Show me.
The crook's rakin' in the cash!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110512/us_nm/us_usa_prisons_floridaFlorida has opened the doors to one of the biggest prison privatization programs in U.S. history, as the cash-strapped state looks to cut the cost of keeping more than 100,000 people behind bars.
The privatization plan, touted by the industry as "an important milestone" for the private prison business, was approved by the Republican-dominated Florida legislature as part of a budget deal hammered out last week.
Private prison operators have already made big inroads in states like Texas and New Mexico. But Florida has the third largest state prison system in the United States, and no other state has sought to privatize so many lock-ups at any one time.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from law enforcement groups and even some leading Republicans, who say it endangers public safety in a state still trying to shake off a history of prison abuse and corruption, as depicted in the popular 1967 Hollywood film "Cool Hand Luke" set in Florida starring Paul Newman.
Others say private prisons don't have incentives to rehabilitate inmates and are focused instead on profits.
The plan has not yet been signed into law by Republican Governor Rick Scott, who took office in January after campaigning on a pledge to fight record-high unemployment.
But few doubt that Scott, who puts a premium on cost-cutting and close ties with the business community, will endorse the initiative even though it could lead to layoffs and sharply reduced wages and benefits for 4,500 prison guards.
Critics condemn the privatization move as an example of the corrosive effect of corporate money in politics.
Coupled with other austerity measures introduced under the leadership of the Tea Party-backed Scott, it could hurt Republicans in the run-up to next year's election in the pivotal battleground state.
"For the first time in my life I'm thinking about switching parties," said Jim Baiardi, a 45-year-old prison guard and life-long Republican who heads the correctional officers chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association.
The privatization plan is "not for the benefit of the state, it's for the benefit of the corporations," Baiardi said.
Under the plan, the state is required to privatize all of the prisons in South Florida, which is home to about one-fifth of the statewide inmate population of 101,000.
That includes at least 16 prisons along with numerous annexes, juvenile correction facilities, road camps and so-called work-release centers across an 18-county region.
"It's unprecedented in the United States," said Florida Senator Mike Fasano, a Republican who heads the Senate budget committee with oversight of prisons.
