Privatizing Arizona's Prison System

Airzona has already looked into selling off its state capitol building and then leasing it back because of budget shortages. Now it is looking to sell off its medium and high security prisons as well.

State officials soon will seek bids from private companies for nine of the state's 10 prison complexes that house roughly 40,000 inmates, including the 127 on death row. It is the first attempt by a state to put its entire prison system under private control.

Apparently about 30% of the Arizona prison system is privately run, but these are minimum security prisons. This will be the first time that medium and high security prisons - and death row, will be handed over to the private sector.

It makes you wonder what the state did with its budget during the last ten year construction boom. Obviously it did not save enough or keep its existing budget in control. Selling off the capitol building and prison system smack of inability to own up to the budget issue and instead do one off fire sales and budget chicanery to dodge the issue. If they need more money they need to raise taxes. I am not convinced selling off these responsibilities are wise.
Permalink, Privatizing Arizona's Prison System, Oct 2009, cam
Sacha: Is this the first time a legislature has been privatised... well the legislative chambers?

Providing the Arizona government retains full control of the facilities, selling them off may not be much of a problem, although it's not ideal. Hope they can buy the capitol back sometime and that they're not thrown out of it!

Doesn't this point to the general problem many governments have that they find it easy to increase spending in boomtimes but much more difficult to reduce spending in downtowns? (Noting that the current situation may be exceptional.) I read that this was the essential problem in Victoria in the late 80s. And stimulus spending complicates this situation.

Governments appear to find it too difficult to deal with this problem. I wonder how the US federal govt will deal with its massive debt.
Sacha: A second thought is that governments need to be able to fully control prison systems - a privatisation that allows that would appear to be fine but one that doesn't shouldn't happen.
cam: I think it is the first time. I have not heard of it before. Doesn't sound promising that they are hocking off the state capitol for an infusion of short term cash.

I suspect the US Federal Govt will use a mix of inflation and growth to get past their debt. Though again I don't see restraining spending being much of a priority there in the last 9-10 years.

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