jhkim (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jhkim) wrote,@ 2008-03-27 10:37:00 |
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Prison and Safety Nets
badgerbag's recent post on drawing the line made me think about safety nets in society. Sadly, in the U.S. it seems that our main safety net is in our prisons -- we actually have the highest per-capita rate of prisoners in the world. The U.K. Reports on Prisons has a World Prison Population list. It summarizes:
What I'd be curious would be a comparison of the cost of Europe's (usually more extensive) social programs versus the cost of the U.S.'s massive prison program. It seems to me that the anti-socialist stance of trying to minimize our safety net (i.e. "making them pay their own way") may actually be costing us more money, let alone improving the quality of life.
badgerbag's recent post on drawing the line made me think about safety nets in society. Sadly, in the U.S. it seems that our main safety net is in our prisons -- we actually have the highest per-capita rate of prisoners in the world. The U.K. Reports on Prisons has a World Prison Population list. It summarizes:• The United States has the highest prison population rate in the world, some 701 per 100,000 of the national population, followed by Russia (606), Belarus (554), Kazakhstan and the U.S. Virgin Islands (both 522), the Cayman Islands (501), Turkmenistan (489), Belize (459), Bermuda (447), Suriname (437), Dominica (420) and Ukraine (415).
• 50 However, more than three fifths of countries (60.5%) have rates below 150 per 100,000. (The United Kingdom’s rate of 141 per 100,000 of the national population places it above the mid-point in the World List; it is the highest among countries of the European Union.)
What I'd be curious would be a comparison of the cost of Europe's (usually more extensive) social programs versus the cost of the U.S.'s massive prison program. It seems to me that the anti-socialist stance of trying to minimize our safety net (i.e. "making them pay their own way") may actually be costing us more money, let alone improving the quality of life.
