Thursday, March 28, 2024

President Obama, Yes Increase In Prison Funding.

March 8, 2012 by  
Filed under News, Opinion, Politics, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) We are all aware of the massive debt that has been accrued over the past six executive administrations. Likewise that a lot of it is either wasted for stuff I can’t figure out like $750,000 on a new soccer field for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay or giving one Alaska Airlines $500,000to paint a Chinook salmon” on the side of a Boeing 737 or given away massive loot to countries like Israel that don’t have or serve our best political interest as a nation.

As Africa Americans we expect this since historically no one I Washington seemed to care about us unless we were rioting or making folk loss money via protest. However, I am concerned about the recent budget (rather for show or actual) by President Obama. We all know about the racial disparity  regarding incarceration and that disproportionately impact African Americans, especially males and how most of the crimes are economic in nature and are based on a small amount of cocaine and/or marijuana.

Even republican led stats like Georgia are trying to respond to this issue. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal is trying to reduce state corrections spending by softening sentencing laws. Last year the state’s GOP-led House of Representatives introduced legislation that calls for special courts to steer drug users into rehab, which Deal says is cheaper than a jail sentence. Georgia has the nation’s highest rate of correctional control with, one in 13 residents is locked up or on probation or parole and it spends 7 percent of its $15.9 billion budget on prisons.

Although many states are following Georgia’s led, the Obama administration is not and instead is increasing the funding of federal prisons. According to an analysis by the Federal Times. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is seeking a 4.2 percent increase, one of the largest of any federal agency, which would bring its total budget to more than $6.9 billion. According to Obama’s new budget, four new federal prisons will open including in Mississippi and West Virginia.

Since less than 10 percent of Federal prisoners are locked up for violent crimes according to the Sentencing Project, more than half are drug offenders (federal prosecutions for drug offenses more than doubled between 1984 and 2005). Not to mention these funds will also be allocated to private prison which now holds around 20 percent of all federal prisoners.

Over the years, the federal prison population grew more than eight times. Between 1980 to 2010 the federal inmate population grew from 25,000 to more than 210,000 based on data from the Association of State Correctional Administrators.

Although while on the campaign Trail in fund-raiser in Harlem, NY, Nov. 29, 2007 Obama said, “I don’t want to wake up four years from now and discover that we still have more young black men in prison than in college,” it seems the President policy for increasing prison funding, will more likely insure more young black males  are incarcerated than less. Sounds like chain gangs are backn in style and here to stay under the President Obama budget as all budgets before his.

Staff Writer; Torrance Stephens 

For more articles by this talented brother do visit; Raw Dawg Buffalo.
 

Comments

3 Responses to “President Obama, Yes Increase In Prison Funding.”
  1. chuck norrisssss says:

    To quote your article, “We all know about the racial disparity regarding incarceration and that disproportionately impact African Americans, especially males and how most of the crimes are economic in nature and are based on a small amount of cocaine and/or marijuana.”
    Here’s my question. You claim that it is because of race that young black men are incarcerated and due to the crimes being mostly “economic in nature and are based on a small amount of cocaine and/or marijuana.” What does that have to do with race? Has it ever dawned on you that if those young black men did not HAVE THE DRUGS WITH THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE, they would not be charged with them! Possession of a schedule II drug (cocaine) is a felony and the vast majority of these young black men know that! They feel that just because it’s “just a little weed” that the law suddenly does not apply to them and when they are in turn charged they all claim it was racial profiling. No it was not; it was the simple fact that they were caught with an illegal substance. Next time instead of trying to say it is the government’s fault or a law enforcement agency’s fault that the vast majority of criminals that are doing time are young black males try working with these black males to make them understand they must take responsibility for their own actions. They should do their time, stop blaming racism and everyone else for their problems, get back out in the world and make something of themselves. You can only blame everyone else for your problems for so long; eventually, you have to grow up, take responsibility for yourself, and in turn, make something of your life!

  2. Young Lady says:

    the man who runs this site has inflicted pain and abuse upon the Black Community. Talk about, wolf in sheeps clothing

  3. Lonnie Radcliffe says:

    Thank you very much for this eye-opening information.
    This president continues to afflict and abuse the Black community which gave him the presidency with 96% of its votes in 2008.

    This is sickening and troubling.

    Instead of supporting black business development, this president has decided to shrink the Minority Business Development Agency and instead to increase spending on federal prisons to put more black folks in jail.

    We really need to do something about this president and stop this insane, blind hero worship. Clearly, he has done nothing to deserve our loyalty, but instead our distrust and utmost scrutiny.

    This president cannot be trusted.

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