As the State of Florida trudges through the sludge of an oft-stalled economy, the argument between private-sector versus public-sector jobs is again the topic of conversation. Should government provide more jobs or should we allow the free market to self-correct and create more jobs without intervention?
Governor Rick Scott and the Republican controlled Florida Legislature decided to go with the latter. Before the election, Scott promised to privatize state prisons and save Florida millions of dollars in the process. Last year, the Legislature attempted to turn over control of over 19,000 inmates in 18 counties to a private firm called The GEO Group.
That effort was rebuffed by the courts due to its unconstitutional nature.
At the time, Scott said that the state would save more $40 million dollars with the prison privatization project, a number that was never confirmed. The number that we can correlate is the loss of jobs: over 1,700. Because the state Department of Corrections would lose control of the prisons and their beds, the state would shed almost 2,000 jobs. That means that the small communities and towns that have an economy partially based on correctional facilities will suffer mightily.
That means even more men and women out of work who are unable to pay their mortgages, rent, electric and water bills. Haven’t they already been hurt enough?
But Scott is not concerned about the loss of jobs – he’s focused on saving money, and thinks that privatization is the answer. Well governor, the available data says something completely different and even opens up the prison system to a new set of problems. According to a story in the New York Times, private prisons tend to keep cheaper inmates and give the more expensive ones to the state. Using a University of Utah study, the article affirms that “cost savings from privatizing prisons are not guaranteed and appear minimal.”
Another disturbing factor about this new privatization project is the number of minority workers who are affected. A large number of state and federal employees are minorities, and by closing and ceding control of prisons to private firms we are eliminating jobs for that community of workers. Instead of creating new jobs and opportunities for Florida’s work force, Scott and state Republicans are eliminating them.
This move also shapes education. A 2009 study found that young black men who have dropped out of high school have a 22% daily jailing rate. That same study shows that high school drop-outs are four times as likely as their peers with a higher education to live in poverty. Because corrections-based businesses like the Boca Raton-based The GEO Group depend on a steady flow of inmates to decide their bottom line, our young men and women who decide to drop out of school are in grave danger of becoming customers … possibly for life.
By privatizing prisons, the state has effectively sent a message to our young people saying that jail and prison are the only way out for them. It is not the only way, we need to change that message.
In the end, this move has little to do with saving money – because it won’t save much, if any, according to the data. It is all about Republican politics: firing government workers and busting unions. But at what cost? Small communities would be ruined, minorities adversely affected and inmate control handed over to private, profit-driven firms.
Private prisons equal big business, but instead of playing with money we are playing with lives.
Gov. Rick Scott and all who are behind this dreadful piece of Legislation should be ashamed. They place a heavier emphasis on a greenback than they do the soul of a living, breathing person. Our state is now in danger because of the careless nature of those that were voted in to handle our public policy. And they are failing us.
Jason Henry is a candidate for State House representing District 39 and the President of the Orange County Young Democrats.
