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: The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

Plan for Prison Closures Stirs Fears Distressed Towns in Upstate N.Y. Cite Dire Economic Consequences

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

"Gregory M. Hooks, a sociology professor at Washington State University, who analyzed the economies of prisons, said that among other problems, the pool of free inmate labor eliminates the pool of low-paid manual labor jobs, further depressing local economies. Prisons make communities dependent but without much return to the community, because the jobs are secured for life. And, he said, a local prison may make an area less attractive to other types of businesses, particularly those catering to tourists. "On average, prisons don't do much of anything," Hooks said. "If you look at the poorest counties, the impact is negative. If you put a prison in a struggling county, they get worse, not better." Plan for Prison Closures Stirs Fears Distressed Towns in Upstate N...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on March 22, 2009 (boomark / email).