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Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

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Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#31

Post by [deleted] »

rayiner wrote: post #21
innguest wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There isn't "one company." Ok, so lest we shift the conversation - as right now we're talking about the specific prison and the specific banking corporation that this prison is using as described in the full article - please tell me who is the competitor to JPay. Don't give me "different departments of corrections" blah blah blah. I'm arguing the system as explained in the article is broken specifically because JPa…

Is your assertion that there is no free market just because any given prison only contracts with one payment service? Is there no free market in cleaning services because my building only contracts with one provider? Is it only a free market if every individual transaction is put up for bidding?

[deleted]

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#32

Post by pan69 »

discardorama wrote: post #25

I don't understand. Why can't the state let a bank put a bloody ATM (or several) in a common area, and let the inmates use debit cards? My blood pressure was shooting up as I read that article. I don't mind people charging a fee for providing better service. But in this case, this human leech is just spreading more misery. Why must these people abuse others this way? I hope, when he is on his deathbed, this fucker su…

>> Why can't the state let a bank put a bloody ATM (or several) in a common area, and let the inmates use debit cards?

This is what you get in a privatised system. Money must be made and an ATM in the common area is not going to do that.

http://www.alternet.org/story/155199/private_prison_corporat...

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#33

Post by egwor »

deadfall wrote: post #13
jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

I am a victim of these ridiculous fees. I thought about how someone was getting rich and I justified the fees because of the convenience. It most certainly cut back how much I sent and how frequently I used it. This directly affects the incarcerated person. Side note: PayPal allows you to send money to friends and family for free.

Question: why can't paypal be used here as a viable competing solution?

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#34

Post by rmbe »

rayiner wrote: post #21
innguest wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There isn't "one company." Ok, so lest we shift the conversation - as right now we're talking about the specific prison and the specific banking corporation that this prison is using as described in the full article - please tell me who is the competitor to JPay. Don't give me "different departments of corrections" blah blah blah. I'm arguing the system as explained in the article is broken specifically because JPa…

Is your assertion that there is no free market just because any given prison only contracts with one payment service? Is there no free market in cleaning services because my building only contracts with one provider? Is it only a free market if every individual transaction is put up for bidding?

It's not a free market because the people sending the money (the customers, in this case) don't get to choose which provider to use.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#35

Post by mindcrime »

There is a lot that one could say about this, but let me throw this in the mix: a big part of the problem is simply that we (the US) have far, far too many people incarcerated and "in the system" to begin with. The US ranks second only to the Seychelles in terms of "prisoner count per 100,000 of population"[1], at 707. And many of those people are in jail for non-violent crimes, or crimes for which restitution would be a better consequence than jail.

We need to decriminalise drug possession and sales, and focus on restitution for cases of theft, fraud, etc. The people in jail should be mostly murderers, rapists, and people who have shown themselves to be an active threat to society. And even then I'm not actually convinced that jail is the best solution, but let's tackle one problem at a time.

(Sidebar: a different Wikipedia page says the US incarceration rate is actually the highest, not second. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rat...)

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarcerat...

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#36

Post by corford »

jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

Start a kickstarter campaign to create a not for profit, ethical competitor to JPay? Providing the prisons still get a similar commission (which according to the article isn't where the lion's share of the fees comes from), why wouldn't they opt to go with a payments firm that gives them good PR?

Edit: alternatively, maybe the stripe guys could fund/seed a philanthropic off-shoot to tackle this?

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#37

Post by rayiner »

rmbe wrote: post #34
rayiner wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your assertion that there is no free market just because any given prison only contracts with one payment service? Is there no free market in cleaning services because my building only contracts with one provider? Is it only a free market if every individual transaction is put up for bidding?

It's not a free market because the people sending the money (the customers, in this case) don't get to choose which provider to use.

But when the government privatizes services, that agency problem always exists. Instead of contracting to one service like any other entity, government would always need to contract with several. You're just making a stronger argument for not privitizing government services.

Moreover, laying all the blame at the feet of government for these companies being scumbags is precisely why I said private industry has the wrong culture for this sort of thing.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#38

Post by brudgers »

noonespecial wrote: post #8

So they bribe and kick-back their way through the year and then throw a big party (ahh 'convention') in Vegas where they give each other awards while sucking down premium liquor, hand-rolled cigars, and no doubt metric tons of the stuff half of their inmates are in prison for. The pigs from 1984 would blush over this stuff.

Animal Farm is Orwell 's dystopia with pigs.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#39

Post by felixc »

corford wrote: post #36
jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

Start a kickstarter campaign to create a not for profit, ethical competitor to JPay? Providing the prisons still get a similar commission (which according to the article isn't where the lion's share of the fees comes from), why wouldn't they opt to go with a payments firm that gives them good PR? Edit: alternatively, maybe the stripe guys could fund/seed a philanthropic off-shoot to tackle this?

Because of this (quoting from the article):

"To impress state corrections officials and gain their business, JPay spends heavily on industry conventions attended by agency heads with contracting authority. During a 2012 convention of the American Correctional Association, the company threw what it called an “END OF THE WORLD PARTY” at a Denver wine bar that bills itself as “about you, and your inalienable right to the unbridled enjoyment of food and wine.”

The invitation, printed on a disposable beer coaster, promised “a bash, JPay-style: fuerte tequila, hand-rolled cigars, a live mariachi band.” Conventioneers could catch a JPay shuttle leaving from the hotel “ALL NIGHT LONG,” it said."

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#40

Post by waterlesscloud »

rayiner wrote: post #37
rmbe wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a free market because the people sending the money (the customers, in this case) don't get to choose which provider to use.

But when the government privatizes services, that agency problem always exists. Instead of contracting to one service like any other entity, government would always need to contract with several. You're just making a stronger argument for not privitizing government services. Moreover, laying all the blame at the feet of government for these companies being scumbags is precisely why I said private industry has the wro…

>Instead of contracting to one service like any other entity, government would always need to contract with several

No, the government is the entity making a selection among several choices, and is the entity in the position to negotiate the rates.

Therefore they could bargain for lower rates if they wanted.

Misrepresenting the choices isn't making your case.

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