jaeldi

Are you looking at state or federal prisons? Here in Texas we have a total greater than your 140,000 imprisioned according to this info which sites it's sources for the info and the prision system has many privately run. Here is a map of where they all are and what company is running them. Not a confrontation, just a clarification request on where you got your numbers?

EDIT: Texas may be a high average, hard to compare and interpret data when no source is given for 8%. It may not be a federal issue or an issue in another state, but I think it is an issue in Texas.

EDIT 2: thanks to user ThatPlayWasAwful, the statistic was verified for year 2013: Prisoners in 2013 USDOJ Site Document search for keyword "133,000" to find section with numbers on privatized prisons both federal and state. That year total Private Prisoners made up 7% at state level and 19% at federal level. That is interesting.

EDIT 3: The DOJ's Prisoners in 2014 has even more interesting data on the trend over the last 2 decades (Search "Figure 6" on page 13). I was surprised to see the biggest jump was with federal prisons. State private prisons seem to be slow steady increase, but total percent of state private prisoners well under 10%. It would be interesting to see Recidivism of private versus public. I think that would tell us even more.

I dunno. A high school diploma is free and isn't worth very much. I don't want to see the same happen to college degrees. If we make college free, we should also make it harder, a bigger challenge so the degree actually retains evidence of skill, hard work and value. I have always believed to improve education, we should make it a bigger challenge. What is your counter argument to my opinion?

I'm an independent not convinced by the rhetoric on either side.

Concerning a wall' and looking for a compromise that wouldn't be as costly but would bring about meeting a basic need for border security, has anyone investigated the possibility of a "Virtual Wall"?

Instead of a physical wall, what about a zone along the border of satellites, drones, cameras, thermal imaging that doesn't create a physical barrier, but does alert the movement of things and people across the border to law enforcement agencies that can monitor? Las Vegas and other store fronts are using facial recognition and tracking software with cameras in crowded areas, Why can't a version of this technology be set up along the border? Anyone done a cost analysis of this? Anyone challenged our entrepreneur billionaire class with a project like this? Perhaps the tracking zone could also double for environmentalists who could use the technology to observe and record scientific trends in wildlife and nature? Maybe a SpaceX type challenge could be put out to the general public and college engineering programs to create a cost effective camera based security tracking zone that would provide real world tracking of people or objects crossing the border in unattended areas. Mexico may contribute funding if we share the data to help their law enforcement. Not all border movement is from south to north.

Concerning illegal immigration, the left tells us that many are desperate refuges fleeing oppression while the right tells us that many are dangerous criminals. Both are right, both are exaggerating. There is one group that is 100% criminal that I never hear politicians talk about that is the root source for illegal immigration: American Illegal Employers. Personally I'd rather see these huge sums of money being spent on an ineffectual wall be given to local law enforcement to arrest and punish Illegal Employers. We have mandatory sentencing for drug offenders, but no one has put forth a bill to create mandatory sentencing for illegal employers. It would only take one or two high profile cases to get the message out. For instance, if Mitt Romney or Oprah Winfrey had to do a 5 year mandatory sentence for knowingly hiring an illegal maid, then the very next day businesses across the nation would be submitting the proper sponsorship paperwork for foreign employees they could not live without and letting go illegal workers they can replace with citizens. If no one would hire an illegal immigrant wouldn't they stop coming? Aren't there many illegal employers who are breaking many laws by hiring illegals, like avoiding minimum wage, worker's comp, OSHA safety and training, etc? They aren't breaking just one law. Hiring illegals and paying them less is an unfair advantage in local economies when competing against employers who comply with regulations and the law.

Any city in the US, any one of us can pull up to that one street corner and say "Two, Dos, I need two workers! 50 dollars." and you'll have two guys jump in your truck and work their butts off for you in the hot sun all day. We do this with absolutely no fear of consequences about the multiple laws we are breaking. There are police forces that put female officers undercover as prostitutes to catch 'johns', officers undercover to nail drug dealers, the FBI will spend millions tracking white collar crime and organized crime, etc. Are there any police forces in the US that are pretending to be an illegal immigrant to expose who is hiring them, to learn who is using them? What if we used our tracking wall to see what city our illegal immigrant goes to and find out who hires him? My cop friends tell me they don't get funding or focus for these kind of laws and often avoid it because of the red tape the federal immigration rules adds to it. Can that red tape be lifted to leave the immigrant alone, but make it easier for local law enforcement to nail the illegal employer? Again, illegal employers are 100% criminal and are not desperate refuges.

Some of these questions are rhetorical. Just trying to plant a few seeds that compromise between the tired repetition of left and right opinion. Just trying to move the conversation into new areas, looking for new ideas.

TL;DR: Can't we use technology instead of a literal wall to efficiently make America safer? Aren't we focusing too much on the immigrant and not enough on the Americans breaking the law hiring them? I'm just looking for solutions that work and that would appeal to both left and right. I can't be the only person thinking along these lines. Thanks for reading.

Only citizens should be able to donate. Corporations may be people, but they are not citizens. We don't let other countries donate. Why do we let entities that have more wealth than some countries donate?

How do you feel about outlawing fraudulent speech in campaigning? It seems like anyone can say anything fraudulent about a candidate but that's legal for some reason. So many of the negative political ads are downright lies.