Beyonce said, “America, America has a problem.”
Frankly, America has many problems, but still, I want to ask you this question: What do we know about the prison system within our country?
What about tax dollars?
Why are those significant?
According to prisonpolicy.org, the total number of U.S. tax dollars is $80.7 billion, while the U.S. government spent another $3.9 billion on private prisons and jails.
Putting that into perspective, how many prisons and jails are in America? There are 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities, and 142 immigration detention facilities. As of 2024, immigration facilities hold 1.9 million people incarcerated — about twice the population of South Dakota. The prison population has grown significantly.
Looking closely at prison demographics, Black Americans make up more than half the prison population within 12 states. The majority of these are Southern states, with the addition of Delaware and New Jersey. Latinos are locked up at a rate of 1.3 times the rate of white individuals in America. On the other hand, African Americans are incarcerated at 5 times the rate of white Americans. Essentially, the U.S. prison system mainly incarcerates people of color.
A little-known fact is that prisoners in the U.S. are exploited for work, a concept referred to as captive labor. Captive labor is a multi-billion-dollar industry which has been in use in the U.S. since the late 19th century. Many incarcerated workers face inhumane conditions such as abuse, poor healthcare and poor diet. This issue seems distant for most young college students, but looking at the statistics, 25 thousand young adults are victims of mass incarceration in 2024 according to trends.vera.org. Young adulthood is a foundational time in life, the time to learn, make mistakes and grow. Sometimes mistakes happen, and some mistakes can land someone in jail even for a petty crime. We like to think that this couldn’t happen to us, but reality shows that you never know what can happen or where life will take you. The mass incarceration problem is bigger than only an individual problem, so I propose that in this upcoming presidential term we especially keep this in mind during elections. Contrary to what some say, your vote matters, and every vote goes toward change within America. Even the simplest change helps on the way to a better future. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but someday the mass incarceration problem will be resolved.
