#12: The Prison-Industrial Complex

One out of 50 US citizens is under the thumb of the Prison-Industrial Complex at any given time. That's seven million of us right now! 2.3 million are in prison or jail, and another 4.5 million are on parole or probation (one mistake away from being thrown back in). And each of them represents a paycheck: for COs, for investors, for prison labor contractors, and for probation officers. There are a lot of people who stand to lose out if we end the war on drugs and allow our prisons to empty ou...