If they were paid based on lowering recidivism rates, for-profit prisons could potentially work very well.
How about creating a system where we help people who have been to prison to avoid going there again - say training them for good jobs and treating them like human beings when in jail so they treat others the same way when they get out?
I suggested that he learn to write code then hang out his shingle as a self-employed consultant.
It turned out that he was already quite a good computer programmer as he was taught how while in prison. But even so he refused to consider self-employment because he was so down on himself.
While there are many reasons to pursue self-employment, among them is that one cannot find paying work any other way.
The reason prisons are commonly called "Penitentiaries" or "Correctional Institutes" is that they are not intended for punishment but to set their inmates onto a righteous path.
At least that was the stated intention at one time.
http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=0...
It would be interesting to see the unionization rates in the for profit prisons. I am sure the FPP would love to lower their staffing costs and influence while having a more opaque regime overseas.
Because cutting off family support for these prisoners would make a bad situation worse?
And the wealthy don't get enough preferential treatment in the criminal justice system now?
The current system does a great job draining additional money from poor inmates and their families. Just look at the price of phone calls, one of the most basic means to keep people connected.
The wealthy are already less likely to be investigated (living in a non-poor neighborhood), less likely to be charged with a crime (better lawyers), and less likely to be convicted (ditto).
Oh, I don't like this in my house, let me just toss it into the neighbour's place since I am powerful and the neighbour can't complain...