Prisons As Industry Essay Example for Free

Prisons As Industry Essay What is the most profitable industry in America? Weapons, oil and computer technology all offer high rates of return, but there is probably no sector of the economy as abloom with money as the privately run prison industry. Prison industry in recent years has become a high-profit business and it competes with industries such as the oil and gas industry. The aim of this paper therefore is to examine the industry as a whole. In examining the industry therefore, there shall be a cursory analysis of some salient point vis-à  -vis the prison industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A very important fact is that the prison industry came about because of the congestion in the various government-owned prisons in throughout the country. The demand for prisons seems to be ever increasing and the public prisons scattered all around the country are incapable of providing adequately for this. Nearly every prison in America is overcrowded and will continue to be so if new prisons do not spring up. So therefore, the aim of the prison industry is to make provisions for more space to keep dissidents at a lower cost than federal prisons can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In other words, privately owned prisons are unique because demand for prisons is high, while supply of prisons is low.   That is what makes this industry so appealing. Thus, privately owned prisons are good substitutes for federally run services. Therefore, this brings us to the issue of prison privatization. This involves the transfer of running state-owned prisons to private industries to manage. Thus, by using the private sector to build or manage prisons, many states believe that they can reduce costs. Privatization of prisons can take various forms. This includes: Contracting out services: This is the most common form of prison privatization. Currently, 39 states in the US hire private firms to provide such services as medical and mental health treatment, drug treatment, education, staff training, and vocational training and counseling. Contracting out prison labor This also is another means of privatizing prisons. By putting prisoners to work and paying inmates competitive wages, many private companies are reducing prison costs for the government by withholding earnings for taxes, room and board, family support, and victims compensation. Such employment also gives prisoners the skills and work experience that will prepare them for the job market when they are released from prison. Construction and lease/purchasing Many states see private construction as a promising solution to the prison over crowding crisis. States normally finance construction by cash appropriations (a pay-as-you-go approach) or by issuing general obligation bonds The points above are some of the ways by which prisons by various states in the US. In another vein, privatization of prisons can also occur at the federal level. For instance, the Federal Government of the United States recently proposed contracting with a private firm for a new 500 bed minimum-secure facility for illegal aliens. In addition, the Bureau has considered contracting for facilities to house special needs prisoners, such as juveniles, women, protective custody cases, and for prisoners needing medical services. However, the federal government is wary in contracting out the more mainstream prisoners such as those imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institutions and the U.S. Penitentiary System. Nevertheless, the prison industry has raises certain questions. These questions must be answered before a deeper understanding and full grasp of the objectives of the industry can be achieved. The first question is that has the federal government abrogated its responsibility by privatizing prisons. In other words, Should the private sector be responsible for a function traditionally performed by the government sector? Evidence has shown that that prison privatization does not mean that the government relinquishes its responsibility. The government still would select the inmates to be placed in private prisons, choose the type of facility to be contracted out, oversee the contractors disciplinary practices and, most important, evaluate the contractors performance. Furthermore, another good question to be asked is whether service quality and flexibility is maintained or not? This is because some policy makers maintain that the quality of management in private prisons will tend to be high at first, because of competition and the desire to win contracts. However, they question the private sectors ability to sustain high-quality standards. This is not true of the prison industry because contracting standards are likely to improve over time as more firms enter the market and competition increases. Periodic bidding creates incentives for firms to improve constantly the quality and cost-efficiency of their performance. These above questions, among others, are some of the questions to ask in order to have an enlightened grasp of the prison industry. Now, it is of necessity to look at the history of prison industry. Historically, prison population started to grow in the United States in the 70s. Statistically, one out of every hundred adults is now imprisoned. In order to curtail the unwanted rise in the number of inmates, larger sentences are being imposed on to act as deterrent and other policies, which are known as the ‘broken window’. They have introduced the ’three strike’ policy which means that if you are convicted of any 3 offences you will receive life which is a very good deterrent. The state of Virginia applies this always, and has managed to slow the growth of the population (Bratton 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the government has tried to seek alternative modes of punishing offenders instead of retaining them in the prison yards. Undauntedly however, the rate of offenders soars. This has gone a long way in boosting the prison industry. The industry is now much bigger than ever before worth around 40 billion dollars a year. Due to the overcrowding in state prisons and federal prisons, which are on average 34% over designed capacity according to the BJS report, the prison industry has to rely on private prisons. Many states enjoy the companies taking on the task of building the prisons and covering the costs and just charging the state per inmate, as the state tends to be a lot more lenient to a convicted felon in order to save money. So therefore, prison industry continues to soar high. Investors are now having good times because of their net profits from prison business. For example, the leading company in prison business, Corrections Corporation of America, has made a tremendous success in the business. The revenue of this company rose by 81% in 1995 alone. Again, Investors in Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, another leading prison industry,   have enjoyed an average return of 18 percent during the past five years and the company is rated by Forbes as one of the top 200 small businesses in the country as of today. The list goes on an on. Ten years ago, there were just five privately run prisons in the country, housing a population of 2.000. Nearly, a score of private firms run more than 100 prisons with about 62,000 beds today. Thats still less than five percent of the total market, but the industry is expanding fast, with the number of private prison beds expected to grow to 360,000 during the next decade. This could be said to be the reason why a recent headline in USA Today which says that; Everybodys Doin the Jailhouse Stock In view of this, the prison industry is now a lucrative business. In fact, almost 30 states in the US have 28 states have passed legislation making it legal for private contractors to run correctional facilities and many more states are expected to follow suit. God knows maybe one day, the prison industry will take over as the most lucrative and cost-effective business. To summarize it all, there are many reasons why America has incarcerated more of its population than any other country including China, which has a much greater population. The main reason is still the fact that the prison industry is being portrayed as a business and companies are making money from crime. Therefore, toughening of laws by both the federal and state governments does not help matter. Therefore, one can safely conclude that prison industry has come to stay. What is to be done now is for the government to tighten laws on the establishment of privately owned correction centers across the States. This would go a long way in ensuring that the privately owned prisons function effectively as their public counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   REFERENCES Tonry M., 2004. Prisons and Imprisonment, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pages 12062-1206. Walker, S., Spohn, C., Dolone, M., 2004. The Color of Justice, Race Ethnicity, and Crime in America, 3rd Ed, Wadsworth Publishing. Scalia, J., August 2001. Federal Drug Offenders, 1999 with trends 1984-99, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Samaha, j., 2001. Criminal justice, 5th ed. Wadsworth publishing. Renshaw, B., December 1982. Prisoners 1925-1981, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice. Harrison, P., November 2004. Prisoners 2003, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of justice.

Absinthe Essay -- Exploratory Essays

Absinthe Since its introduction to the drinking community, absinthe has the most compelling history of any liqueur. The drink, nicknamed the green fairy, gained popularity in the artistic social circle. Among its devotees were Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Dowson, Edgar Allen Poe, Verlaine, and Vincent Van Gough. As time continued, absinthe soared in popularity, reaching the everyday, working-class man. By 1910, French refiners produced thirty-six million liters of absinthe a year (Kiffel). As the drink became increasingly popular, questions concerning the safety of the drink arose leading to bans by almost every European nation between the years 1912 and 1915. While its reign was short, absinthe signified early twentieth century counterculture, leading people to refer to it as â€Å"the drink of Parisian abandon† (Walsh). Absinthe’s two main components were alcohol and thujone, a substance similar to THC. It was made out of a combination of aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemonbalm along with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper, nutmeg, and veronica (Baggot). These ingredients were mixed with wormwood plants and water. The mixture was then distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give it a concentration of seventy-five percent alcohol by volume (Walsh). If done correctly, the finished product had a mild green color and an extremely bitter taste. In 1792, Pierre Ordinaire concocted absinthe as a cure-all. The potion remained in relative obscurity until Major Dubied bought the rites to the elixir. Within ten years, he established the Perrod-Fils absinthe company. In 1844, the French military purchased an immense ... ...nd a threat to European culture. Starting with Sweden in 1912, absinthe was banned from almost every nation, ending with France in 1915. Works Cited Walsh, Don. â€Å"Absinthe & Thujone†. www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/absinthe/absinthe.html. This source provided information about the chemical makeup of absinthe. It also talked about the reasons for its ban and the possible health effects of the drink. Kiffel, James. â€Å"Absinthe†. www.sepulchritude.com/chapelperilous/absinthe.html. (1997). This source provided a good historical view of the drink and its relation to the times in which it was popular. Baggot, Mathew. â€Å"Facts about Absinthe.† www.sepulchritude.com/chapelperilous/absinthe/absinthe-faq.html. (1943). This source provided general information about absinthe such as its main components, the way it was drunk, and its relation to other alcoholic drinks.

Confucianism and Legalism

Confucianism and Legalism Confucianism and Legalism were two philosophies developed by scholars as solutions to a period of disorder in China. Confucianism and Legalism are similar in that both originated during the Chinese Classical Period; however, they are different in government because Confucianism focuses on having an orderly, respectful, and successful ruler, while Legalism focuses on having an forceful and omnipotent ruler.In addition, education is extremely important in Confucianism, as opposed to the Legalist belief that people should never gain much knowledge. Both Confucianism and Legalism were developed in China during the Classical Period as solutions to bring back peace and harmony to the area. After the decline of the Zhou dynasty, there was a breakdown of social order (The Period of Warring States), so Chinese scholars and philosophers looked for ways to bring back a state of order and peace.Two different schools of thought, Confucianism and Legalism, developed as wa ys to move China out of chaos and help it return to stability. Another philosophy, Daoism, is similar to Confucianism and Legalism because it was also developed during the Classical Period in China as a solution to the disorder. The styles of governing found in Confucianism and Legalism differ greatly because Confucian government focuses on leading by example, while Legalist government focuses on having an all-powerful government in order to make sure people do not disrupt society for their own gain.Confucians believe that a ruler must be orderly, respectful, and successful in order for his subjects to obey him. This idea is due to their belief in The Five Relationships, one of which is between ruler and subject stating that subjects shall obey their ruler as long as the ruler respects the subjects. Legalist and Confucian beliefs are different on this matter because Legalists think that a ruler can do whatever he wishes regardless of his subjects, while Confucians value respect and devotion throughout society.They believe that there must be an all-powerful and forceful government in place to control society. The reason they think this is because they believe that humans are selfish in nature and that their desires bring about chaos and disorder in society. The views of Confucianism and Legalism on education are very different in that education is very important in Confucianism, while Legalism tries to restrict learning as much as possible. Confucianism deems education as the most important thing a person can have.This is because the Confucian social order – differing from the Legalist social order that focused mainly on ancestry – was not specifically based on birth, but on education as well; the more educated a person was the higher their status could be. However, Legalists believed that anyone or anything that opposed the emperor must be controlled by censorship. Those who opposed the emperor were punished or killed, and works that expressed op position were destroyed. The reason for these actions is that the powerful emperor did not want his reputation to be impaired by other’s â€Å"selfish acts.Confucianism and Legalism are both similar in that they developed at the same time in China; however, they are different in that in order to control society Confucians believe in governing by example, while Legalists believe in governing by force and power. Additionally, Confucianism and Legalism differ in that Confucianism values education to the highest degree, whereas Legalism tries to limit the knowledge of society. Both of these Classical Period philosophies were built up in order to pose as solutions to a period of disorder in China.

Challenges Facing Operations of Ford Motor Company - Business Operations Analysis Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The paper tells that it is not a secret that Ford Company has sold more for a long period. The Company has been launching competitive and strong products that have been helping it to stay ahead of its rivals, and gaining more profit in America. The profit margin of the company in North America has been the highest. Despite its success in the home country, Ford has been facing various challenges. The company is facing a very stiff competition in Europe. Many may wonder why Europe matters to Ford. It matters because it is Ford s biggest business part and the company as of late, losing a lot of money there. This is not because the company is making big mistakes, but it is because its rivals in Europe are selling cars at lower prices. The sales of Fiesta in Europe are drastically decreasing because many buyers prefer the cheap cars. As a result, the company has cut down its production rate by closing its three factories, two in U. K and another one in Belgium. Owners and reviewers of Fo rd cars, especially Fiesta say that this new product is a great improvement compared to the old models. We will write a custom essay sample on Challenges Facing Operations of Ford Motor Company - Business Operations Analysis or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page