Ramblings

Texas Tax System Heavily Burdens Poor Residents. Prisons, jails, drug war.

2011-08-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

Texas Tax System Heavily Burdens Poor Residents. August 19, 2011 by Laura Bassett. Huffington Post.

The above article only scratches the surface. Ever since Ronald Reagan and his Trickle-Up Economics (masked as "Trickle-Down economics"), the USA has favored the "Divine Right" of the Wealthy Aristocrat.

The poor and the middle class get poorer, and their children go to jail, mostly because of the drug war.

And they pay for it too:

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Info below from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarceration_in_the_United_States

Companies operating in the private prison business include the Corrections Corporation of America, the GEO Group, Inc., Management and Training Corporation, and Community Education Centers. The GEO Group was formerly known as Wackenhut Securities, and includes the Cornell Companies, which merged with GEO in 2010.
Private companies which provide services to prisons combine in the American Correctional Association, which advocates legislation favorable to the industry. Such private companies comprise what has been termed the Prison-industrial complex.

[edit] Employment

It is estimated that 1 in 9 state government employees works in corrections.^[65] About 17% of prisoners are employed by UNICOR^[66]

[edit] Cost

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. To view the data:^[67]

In 2006, $68,747,203,000 was spent on corrections.^[67]
In 2005 it cost an average of $23,876 dollars per state prisoner. State prison spending varied widely, from $45,000 a year in Rhode Island to $13,000 in Louisiana.^[65]^[7]
In California in 2009 it cost an average of $47,102 a year to incarcerate an inmate in state prison. From 2001 to 2009, the average annual cost increased by about $19,500 in California.^[68]
In 2001 among facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it cost $22,632 per inmate, or $62.01 per day.^[69]
Housing the approximately 500,000 people in jail in the USA awaiting trial who cannot afford bail costs $9 billion a year.^[70] Most jail inmates are petty, nonviolent offenders. Twenty years ago most nonviolent defendants were released on their own recognizance (trusted to show up at trial). Now most are given bail, and most pay a bail bondsman to afford it.^[71] 62% of local jail inmates are awaiting trial.^[19]
To ease jail overcrowding over 10 counties every year consider building new jails. As an example Lubbock County, Texas has decided to build a $110 million megajail to ease jail overcrowding. Jail costs an average of $60 a day nationally.^[71]^[72] In Broward County, Florida supervised pretrial release costs about $7 a day per person while jail costs $115 a day. The jail system costs a quarter of every county tax dollar in Broward County, and is the single largest expense to the county taxpayer.^[73]

Bondsmen have lobbied to cut back local pretrial programs from Texas to California, pushed for legislation in four states limiting pretrial's resources, and lobbied Congress so that they won't have to pay the bond if the defendant commits a new crime. Behind them, the bondsmen have powerful special interest group and millions of dollars. Pretrial release agencies have a smattering of public employees and the remnants of their once-thriving programs.
—National Public Radio, January 22, 2010.^[73]

In 2007 states spent an estimated 7 percent of their budget on corrections.^[65]^[7]
As of 2007 the cost of medical care for inmates was growing by 10 percent annually.^[65]^[7]
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"Welcome to America, home to 5% of the world's people & 25% of the world's prisoners."

Image info, template, stats, further info. Most are incarcerated due to the drug war.

Meanwhile, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer...

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The rich and the middle class

Before major recessions; rich get richer, and poor get poorer. People forget that during a most prosperous period, the 1950s, the U.S. paid less total taxes as a percentage of GDP, but the rich paid a progressively higher income tax rate than they pay now. Progressive taxation. Roosevelt-Eisenhower progressive taxation and prosperity. Versus Reagan-Bush voodoo economics and middle-class bankruptcy and decline. For more info:
http://g-mond.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/topincomes

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Images. 30 Years Ago Today: The Day the Middle Class Died

2011-08-07T04:52:00.000-07:00

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Images below for this Michael Moore article:

30 Years Ago Today: The Day the Middle Class Died

Article is archived here, too. Click any of the images and captions below for larger versions or more info.

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While the rich get richer, the poor and the middle class are in crisis, or in jail, or paying for jail. Click chart to enlarge.

More info, and larger chart.

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Nancy & Ronald Reagan. Info.

Yearly U.S. spending. Info.

Featured anniversary. 30 years since Reagan's inauguration:
1981-2011.

The "Southern Strategy" of hate politics and labor camps on a grand scale.

Click here for larger chart, and info on the sources.

USA and territories. 2,424,279 inmates in 2008. ...

With less than 5% of world population the USA has over 2.4 million of 9.8 million world prisoners. The majority of U.S. inmates are in due to the drug war. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. See table.

Chart info .

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"Welcome to America, home to 5% of the world's people & 25% of the world's prisoners."

Image info, template, stats, further info. Most are incarcerated due to the drug war.

Meanwhile, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer...

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Polls after 10 years of Global Marijuana Marches, Hempfests, open activism.

2009-06-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

Note: This post has been updated since the original date of posting. See also: Canadian opinion poll results, and the Cannabis Wiki.

Facebook: Teapot Party. Chapters in all 50 states, and several nations!
Willie Nelson forms Teapot Party to advocate marijuana legalization
Examiner.com - ‎Nov 29, 2010‎.

"How about the Teapot Party?" Nelson proposed in an email to CelebStoner.com. "Our motto: We lean a little to the left." The entertainer's bus was stopped at ...

Willie Nelson Wants Marijuana Legalization "Teapot Party" Drug War Chronicle

Willie Nelson responds to his newest arrest by starting a National Pot Party ... MOG (blog)

Willie Nelson, Legalization of Marijuana and the Tea Party RantRave | Published Opinion.

Men's News Daily - jambands.com

all 1,005 news articles »

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Polls 10-11 years after the first Global Marijuana March in May 1999:
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October 28, 2010.
New High of 46% of Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana. Gallup poll.

July 26, 2010.
Rasmussen poll. 43% Say Marijuana Should Be Legalized, and 42% Disagree. "While half of Democrats (51%) support legalizing marijuana, 62% of Republicans are opposed. Voters not affiliated with either major political party lean toward legalization by a 48% to 35% margin."

December 2009. All U.S. voters:
A December 2009 poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion finds that 53% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, 43% oppose, and 4% are not sure. See: Most Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana. Poll question was "Do you support or oppose the legalization of each of the following drugs?" Methodology: "Online interviews with 1,004 American voters, conducted on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent."

April 2009. All U.S. adults:
"It’s not just a California poll. A WashingtonPost/ABC survey, also released last week, revealed that 46 percent of Americans support legalization of small amounts of marijuana for personal use — that’s double the support it had a decade ago." - May 6, 2009. Christian Science Monitor. Article titled "Legalize marijuana? Schwarzenegger says let’s debate it." Actual poll: "Washington Post-ABC News Poll". Poll conducted April 21-24, 2009 of a random national sample of adults. The Washington Post. ABC News.

In general, do you favor or oppose legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use?

Date	Favor	Oppose	No opinion
4/24/09	46	52	2
10/24/02*	39	53	8
5/27/97	22	75	3
8/26/86	25	74	1
5/19/86	22	77	1
4/28/86	23	75	1
3/24/86	21	78	1
5/13/85	26	72	2

*Time/CNN: "Do you favor or oppose the legalization of marijuana? (IF YES) What about in small amounts, for example three ounces or less? Do you favor or oppose the legalization of marijuana in small amounts?"

April 2009. 2008 U.S. presidential election voters*:
"The Zogby poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning O'Leary Report, surveyed 3,937 voters and found 52 percent in favor of legalization. Only 37 percent opposed." - May 6, 2009. "Majority Of Americans Want Pot Legalized: Zogby Poll". The Huffington Post. See also: "New Poll: 52% Say Marijuana Should Be Legal, Taxed, Regulated." May 06, 2009. Salem-News.com. "Is marijuana tax the next revenue stream?", by Michael B. Farrell. May 11, 2009. Chicago Sun-Times.

*3,937 voters weighted to match the 2008 presidential outcome -- 54 percent Obama voters and 46 percent McCain supporters.

Voters were asked: "Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents say that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government's effort to legalize marijuana?"

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Please distribute widely.

SaferChoice.org

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SaferChoice.org

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Wikipedia: Global Marijuana March - Click the photo just below to enlarge it, and for more info.

Madrid, Spain. May 8, 2004. Million Joint March (La Marcha del Millón de Porros en Madrid, Mayo 2004). More info and photos: [2] [3] [4]. Part of the Million Marijuana March (MMM).

Toronto. May 2, 2009. Global Marijuana March 2009. Cannabis.wikia.com page: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

May 1, 2010.
Global Marijuana March.
Click the map to go to the 2010 city list by region:

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World map showing number of prisoners per 100,000 citizens. Click here to enlarge it, and for more info. See also: List of countries by incarceration rate.
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The chart below is in the public domain. Click here for more info. With less than 5% of world population the USA has over 2.4 million of 9.8 million world prisoners. This table is from a December 2009 U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report called Prisoners in 2008 (NCJ 228417). Table is from page 8 of the PDF file. (Sources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.). The majority of U.S. inmates are in due to the drug war. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. [1]. According to a New York Times article, mandatory minimum sentences are the cause of the huge U.S. inmate population, and the U.S. incarceration rate that dwarfs all other nations. The article reports that there is no benefit in reduced crime rates compared to other nations (such as Canada) with much lower incarceration rates. They also have much lower murder rates.

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Watch the trailer. Article and full video: Paris The Luminous Years: Towards The Making Of The Modern.

This article is in the public domain. Pass it on. Copy any of it anywhere. Edit in any way.

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Mechanism of fascism in the USA. Incarceration NRA.

2009-05-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

This article is in the public domain. Pass it on. Copy any of it anywhere. Edit in any way.

In many states the National Rifle Association strongly lobbied for lengthy mandatory-minimum sentences. See "Truth in Sentencing". NRA is today's paramilitary Brownshirts and Hitler Youth promoting vast concentration camps mostly for nonviolent "undesirables."Talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and George Noory of Coast to Coast AM repeat the NRA's "tough on crime" and "law and ORDER," stormtrooper door-buster, SWAT slogans.

George Noory needs to acknowledge and apologize for his part in promoting the lock-em-up, gun fanatics and their racist support of mandatory-minimum sentencing for many non-violent crimes such as cannabis possession (!) or growing.

Today (like the Nazis and their militia partners, the SA Brownshirts) the problem is the Republicans and the Ku Klux Klan remnants that form today's far-right-wing militias. It is the "Southern Strategy" of politics and labor camps on a grand scale. Gitmo writ large.

Click here for larger chart, and info on the sources.

The New York Times says it is the length of sentences that causes the huge U.S. inmate count that dwarfs other nations.

New York Times: American Exception. Inmate Count in US Dwarfs Other Nations'. Apr 22, 2008. Page 1, Section A, Front Page. Archived here too.

From the New York Times article (emphasis added):

Still, it is the length of sentences that truly distinguishes American prison policy. Indeed, the mere number of sentences imposed here would not place the United States at the top of the incarceration lists. If lists were compiled based on annual admissions to prison per capita, several European countries would outpace the United States. But American prison stays are much longer, so the total incarceration rate is higher. ... "Rises and falls in Canada's crime rate have closely paralleled America's for 40 years," Mr. Tonry wrote last year. "But its imprisonment rate has remained stable."

*Mandatory-Minimum Drug Sentences. U.S. CHARTS. Non-violent possession only. Drug War concentration camps for "undesirables." Sentences that usually do not allow parole until at least around 80% of the sentence served. Federal laws, and most states, have mandatory minimums.

The majority of the 2.3 million U.S. prisoners are incarcerated due to the drug war.

See also: Inside the Iranian Crackdown. Parallels to U.S., DEA, NRA.

Some history:

*November 1997. DRCNet Legislative Alert -- Oppose Mandatory Minimums (11/20/97). Drug Reform Coordination Network -- Rapid-Response-Team. "When the provision was being debated three years ago, the National Rifle Association ran ads featuring actor Charlton Heston, claiming the bill would 'let 10,000 drug dealers out of prison.' "
http://www.prisonactivist.org/pipermail/prisonact-list/1997-November/000976.html

*August 1994. DRCNet. The Activist Guide. NRA and Charlton Heston Criticize Safety Valve. "In a highly dishonest advertisement by the National Rifle Association on CNN last Tuesday, actor Charlton Heston criticized the Crime Bill, claiming that it would let 10,000 drug dealers back out on the streets. ... The U.S. Sentencing Commission has calculated that only 1,600 prisoners will be released under the retroactive safety valve clause. Only first time, low level, non-violent offenders who have cooperated fully with federal authorities will be eligible."
http://www.drcnet.org/guide8-94/nra.html

*March 1999. NRA officer brags about drug mandatory minimum sentences, and 3 Strikes for drugs. California NRA (National Rifle Association). Author of the article: "Ralph Weller is an NRA, CRPA Member, an officer in a San Diego NRA Member's Council and a gun rights activist in Southern California. He is also the web master of www.calnra.org and manages other pro-gun organization websites." The author is an NRA officer. The article was posted on an NRA website in March 1999. Weller's article starts a few paragraphs into the messages archived below.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drugwarnews/message/231 and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hemp-talk/message/8100

*March 1997 "In These Times" article called "The NRA strikes back." From the In These Times article: "...the NRA was 'instrumental' in passing truth-in-sentencing measures which lengthened average prison sentences." Article is a few paragraphs into the messages at the first 2 links below):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drugwarnews/message/206 and
http://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/970317itt.htm - last article.

Mandatory minimum sentencing is also called indeterminate sentencing. Previous to its massive implementation, judges and parole boards had more say due to what existed more before: determinate sentencing.

*NRA Members' Councils of California. Anthony Canales: "In reality, the defenders of judicial discretion towards determinate sentencing would have one and all believe that the judiciary is up to the task. ... But when these same judges request discretionary authority for a lessening of time under incarceration for those who would sell heroin to children, or help maintain the status of the narcotraficantes as a scourge to the Colombian people, or even to effectively reduce the business costs of those drug industry soldiers who find it “necessary” to engage in gunplay in minority neighborhoods, then one must take pause and consider other alternatives. It may just be that, for the sake of the children, the public must resist the blandishments of the legal elites until such time as common sense is exhibited more clearly."
http://www.nramemberscouncils.com/newsbriefs/030811.shtml

*NRA Institute for Legislative Action - NRA-ILA: "CrimeStrike lobbied successfully to increase prison capacity in Texas, Mississippi, Virginia and nearly tripled the funds allocated for state prison construction in the 1994 Federal Crime Bill. ... CrimeStrike helped win passage of Truth-In-Sentencing laws ... CrimeStrike was instrumental in helping Washington State Initiative 593, the nation's first 'Three Strike, You're Out' law, qualify for the ballot and then win passage by the largest margin in state history. CrimeStrike also provided grassroots support for the California 'Three Strikes' law, which also won at the polls."
http://pages.prodigy.net/vanhooser/firearms_facts_provided_by_the_nra.htm

*August 1999. Three-Strikes Law Is Missing the Mark! Polly Klaas grandfather. CALIFORNIA: "78% of second-strikers and 50% of third strikers were convicted for nonviolent offenses. ...crime fall at a quicker rate in non-three-strikes states." NRA law!
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2616.shtml

*July 1999. USA. DRCnet. News Briefs. 25 years to life for stealing food. Appeal lost. 3 strikes law. Drug war tool. See end of http://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/970317itt.htm about this Republican, NRA (National Rifle Association) law.
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/100.html#newsbriefs

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Sentencing_Commission

United States Sentencing Commission

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the federal government of the United States. It is responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for the United States federal courts. The Commission promulgates the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which replaced the prior system of indeterminate sentencing that allowed trial judges to give sentences ranging from probation to the maximum statutory punishment for the offense.
The commission was created by the Sentencing Reform Act provisions of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The constitutionality of the commission was challenged as a congressional encroachment on the power of the executive but upheld by the Supreme Court in Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361 (1989).
Unlike many special-purpose "study" commissions within the executive branch, Congress established the U.S. Sentencing Commission as a permanent, independent agency within the judicial branch. The seven voting members on the Commission are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serve six-year terms. Commission members may be reappointed to further terms with the consent of the Senate. No more than three of the commissioners may be federal judges, and no more than four may belong to the same political party. The United States Attorney General and the chair of the United States Parole Commission sit as nonvoting ex officio members of the Commission.

Current membership

The following table lists commissioners as of March 2009.

Member	Occupation	Date appointed
Ricardo H. Hinojosa (Chair)	Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas	June 26, 2003
Ruben Castillo (Vice chair)	Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois	November 12, 1999
William K. Sessions III (Vice chair)	Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Vermont	November 12, 1999
William B. Carr, Jr. (Vice chair)	Former United States attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania	December 5, 2008
Dabney Friedrich (Commissioner)	Former White House Assistant Counsel	March 1, 2007
Beryl A. Howell (Commissioner)	Managing Director, Stroz Friedberg, LLC	November 21, 2004
Jonathan J. Wroblewski (Ex-officio)	Deputy Director of the Office of Policy and Legislation, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Edward F. Reilly, Jr. (Ex-officio)	Chair, United States Parole Commission

External links

United States Sentencing Commission

This United States government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Sentencing_Commission"

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