[Ppnews] The Pun's on US - Down in Pinal County

[Political Prisoner News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/moses06282006.html

June 28, 2006


The Pun's on US


Down in Pinal County

By GREG MOSES

Back in January, the jobs picture in Eloy, Arizona wasn't looking so 
good. Thanks to federal budget cuts, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) 
announced it would cancel a contract with the town's biggest 
employer, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) at a cost of 300 jobs.

Today, however, the jobs picture is much improved. Not only did CCA 
manage to save the jobs at the Eloy Detention Center by picking up a 
contract to detain 1,500 male "noncitizens" for Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE), but the giant prison contractor has also 
broken ground on two new projects in Eloy that will together import 
about 3,500 new prisoners from Alaska and Hawaii.

"This means an awful lot to the city. It opens more job opportunities 
for people in the region," said Eloy Mayor Byron Jackson in a 
dispatch filed by reporter Eli J. Long of the Arizona Daily Star.

In addition to Eloy's three prisons, CCA already manages two prisons 
in the nearby town of Florence that together import nearly 4,000 
prisoners from ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
(USCIS), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), US Air Force, Alaska, Hawaii, 
and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. When all five prisons of Pinal County are 
up and running, they will bring a total of 2,000 jobs.

"Our contracts create predictable revenue streams," brags the CCA 
investor report for Q1 2006. And the news does look good for 
investors. The prison industry is not much affected by economic 
downturns; 93.3 percent of the market share is yet to be privatized; 
overcrowding is pervasive; and demographic trends "point to higher 
prison populations."

In addition to these favorable trends for investors, CCA points to 
"strong federal demand substantially driven by an increasing emphasis 
on border security" (CCA Q1 investor report 2006, pdf page 10.)

By "increasing emphasis," CCA means increasing funds. To hold more 
prisoners, Congress has given USMS a 38 percent increase in detention 
funding, good for about 5,000 new beds. ICE is getting another $90 
million for new cells, too.

"This represents the third consecutive year of increased funding to 
ICE and USMS," announces CCA in a blue box filled with bold red 
italics. So you see, Congress has been addressing somebody's needs. 
But there's more, because the President also has taken action in time 
to make the Q1 pdf.

"On May 15, 2006, President Bush requested $1.948 billion in 
emergency funding to help secure America's borders," heralds the May 
30 report from CCA. That emergency money is supposed to include 4,000 
prison beds more.

Then, if you look at the schedule for FY 2007, things get even better 
for CCA investors. The USMS will be looking at another funding 
increase of $110 million for prisoner detention, which sounds pretty 
good until you look at ICE, which is even better, because ICE is 
looking at a $700 million increase in funds, which will translate 
into anywhere from 4,780 to 6,700 new beds for immigration prisoners alone.

"Although the ultimate form of a comprehensive Immigration Reform 
Bill is not certain at this time," reports CCA once again in red 
italics, "the Company believes any bill ultimately passed will 
provide for substantial increases in the arrest and detention of 
illegal immigrants crossing the US border with Mexico." And why 
should we not believe the company?

But CCA is not yet finished with the prospects of federal demand for 
prisoners, because it's not all about immigrants, you know. There are 
190,000 prisoners in the BOP; the agency is running 34 percent over 
capacity; and for plain ole U.S. Citizens, it will need at least 
another 30,000 beds before 2011. Funding for this need will be 
forthcoming. The CCA isn't worried about that.

Factor in only one thing more, that the CCA's preference for warmer 
climates of the South and Southwest tends to "mute" the impacts of 
rising energy prices, and you have the total picture: "Superior 
returns on investment," says the bullet point, "The Company is able 
to generate unleveraged, pre-tax returns on new real estate 
investments of between 13-15 percent of cost at a stabilized 
occupancy of 95 percent."

Which brings us back to Pinal County and the obvious pun. Just put 
your money on the table. CCA and the feds will stabilize the prison 
occupancy. Ask not for whom the beds are built. Whether you're a CCA 
investor or not, either way you're guaranteed a secure place to sleep.

Greg Moses is editor of the Texas Civil Rights Review and author of 
Revolution of Conscience: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Philosophy 
of Nonviolence. He can be reached at 
<mailto:gmosesx at prodigy.net>gmosesx at prodigy.net


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