could be used to provide short-term care and counseling for patients addicted to alcohol and highly addictive narcotics. Provide the care, nutrition, individual counseling and group therapy needed to help return these patients back to the community in a position to thrive.
  
  
• Immigration Holding Facilities - Keep families together while they await their cases to be heard. 

• Community Emergency Health Centers - Many rural hospitals have closed down across the country. Provide the funding so that basic health services can be administered in these facilities without the need to travel to a major city for potentially life-saving help.

These are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. But I do believe the role of private prisons in America can change from becoming warehouses for incarcerating people for profit to vital and compassionate institutions that provide real benefit to society.

But a lot will need to change. 

Welcome! T-Minus 10 Days and Counting Until January 20

The votes have been cast, and the election has been certified. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be our next President and Vice President. The House of Representatives has a narrow Democratic lead, and the Senate is tied 50-50, with Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.

Mitch McConnell will no longer be Senate Majority Leader. Instead, he will be replaced with Chuck Schumer.

Americans have spoken, and here is a breakdown of the votes.

• 74 million people voted for Trump/Pence
• 81 million people voted for Biden/Harris, and
• 80 million eligible adults did not vote at all

According to NPR, the main reasons why people didn't vote were:

• not being registered to vote (29%)
• not being interested in politics (23%)
• not liking the candidates (20%)
• a feeling that their vote wouldn't have made a difference (16%)
• being undecided on whom to vote for (10%)

For the next two years, the Biden administration needs to get busy, and the challenges in front of the administration will be daunting, including putting a lid on the Covid pandemic, helping to restart the economy and addressing a multitude of other issues.

With Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader, a flood of bills that enjoyed bipartisan approval will be brought to the floor for a vote. Many of these were bills that McConnell, the self-described "Grim Reaper" blocked.

As the title suggests, this blog is all about identifying issues that need to be addressed, and then to ask for everyone to make sure they are registered and vote in every election.

It's Time to Get Busy

This is no time to gloat or rest on our laurels. It's time to make sure that eligible voters are registered and know how and where to vote. 

2022 is right around the corner. An energized and motivated population can make a huge difference. Voter registration drives, phone banking and door knocking can make a huge difference.

Let's expand the leads in the House and Senate to give the Biden/Harris administration a full 4 years to attack the serious issues ahead of us without obstruction.