Thanks. Great to be here - feel right at home already. Thanks for the info... I had just assumed it was a private prison, because I know there are a lot of them in the US. Do you think they are a good idea? Enjoyed the link. Amazing that the average price of a meal is only 15 cents! No wonder the taxpayers love him... not sure about the prisoners tho! ;-)
You're quite welcome :-)
I had just assumed it was a private prison, because I know there are a lot of them in the US. Do you think they are a good idea?
I am an unrepentant Capitalist (who nurtures a visceral antipathy of Socialism) and so I will generally favor the private operation of most things. However, Sheriff Arpaio demonstrates that in this specific matter, what is most important is the management philosophy of the enterprise. He's doing the job far more efficiently than any private prison has managed managed to that I've heard of, but I suppose that doesn't mean that a private prison couldn't do things as well as he does.....we just have yet to see it. Actually, in a matter such as this, it might be easier for it to be accomplished under the umbrella of a Government entity because in Arizona and in many (or all? ) other US states a Sheriff is an elected position, and so would probably be more difficult for detractors to remove than a private company, who could conceivably be quickly replaced with another private company with a different management philosophy if a Government overseer were to be subjected to too much pressure. The ACLU has been after Sheriff Arpaio for years, but he just brushes them off like a mildly irritating mosquito and laughs in their faces.....something that a private company would probably not be able to do unless they had far more Government political support than what I've seen in the prison systems so far. The voters of Maricopa County love Sheriff Arpaio and they keep returning him to office.
Enjoyed the link. Amazing that the average price of a meal is only 15 cents! No wonder the taxpayers love him... not sure about the prisoners tho! ;-)
Fortunately, upholding the laws of the State of Arizona and maintaining the safety of the law-abiding citizens there is of considerably greater importance to Sheriff Arpaio than the happiness of the criminals under his care. He treats them in a humanitarian way and in accordance with the law, but he makes it abundantly clear that a term spent in his jail is not intended to be equivalent to a stay in a posh resort...it's to serve as due and appropriate punishment for crimes committed.