zlacker

>designed to let the state rob a few more individuals of their freedom

"The state" doesn't benefit in any way from locking people up. In fact, it costs them money (both directly and in lost taxes from the lost salaries and wages of those incarcerated).

An argument could be made that prosecutors benefit from higher incarceration rates through the incentives you described. And an argument could definitely be made that private corporations paying well-below-market rates for prison labour benefit.

>>akobol+(OP)
Politicians benefit from locking people up because it gives them an easily measurable way to look "tough on crime".

>>akobol+(OP)
I hate to break it to you, but the prison system has been the premiere, essential job-creation program for these United States ever since Appomattox 1865.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_Un...

https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploit...

We got 800,000 or so right now. Fight unemployment? Lock more people up.

>>akobol+(OP)
Also, keep in mind, it costs the taxpayers money, not the people running the criminal justice system. They're motivated by climbing the ladder and scorekeeping.

>>akobol+(OP)
You think states don't benefit from spending more money? They're just like other organizations who try to expand their budgets year over year.

Except they can force people to pay them more, all they need is plausible justification (like combating crime, or terrorists, or drugs, or viruses, or whatever the current societal scare happens to be about).

>>NoZebr+if
Yep and there are some specific product that rely heavily on prison labor- license plates come to mind.

>>tikhon+81
Good point.