from:alt.conspiracy
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Click Here: <A HREF="aol://5863:126/alt.conspiracy:626557">Drug war economics<
/A>
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Subject: Drug war economics
From: "Jerry G" <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
Date: Fri, Jul 7, 2000 6:02 PM
Message-id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The public service announcments are if anything a challenge
to our young people to try drugs. The PSA's tell them you can
never be anything if you are on/or have ever been on drugs,
many kids can see past this obvious lie, look at the athletes,
tv and movie stars, and politicians that are obviously successful
that use drugs, and at their own friends, for some I'm sure the
question comes to their mind, if they lied about this what else
did they lie about, maybe drugs aren't really that bad after all.
<A HREF="http://www.mv.com/ipusers/barbarian/book/dwe.htm">http://www.mv.com/i
pusers/barbarian/book/dwe.htm</A>
Please copy/mirror/pass around as long as there are no changes to the
html/text. Controversial!!
(warning:783k)
excerpts:
Drug War Economics
[snip]
Colleges or Prisons
Every year, California budgets are fought on this issue. With the annual
introduction of million dollar campaign contributions to the Wilson
campaign, prison budgets are again on the rise. Are these prisons a
deterrent to crime or a ticket to crime? What is the economic effect of the
prison system on California and the future? Conclusions are drawn from the
following data.
A four year degree costs $20,000 at $5,000 per year.
The average lifetime value of a college degree is $600,000.
"Three Strikes" lifetime costs average 40 years at $25,000 a year.
Over 700,000 drug offenders are in American jails and 1.5 million inmates
total. Department of Corrections, "Three Strikes" estimates are 20 new
prisons at $500,000,000 each for 84,000 additional inmates. (25 year Prison
bonds)
Here are the results given the above information:
Each new prison cost's $120,000 per inmate to build.
America denies 6 citizens a college education for each new prison bed.
Each new prison bed is worth $3,600,000 in lost future income for America.
Each "Three Strikes" inmate denies 50 college degrees.
Each "Three Strikes" inmate denies America $30,000,000 in future income.
Each "Three Strikes" inmate costs the Federal Government $4,500,000 in
future taxes at 15% and California $1,800,000 at 6%. America spends 17.5
billion dollars to jail drug offenders annually. This denies 875,000 college
degrees each year.
Over the next 40 years, America will spend over $700 billion housing drug
offenders. This will deny 35,000,000 a college degree worth 21 trillion
dollars in lost future income. This represents over $500 billion in lost
wages annually in America, over $75 billion in federal revenues, and $3
billion in revenues to California. Every dollar needlessly spent on the Drug
War or other prison programs denies America $30 in future income and $6.25
in future tax revenues.
California has the second largest prison system in the world and is second
only to China in prison population. We are now going through a second prison
boom called, "Three Strikes." During our "Three Strikes" debate, none of our
local candidates, Pete Wilson, the media, or the prison industry had any
idea of the costs of this bill or where the money would come from to pay for
the program. Here is the State's response under Pete Wilson and the "Three
Strikes" frenzy.
Q: Has anyone in your office found out how much this bill is going to cost?
A: No. Q: Why not? A: It is not our responsibility. Q: Whose is it? A: I don
't know. Q: Why not? A: I don't know. Q: Then why don't you do the study
yourself? A: We do not have the money to do the study. Q: Then how will we
pay for "Three Strikes" ?A: I don't know. Q: Is this representative going to
support the Bill? A: Yes Q: WHY? A: Because he has to be tough on crime. Q:
Can this bankrupt the state? A: I hope not. Senator Hayden was the only one
asking these questions.
The prison industry has earned the name "Grey Gold" in California. Each new
prison generates annual payrolls approaching $100 million. This provides
employees good, middle class wages and benefits. Prisons are an economic
boom for local economies. Unfortunately, they do not provide prosperity to
this state or country. They create nothing for domestic or foreign markets
for a stable economic base. Increased prison costs decrease future revenues
for citizens and government. Finally, the tax base is the market for the
prison industry.
"Three Strikes" is a 70% increase in prison population in five years. The
increased annual costs are $3 billion a year after $10 billion in
construction costs for twenty new prisons. Pete Wilson and prison industry
representatives have recently claimed "Three Strikes" as cost effective. The
authors of studies, they used as references, refuted those claims. "This
program will deny 600,000 California residents $5,000 a year in college and
job training. By the year 2000 this program will reduce the wages of the
average California worker almost $1,000 a month.
Many of those displaced workers will be in California prisons or working for
them. With current prison policies impacting our standard of living and
denying future opportunity, we cannot afford another poverty program? This
system cannot pay our present bills and present policy reduces future state
revenues. Additional policies like "Three Strikes" increase debt and
eventually bankrupt the state. If "Three Strikes" will reduce crime, why do
we need 20 new prisons for 84,000 inmates? ( Because jails are storage
facilities for surplus population.)
It is time to compare our present investment strategies to Japan and
demonstrate our economic brilliance in the marketplace. Japan has universal
health care, a 2% unemployment rate, a $100 billion dollar federal budget
surplus, a $150 billion dollar trade surplus, limited natural resources and
the highest standard of living in the industrial world. Japan will not be
going bankrupt any time soon. The quality of their work force and
investments are responsible for the strong yen and increased standard of
living.
America has an abundance of natural resources, 6% to 10% unemployment,
annual trade deficits over $100 billion and millions of citizens have
inadequate health care. $250 billion annual federal deficits artificially
employ 5 million Americans. Our government debt approaches $5 trillion and
bankruptcy is a legitimate threat. Government bonds, by their own standards
have junk bond ratings without the yield. The money government is borrowing
does nothing to develop markets, products or improve the infrastructure. It
pays bills.
By the year 2000, America will have 2.5 million inmates costing $80 billion
a year (this is a 70% increase like the California "Three Strikes" program).
Japan will still have less than 50,000 inmates costing less than $1.5
billion a year.
We will be adding $20 billion each month to our national debt each month and
$10 billion to our trade deficit each month. Japan will be training a
skilled work force, contributing to an increased tax base and standard of
living. America will be denying its citizens $30 of future income and
government $6.25 in future taxes for every dollar wasted on present policy.
I am not suggesting that we don't need prisons for violent and predatory
offenders or the government. Even Japan has prisons. But America is using
our prison system as a jobs program. That is why the CCPOA (California
Correctional Police Officers Association) spent millions sponsoring Pete
Wilson and the "Three Strikes" program. This program is creating the poverty
where people have nothing to lose and a system consuming itself to pay for
it. This type of investment strategy got us where we are today and shows us
where we are headed. This Wall Street Journal headline (May 12,1994)
describes current policy: "MAKING CRIME PAY- THE COLD WAR OF THE 90S"
"Triangle of Special interests creates infrastructure to fight crime and
Lawlessness" "Cities see Jobs", "Politicians Sense a Popular Issue" and
"Businesses Cash In."
"Colleges or Prisons" exposes the economic impact of existing policies. But
what do the researchers say and what are their qualifications? Frederick H.
Myers, MD., Professor of Pharmacology, School of Medicine at University of
California, San Francisco, CA. He was head of the California Research
Advisory Panel for the state of California.
"A hysterical, ineffectual War on Drugs, is what we are currently
experiencing, It will absorb funds and energy, provide excuses for inaction
and deviousness and criminalize large groups within our society. The
citizenry is deliberately misinformed by people with a vested interest in
maintaining the size of the drug problem and the current hysterical
reaction. Prohibition doesn't work. Nothing we have done in the past forty
years has worked. It is time for the political and intellectual leaders of
this country to openly criticize our present efforts, resist the current
panic reaction by citizens and elected officials and help us redirect our
efforts toward our youth, economy and cities."
"It's well established that DARE doesn't work." Gilbert Botvin, Cornell
Medical Center. Research shows that DARE hasn't been effective in reducing
drug use." William Modzeleski, top drug education official at the Department
of Education. "I think the DARE program should be scraped and redeveloped
anew." Dr. William Hansen, helped design the original DARE program.
[snip]
=====
Subject: LEGALIZE IT, DON'T CRITICIZE IT (was: Re: Drug war economics
From: the 2nd coming of christ <A HREF="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]">jesuc
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
Date: Fri, Jul 7, 2000 10:39 PM
Message-id: <o8z95.214$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
you're right, they (PSAs) are an invitation to do alcohol
and cigarettes because if they are legal, they must
be safe, but of course we know it's not the case,
but the problem is with impressionable 12 year
olds who want to act like adults and also
[and there's always someone old enough
willing to obtain it for them]
there's peer pressure to smoke and be
cool and act grown up. i think alcohol and
tobacco should be treated just like any other
drug so as not to give the impression that
they are safer. if anything they're more dangerous....
i wish alcohol and tobacco would have been illegal (growing up)
because i would have understood, the shit was dangerous...
but they send the false message they are safe by
concentrating on weed and heroin... heroin is
totally safe except for the shit they add
to it in the streets to make a profit...
weed is way safer than tobacco or alcohol...
On Fri, 7 Jul 2000 17:02:02 -0800, Jerry G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
: The public service announcments are if anything a challenge
: to our young people to try drugs. The PSA's tell them you can
turns out milk is more dangerous than most illegal drugs.
: never be anything if you are on/or have ever been on drugs,
: many kids can see past this obvious lie, look at the athletes,
you can say that again...it is nothing but bull shit...
you may be beginning to see the light...
there may be hope for you yet...
: tv and movie stars, and politicians that are obviously successful
: that use drugs, and at their own friends, for some I'm sure the
: question comes to their mind, if they lied about this what else
: did they lie about, maybe drugs aren't really that bad after all.
no worse than tobacco or alcohol, so why are those legal?
don't tell me which drug i should use or not use,
it's none of your business which i choose...
jc2
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