According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, public corrections agencies spend $80 billion annually on prisons. These funds help to keep roughly 2.3 million people incarcerated. Of course, our tax dollars are paying for this mass incarceration, but are there also hidden costs?
The $80 billion spent on prisons each year is actually a gross underestimate because of the many hidden costs of incarceration. Incarcerated people and their loved ones know this all too well.
From a spacesuit to wizard robes, Clinton abandoned Motown standards of music and culture in the 1970s and introduced his own style: P-Funk. It was a bold move, but Clinton leaned into his creativity.
Supporting abolitionist organizations fighting for the end of the prison industrial complex is a great way to make a difference. Just because this oppressive system exploits us all doesn't mean we can’t all find ways to organize against it.
The prison industrial complex exploits our dollars to fund mass incarceration, and this needs to be called out. We should not have to bear the burden of funding this system. We should use our dollars to fight it instead.