NYT writer John Tierney summarizes research that shows how long prison terms contribute to high unemployment and high poverty, with the possible indirect effect of increasing crime
Among African-Americans who have grown up during the era of mass incarceration, one in four has had a parent locked up at some point during childhood. For black men in their 20s and early 30s without a high school diploma, the incarceration rate is so high — nearly 40 percent nationwide — that they’re more likely to be behind bars than to have a job.
One day there's going to be a prison revolt. I don't mean prisoners revolting; I mean citizens revolting, because they're so fed up supporting the prison industrial complex at the expense of education. I know in MI where I'm from, we spend more on prisons than higher education. Price of college keeps on rising, while we keep putting guys in jail for doing drugs. Sick.
Yeah, scary statistic, isn't it? Here is a related post on another site explaining how legalizing marijuana would help the employment-population ratio
A new New Deal would help us all so much. If we could give people jobs to clean up their neighborhoods, fix or maintain city streets and parks, or deconstruct abandoned houses, the effect would be dramatic. Firstly, people would be employed, which all the evidence shows keeps people out of trouble. Second, we could reduce direct welfare payments, which I'm sure all politicians would agree is a good thing. And third, it would make decaying cities much more desirable places to live, which would become self-reinforcing. Imagine having a team of people whose job it was to build gardens in vacant lots. I think it would be wonderful.
This is what happens when privileged people take their kneejerk reactions in to action