Private Prisons Found to Offer Little in Savings

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.- May 18, 2011 - The New York Times

PHOENIX — The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates. But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons can cost more to operate than state-run prisons — even though they often steer clear of the sickest, costliest inmates.

The state’s experience has particular relevance now, as many politicians have promised to ease budget problems by trimming state agencies. Florida and Ohio are planning major shifts toward private prisons, and Arizona is expected to sign deals doubling its private-inmate population.

The measures would be a shot in the arm for an industry that has struggled, in some places, to fill prison beds as the number of inmates nationwide has leveled off. But hopes of big taxpayer benefits might end in disappointment, independent experts say.

“There’s a perception that the private sector is always going to do it more efficiently and less costly,” said Russ Van Vleet, a former co-director of the University of Utah Criminal Justice Center. “But there really isn’t much out there that says that’s correct.”

Such has been the case lately in Arizona. Despite a state law stipulating that private prisons must create “cost savings,” the state’s own data indicate that inmates in private prisons can cost as much as $1,600 more per year, while many cost about the same as they do in state-run prisons.

The research, by the Arizona Department of Corrections, also reveals a murky aspect of private prisons that helps them appear less expensive: They often house only relatively healthy inmates.

“It’s cherry-picking,” said State Representative Chad Campbell, leader of the House Democrats. “They leave the most expensive prisoners with taxpayers and take the easy prisoners.”

In the 1980s, soaring violent crime, tougher sentencing and overcrowding led lawmakers to use private prisons to expand. Then, as now, privatization advocates argued that corporations were more efficient. Over time, most states signed contracts, one of the largest transfers of state functions to private industry.

Nationally, the number of state inmates in private prisons grew by a third over the past decade to more than 90,000, but it has stagnated, and some states have reduced total prison populations — shifting nonviolent offenders to treatment programs while bolstering probation. Now, Ohio lawmakers want to privatize prisons with 6,000 inmates, and Florida will transfer institutions with 15,000 inmates to private management. The Arizona plan would add 5,000 private prison beds.

Matthew Benson, spokesman for Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, a Republican, did not dispute the state research. But he said officials had a “pretty wide lens” to interpret the cost-savings mandate, like taking into account the ability of private companies to recoup hundreds of millions in construction costs over the life of contracts.

“It is a significant advantage to have a private firm be able to come in and front the costs,” he said.

Privatization advocates play down the data. Leonard Gilroy, director of government reform for the Reason Foundation, a libertarian research organization, questioned whether all costs were included and said the figures were too narrowly drawn, particularly on medium-security prisons, to prompt conclusions. “It is looking at a limited slice,” Mr. Gilroy said.

Competing studies — some financed by the prison industry — have argued over claims of savings. But when a University of Utah team including Mr. Van Vleet reviewed years of research, it concluded in 2007 that “cost savings from privatizing prisons are not guaranteed and appear minimal.”

Steve Owen, spokesman for the largest operator, Corrections Corporation of America, said: “There is a mixed bag of research out there. It’s not as black and white and cut and dried as we would like.”

A number of states mandate that contracts save money. But Arizona is one of the few — if not only — places to measure the outcome so rigorously.

While private prisons collect a daily rate per inmate, some expenses disproportionately borne by states are not counted. The most significant are terms limiting sicker inmates.

Five of eight private prisons serving Arizona did not accept inmates with “limited physical capacity and stamina” or severe physical illness or chronic conditions, according to the state’s analysis, issued last month. None took inmates with “high need” mental health conditions. Some inmates who became sick were “returned to state prisons due to an increase of their medical scores that exceeds contractual exclusions.”

“Unlike the private contractors,” the analysis said, the state “is required to provide medical and mental health services to inmates regardless of the severity of their condition.” Medical costs averaged up to $2.44 a day more for state inmates, a third higher than private prisons.

That gap can be wider. In Florida, officials found that two private prisons spent only about half as much on health care per inmate as comparable state prisons, a difference of $9 million over two years. Florida officials say that the new plan will better balance costs, and that private prisons comply with a 7-percent-savings law. But skeptics like State Senator Mike Fasano, a Republican, fear cherry-picking may be the only way they can do that.

In Arizona, minimum-security state inmates cost 2.6 percent — or $1.39 per day — more than those in private prisons, before accounting for extra costs borne by the state. But after eliminating these, state prisoners cost only three cents more per day, the analysis found.

And state medium-security inmates cost 4.4 percent less before adjustments and 8.7 percent less afterward. That is more than $2 million annually at one prison, or $1,679 per inmate. Using 2009 corrections data, state auditors calculated the difference at up to $2,834 per inmate.

Charles L. Ryan, the Arizona corrections director, said private prisons “often negotiate restrictions on the type of inmates” and limit “inmates with medical conditions to a specific cost level.” The new contracts seek to reduce this practice.

Mr. Owen did not dispute the Arizona research, but said the industry saved money. He pointed to a study — partly financed by the industry — that found states with private prisons had lower growth in public prison costs.

“We do provide value to our government partners,” he said.

However, Mr. Owen acknowledged that most contracts had cost caps, and that terms barring the sickest prisoners were not unusual. He said his company never voiced a preference for such terms. “The myth is that we are somehow hand-selecting” inmates.

According to Arizona officials, the data account for costs as varied as guards’ pensions and inmate food. They track past results publicized in the state, but those have not prompted any privatization rethinking: contracts on the state’s expansion could be awarded by the summer.

The U.S. Balance of Power: The System of Checks and Balances

- By Bahram Maskanian

We all here from time to time about the supposed 3 branches of the U.S. Government, but have we asked ourselves that how much of that statement is actually true? Is this a popular misconception, or there is such firewall of separation? Lets look at this popular mythical belief that the United States government consists of three independent and separate branches of government: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

Each one of these branches is supposed to be operating separately and independently of one another. But after a close examination it becomes very obvious that it is not how the United States government really works.

United States Constitution:

Article 1 - Section 1

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Article 2 - Section 1

The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected.

Article 3 - Section 1

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Almost immediately after taking the oath of office, the United States President becomes the head of his political party, which makes all of the members of Congress affiliated with the President’s political party, his subordinates.

The undivided loyalty and attention of members of Congress with a tiny exception of a few, from the both political parties: Democrats and Republicans, whom are selected officials, oops, pardon me, elected officials and the so called 12 national security consul members, plus all other new appointees by the in coming President in any government agencies, or departments including the Justice Department they are all bought and paid for to work and protect the interest of the criminal nation-less corporations. Thereby, they are all become President's subordinates.

We have grown to except receiving bribes, oops, there I go again, forgive me, political contributions from the same corrupt manipulative nation-less money sources as a normal day-to-day political routine. Next time when you are polled over a by a cop try to give some money not to write a ticket and see what is going to happen to you? Bribe is bribe no matter who gives it and who receives it.

As soon as the President takes office the first thing he, or maybe someday she, would do is appoint cabinet members, one of which is the Attorney General, in charge of the Justice Department, who heads the third branch of the United States government. Just like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. That is why in the United States’ history with all of its political corruption none of the so-called officials were ever prosecuted and went to jail.

As we all know the President also selects and appoints judges for the Supreme Court and lower courts of the United States. Yes, the Legislative Branch has to approve them, and they always do, how could they not! In another words, the President becomes the King, with complete control of the United States Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of government. There is no system of Checks & Balances.

The fact that Senators, Congress Representatives, Presidents and generally anybody who runs for public office spends hundreds of thousands and some millions of dollars to get a job that pays a measly fraction of what they had to beg for and accept bribe for and put on the line to get that job, says it all.

Think about this for a minute would you please. Why in the world would anybody with a sound mind would want to spend one hundred and sixty eight million dollars ($168,000,000) (year 2004 election show) to get a job which is going to pay him only four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) a year, for just four years, a total of five hundred and forty thousand dollars ($1,600,000) after taxes? That is a total loss of one hundred and sixty seven million and four hundred and sixty thousand dollars ($166,400,000).

Reflecting back to what is going on in my beloved country of origin Iran, after the fake Islamic revolution, or the Islamic coup d'état of 1979 by the terrorist mullahs, I see profound similarities between the general attitudes of the public toward the people who work for the government and the officials. In Iran after the Islamic terrorist takeover when a government official or someone who works for the government is talking about their position, income and status in the society, they proudly would say: - - Well my salary is two thousands dollars ($2,000) a month, but my income is fifty five thousands dollars ($55,000) a week. - -

American people are not stupid. American people are not voting because they do not want to take part in a misleading criminal fixed horserace masqueraded as democratic elections.

Nothing is democratic about our counterfeit political system, from the (FEC) Federal Election Commission, made up of big corrupt money lobbyists half democrat and half republicans controlling the whole election process and its outcome, including staging prefabricated political debates, all the way to the political parties primary elections, and political party’s bosses. They are all bought and paid for.

We, the people of the United States are governed under a tightly controlled parliamentary dictatorship system of government. There is no democracy in the United States. This firm control manifests itself through strictly controlled corporate mass media and brutal political cover-ups. I believe that the manipulated perception of democracy will always lead to and is equal to deviously staged and managed dictatorial outcomes.

United States Declaration of Independence:

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Many Benefits of Home Schooling for Our Children, Environment and The Society At Large

- By Bahram Maskanian

Obviously there are many different ways of educating our children, one of which is home schooling, the subject of discussion here is about the most effective means, in terms of cost, quality and social benefits of providing first-class high quality private school education at home, at the public school costs, or even less.

Our children, students at any level need individual care, love and attention in order to be able to concentrate and learn.  Unlike private schools, public schools are built way too large, in many cases housing over 2,000 to 3,000 students, resembling prisons, or army barracks, coupled with crowded big classrooms, low-paid and under educated teachers, highly impersonal and cruel environment, causing feelings of abandonment, fear and frustration in our innocent and vulnerable children.

We can all relate to many obstacles kids have to face and deal with daily in public schools: ranging from pier pressure, the constant imposition of strenuous, often violent, harmful and humiliating bullying and hazing, idiotic cosmetic and fashion competition, never ending dimwitted popularity contest, reckless and irresponsible behavior, terrible influences of television and video games brought to school in forms of violence, drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse, consumerism, violent mind numbing sporting events celebrated as normal daily behavior, crowded classrooms, terrible school foods, harmful carcinogenic junk food and beverage spewing vending machines, appalling dumbing down curriculums and teaching methodology, awful educational policies, low-paid and unqualified teachers, and the constant sexual tension and competition between the kids are not going to be of any help to the future of our children, coupled with dangerous form of transportation back and forth trapped in the most badly designed and made death trap of the yellow school bus, and the list goes on, and on.

The question here for every parent and family is why do we allow such appalling conditions to persist?  Did we forget that our children are truly the only hope for a better sustainable future?  If instead of providing up to date high quality all encompassing futuristic education we allow our children to be trained in the arts of mediocrity and stupidity through the use of dumbing down curriculums and consumerism what would become of our society and the country at large?

In one form, or another we all have spend time in classrooms and know very well that learning is achieved at a different rate and speed for different people.  Some may learn and understand the teacher and the subject after the first time presentation, explained by the teacher and some may need to go over it more than a few times.  But the problem is that after the first and second time raising hand and asking for repeating the explanation some may be a bit apprehensive to ask for the third and the fourth time, fearing to be ridiculed and or perceived stupid.

Home schooling with the help of a content rich website on the other hand is completely free from the above problems and shortcomings and many psychological and physical health hazards. Home schooling online will only costs $1,200 per year, $100 a month, which is a tiny fraction of the most good private schools tuitions ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 per year, or more.  Besides, good private schools are hard to find, expensive, difficult to get accepted and not available in many towns and cities.

Home schooling with the help of an easy to navigate, user-friendly, content rich and secure website shall make home schooling a highly educational, entertaining and fun means of teaching and learning.  One could either through the use of our pre-recorded video, or audio course presentations of all related curriculums, or written textual curriculums, or all of the methods mentioned here together, teach and learn in an one on one bases at the convenient time of one’s choosing.

All of our registered members will be able to communicate via video conferencing with in our network with each other.  One can watch, listen and read as many time as one needs to learn, download our video, or audio podcasts and enjoy learning whenever one may find appropriate.  Use our members only secure community forum to reach out to a large network of many other home schooling teachers and home schooled students to share, exchange ideas, post questions and communicate with.

Using our online easy to learn test-creating utilities, teachers can design and administer their own tests, or take advantage of tests design by other teachers for the same grade curriculums to discover the dept of knowledge of their students on any given subject.

Our websites, servers and our entire network shall always remain a true educational environment, which means no advertisements of any kind, and completely commercial free.  Our client’s information: your information, will be kept safe and secret, and under no circumstances it will never be soled, shared, or given to any one, or company, or any organization.

We can also help our clients, if needed, with the selection of the best computers, computer monitors, printers, accessories and computer software programs in order to create the best online home schooling environment.  Currently a powerful long lasting high quality multi processor desktop computer with a 26-inch color monitor plus all the required accessories and software could cost roughly at about $5,000.  The said system if properly maintained could easily last over minimum 15 years, or more.

Below are a few more vital benefits of home schooling to our, family, community and environment.

Home schooling will cut down on environmental pollutions by reducing the use of the polluting buses and other activities such as: foods trucking and transportation, heating, electricity, unsafe cell-phone use by children, unnecessary manufacturing of carcinogenic junk foods and beverages and much more.

The 6000 year old Persian proverb - HEALTHY MIND IS IN A HEALTHY BODY -, says it all very clearly. And that is an absolute and undisputable fact, which means if we provide a healthy environment, 30 minutes a day cardiovascular exercise, good healthy foods, clean air and clean water for our children; learning becomes a highly enjoyable practice. It has been proven scientifically that every child could be a genius if the said conditions are met. Home schooling is far more relaxing and conducive to learning and it will allow our children to enjoy having healthy homemade foods, snacking on fruits and vegetables while studying. Saving our children’s mind and body from the harmful carcinogenic mass-produced vending machine rubbish, beverages and fast foods is the only way to protect them and ensure a great prosperous future for them and for the whole world.

I leave you with one other absolute proven fact; scientifically and psychologically 1000s of kids in the past couple of decades, from all over the world, have been tested and examined for their learning ability and high intellectual potentials and the results are truly astonishing, simply put; it is now proven, that no matter where the child is born on Planet Earth, as so long as she / he is breast fed, followed by a healthy none carcinogenic foods, clean water, clean air and appropriate amount of love and attention, every child can grow up to be a genius. And if we add to this equation a good futuristic curriculum in no time we will transform our world into a heavenly utopian one.

All and all, home schooling is the one and only way for many of us, the ordinary American people to provide a first-class high quality private school education at home, at the public school costs, or even less and guarantee the well being and a future of our children. - An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. Preventive health care begins at home and so does the preventive, effective and futuristic education.

We are seeking financial, material support and volunteer work to jump-start our work and mission. Your tax-deductible donations of funds, goods and services will be greatly appreciated and will be listed on the - Contributors List - page at our website for all to see, unless to ask not to be listed there.

In conclusion I would like to invite all of those who do care and wish to help to join us. We need experienced and qualified teachers in every field, fund raising specialist and concerned parents to consider joining us and together lets make the idea of online home private schooling a welcoming reality for our children.

* State Of Mind - The Psychology Of Total Control - And Eugenics