via Max Pixel
Of the global populace, America only accounts for 4.4%. Yet, our prisons make up 22% of the world’s prison population!
And U.S. states invest far more money in the prison system than in what you’d think should be a priority: education.
According to a new report, 15 states spend at least $27,000 more per prisoner than per student. California leads the way, spending $64,642 per prisoner while only $11,495 per student - a $53,146 difference!
Why does this spending gap exist?
Well, just in the last 30 years, the U.S. incarceration rate has TRIPLED, though crime rates have declined. Black people have disproportionately been targeted for petty crimes.
With 2.3 million incarcerated, costs to employ workers and house and feed prisoners have skyrocketed - and public funding for education has been neglected.
Experts have connected dots between prison and education spending.
As the Daily Mail notes, “[Young] black men aged 20-24 without a high school diploma are more likely to be in jail or prison than they are to have a job, according to the U.S. Department of Education.”
Incarcerating people is a lucrative business, and investing in prisons is financially more beneficial than investing in education.
Such a distinct spending gap paints a vivid picture of what America really stands for - and it isn’t for the people, especially not Black people.