In an interview this week, President Donald Trump stated he wants to reopen many of the largest prisons in American history including Alcatraz. With America making the top 5 in the world for incarceration rates, this move would impact the people of America.
The average amount spent per individual prisoner nation-wide is estimated at $33,274 annually. This figure varies by state, though, with California having an annual cost of over $50,000 per prisoner.
Prisons are funded by American taxpayers, so changes to the number of incarcerated individuals may affect how the money is spent. The Department of Justice has already stated that figures told to the people by state governments regarding money spent on prisons was drastically higher than reported. The total cost spent on prisons was about $39 billion. If the population of the United States is 340.1 million individuals, not all of whom are tax eligible, the cost comes out to about $115 dollars per person.
It’s important to note, however, that this figure is going to drastically change from state to state. Using California’s numbers,where Alcatraz is located, it comes out to about $344 a person, without considering the consequences of adding a super-prison.
Senior Grant Jaques raised concerns about how the opening of more prisons reflects on the Trump administration. “It’s ridiculous that this administration’s big selling point has been cutting down on unnecessary spending. The average American already spends an incredible sum of money on our prison system, and this is going to come at the cost of the American taxpayer,” he said. “Sending more people to prison isn’t going to fix our problems. Especially when the people getting sent to prison are peaceful protestors and dissidents.”
Another fascinating aspect of this prison expansion for Trump supporters is that many of the prisons are proposed to be used for illegal immigrants whom MAGA is very vocal about not paying for. By putting illegal immigrants in prison, especially federal prisons, the American taxpayer is effectively helping to fund the free room and board of aliens.
“We were promised that the illegal immigrant issue would be fixed, but instead we’re seeing the government spend our money on aviary theatrics and feeding them on American soil,” commented senior Owen Zietlow. “Not all of these incarcerated people are even illegal immigrants, but the government is trying to gaslight us into thinking they are by using arial font in photoshop.”
“The opening of more prisons signifies what this administration is doing: taking a step away from democracy and towards authoritarian nativism. Throwing people we don’t like in prison defeats the purpose of having a society where we can have diplomatic conversations about policy,” finished Jaques. The opening of more prisons would likely be detrimental to the citizens of the United States, and shows the ignorance of the Trump administration.
