[R-G] Poverty Up, Americans Go To Jail

[Gary Crethers]

Poverty Up, Americans Go To JailSeptember 17th, 2010  
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That saying  seems to be 
doubly true here in the USA. We have a black president and  more blacks are 
being incarcerated. It just goes to show that Capitalism  creates wealth 
discrepancies and money in this society is the key to  social position. Racism 
seems to be ingrained in the fabric of the  American experience. Given the 
propensity for the police to go after  minorities and the darker the skin, the 
more likely you are to be  busted.
There are certain cultural attributes that go with wealth, but as a  general 
rule if you don’t have the money, you don’t have access in this  society where 
wealth is king. There is a trend to rewarding the well  educated also, as long 
as your education is in an area that is paying  off financially. We have a 
combination of a racist plutocracy with  elements of a meritocracy where the 
most brilliant of the underclass are  able to rise up. This helps to prevent 
rebellion. If the most gifted of  the underclasses were prevented from having 
access to the rewards of  serving capital faithfully then there would be more 
leaders for a  revolution. 

From Terraviva
One in Seven U.S. Citizens Sinks into Poverty
By Amanda Bransford
NEW YORK, Sep 16, 2010 (IPS) - Poverty rates in the United States  have climbed 
to their highest level since 1994, according to a report  released Thursday by 
the U.S. Census Bureau.
“In 2009, 43.6 million people – 14.6 percent of the population - were  living in 
poverty in the U.S., up from 13.2 percent of the population  in 2008. The United 
States currently has the highest number of people in  poverty it has ever had 
since the government began counting in 1959,  although the percentage of people 
this represents is lower than it was  then.
Poverty increased most among African Americans, followed by non-Hispanic white 
citizens.”
For the rest of the article
http://ipsnews.net/newsTVE.asp?idnews=52867
From Terraviva 
“U.S.: Money for Prisons, Not for Social Services
By Haider Rizvi
NEW YORK, Sep 16, 2010 (IPS) - Many of those who have lost their jobs  and homes 
in the United States due to the lingering economic recession  are ending up in 
jail, according to a new study released by an  independent think tank Thursday.
There is a strong link between poverty and incarceration in the  United states, 
according to the report, “Money Well Spent: How positive  social investments 
will reduce incarceration rates”, by the Justice  Policy Institute (JPI).
The report’s findings on the relationship between poverty and the  justice 
system suggests that more and more people from poor and  low-income communities 
are being arrested and jailed, even though  nationwide, crime rates have fallen.
“What we have seen in this research is that there is less focus on  safety for 
the poor and more on policing and arrests,” Tracy Velázquez,  executive director 
of the Washington-based JPI, told IPS.
The report notes that as prison populations have grown, so too have racial 
disparities in the justice system.
“This is especially evident in arrest and incarceration patterns for  drug 
offences,” said Sarah Lyons, National Emerson Hunger Fellow and  primary author 
of the report, who added that without adequate funding  for social services, it 
is less likely that people will be able to  succeed and avoid contact with the 
justice system.
Despite comparable usage of illicit drugs, in 2008, African  Americans, who make 
up 12.2 percent of the general population, comprised  44 percent of those 
incarcerated for drug offences, according to the  report.
Researchers say that disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in  communities 
of colour destabilises families and communities and  decreases the likelihood of 
positive outcomes for children and other  family members left behind.
Due to the prolonged economic meltdown, many states are now making  drastic cuts 
in funding for social services - such as health, education,  and public housing 
- but not on policing and prison improvement and  expansion.
There are nearly two million people behind bars in the U.S., most  poor whites 
and people of colour, making the United States the number  one country in the 
world in terms of the imprisonment rate.
The report notes that about 16 percent of incarcerated people also experienced 
homelessness before being arrested.”
For the rest of the article
http://ipsnews.net/newsTVE.asp?idnews=52868