In America, Fines are Fine for the Rich - but Prison for the Poor

Waste Of Breath Radio

In a lengthy rant, I talk about the criminalization of poverty, and how that leads to big profits for private prisons and other companies that exploit prison labor. On the other hand, if you're rich in America, you grin and ask for your bank to be fined. With enough money, a prison sentence isn't social death - it's a springboard for a senate run! https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/09/384968360/jail-time-for-unpaid-court-fines-and-fees-can-create-cycle-of-poverty https://www.npr.org/series/313986316/guilty-and-charged http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/43412-jailing-the-poor-for-fines-and-bail-is-a-government-operated-loan-shark-operation http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/43453-yes-lots-of-people-go-to-jail-because-they-can-t-pay-a-fine http://www.hcn.org/issues/49.8/how-the-booming-business-of-private-prisons-came-to-be http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/09/slavery-prison-system-170901082522072.html https://www.npr.org/2018/01/30/581778796/er-use-goes-down-as-hospital-program-pays-homeless-peoples-rent https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/us/baltimore-police-corruption.html https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/gazette_opinion/op_ed_commentaries/troy-n-miller-it-was-never-about-the-drugs-and/article_674a982f-4639-5741-ba8c-a60bb9a3e872.html http://www.businessinsider.com/jamie-dimon-said-he-could-afford-fines-2015-3 https://www.salon.com/2018/02/05/mick-mulvaneys-cfpb-gives-up-on-equifax-probe/ http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/11/ex-con-coal-baron-don-blankenship-is-running-for-u-s-senate.html