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At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

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Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#261

Post by tzs »

standardUser wrote: post #125
DisjointedHunt wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Swap “drugs” for “guns” and you’d have the majority of HN flip out. The Government isn’t a magical entity of absolute perfection. Large classes of banned substances are indeed banned for good reason. Their effects on individual/societal well being documented quite heavily. Two things can be true at the same time: 1. Some substances that are detrimental to human health need to be controlled. 2. The US government and i…

Using a gun often has a victim. A seriously injured or dead victim. Getting high does not. That difference cannot be overstated.

What about people driving while high (or the people they hit if they have an accident)? What about people who become addicted to drugs like heroin? What about people who OD on heroin?

I suppose you could argue that none of these people were injured or killed by the drugs--they were injured or killed by someone misusing the drugs.

But that same argument works guns too. Good luck trying to find some convincing way to distinguish the two.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#262

Post by ok_dad »

dotancohen wrote: post #162
ok_dad wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source, please, that just seems incorrect. That would mean for 2mm prisoners there would be 1.1mm murderers, rapists, and manslaughterers. That seems like way too large a number to be realistic with the declining rate of murder, rape, and manslaughter.

Presumably murder, rape, and manslaughter carry longer sentence terms. If a rapist spends five times as long in prison compared to a drug offense, then there will be five times as many rapists behind bars if the quantity of the two crime's convictions are comparable.

I still don’t see any numbers here, so I will assume the OP comment was bull.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#263

Post by MacsHeadroom »

echelon wrote: post #228
culi wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

25% of the world's prison population is in the US, a country that makes up 4.25% of the world's population Land of the free

I wonder what percentage are in jail for gun-related crimes. The easy availability of guns is one thing that distinguishes America from other advanced economies. Edit: I found a variety of sources that suggest 18% of state and 15% of federal prisoners. Nowhere near as high as I was expecting.

Hah, most US prisoners aren't even in prison for violent crimes.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#264

Post by goodpoint »

LewisVerstappen wrote: post #38
isoprophlex wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing weird going on here... It's the free market doing it's thing. Apparently staying in prison is in high demand, driving up prices. /s

How are actions by a government... "the free market"?

Because US has the best government that money can buy.

Jokes aside, the government and the largest market players are extremely intertwined.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#265

Post by goodpoint »

erdos4d wrote: post #205
shakezula wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a mistake, this is all by design. This is the system working as intended under capitalism.

You shouldn't be downvoted here, this is true. As tax revenues decline, they are trying to shift the burden directly onto the inmates to pay for the whole works.

"hacker" news skews a lot on the lassez faire libertarian side.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#266

Post by lostlogin »

mistrial9 wrote: post #234
lostlogin wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ASB in New Zealand offer it. They have a list you can search for various things and companies, your comment prompted me to check. Fines, taxes and some big companies appear there.

I was told in the 1980s that personal finances in Australia were such.. that many independent adults did not own their own autos, but that ownership and insurance were arranged through their employer, typically a large company or government agency.

That sounds quite good. There is very little about car ownership that I like - the convenience is hard to beat though.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#268

Post by missedthecue »

ok_dad wrote: post #141
missedthecue wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only 4.5% of US inmates are in prison for drug possession. I do wonder what the rate is for other countries. Shocking that 55% of inmates are in for violent crimes such as murder, rape, and manslaughter. source: https://felonvoting.procon.org/incarcerated-felon-population...

Source, please, that just seems incorrect. That would mean for 2mm prisoners there would be 1.1mm murderers, rapists, and manslaughterers. That seems like way too large a number to be realistic with the declining rate of murder, rape, and manslaughter.

https://felonvoting.procon.org/incarcerated-felon-population...

I got it wrong. It's actually only 3.7% in for drug possession, not 4.5%.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#269

Post by dillondoyle »

Method-X wrote: post #42
tmpz22 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Outsourcing prisons to cheaper authoritarian countries sounds like a bad idea.

My god, please don't give the US any ideas!

too late. those seeking asylum are forced to 'remain in Mexico' and others flown back into dangerous places. Instances where people are forcibly deported somewhere they have never spent time as an adult, have no family, no money, etc.

I find the whole system disgusting.

The US Govt purposefully restricts opportunities to request asylum in the way in which our govt deems 'legal.' e.g. a few people at a time through sparse border crossings.

And then prosecute those who cross the border because it's the only way to state their claim.

Shameful.

The propaganda of 'invasion' and 'replacement' has really made this a politically toxic issue. A dangerous one at that.

Re: At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt

#270

Post by throwaway22032 »

1123581321 wrote: post #253
shakezula wrote: post #92

Years ago, I got a speeding ticket. I worked nights at the time, and the office to make the payment at had very strange hours because it was from a tiny town. My schedule made it difficult to make it over to the office during open hours, and one of the times I tried it was closed randomly over lunch because again, small town. (I learned later there was only one person who ran the whole office.) A day after my speedin…

That is frustrating, but when were you planning to pay? Couldn’t you have mailed it in? Suspended license driving is anti-social. Any law with a firm cutoff or deadline, and no gradual increase of penalty, sucks for those who barely miss complying with it. There needs to be some kind of consequence, though.

Surely the antisocial thing is suspending someone's licence without telling them about it and over a 5mph speeding ticket...?
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