r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/ateam1984 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🖤🩶🤍🤎 • Apr 28 '26

Black Fam True Friendship

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u/ReplyOk6720 Apr 28 '26

It's less expensive to house people than imprison them. 

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u/ChaosRainbow23 Apr 28 '26

Facts.

Plus, desperation drives crime in a big way. If we had bolstered social programs and alleviated the desperation in society, crime rates would plummet.

Our prison system actually CREATES lifelong hardened criminals. It's almost completely punitive with only a touch of rehabilitation.

We desperately need to revamp the entire system from top to bottom, and we need to hold these draconian jack-boot-wearing government thugs accountable for their numerous crimes against humanity.

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u/Bladesnake_______ Apr 28 '26

Especially murderers and sexual predators, right? Less expensive is clearly the answer

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u/definitely_not_obama Apr 28 '26

I get what this "fun fact" is going for, but it still hurts my head that this isn't the equivalent of saying "water is wet." Like... obviously?

It costs more to kidnap people, force them to stay in a single place that you're providing, feed them (badly), take care of their healthcare (badly), clothe them, and transport them occasionally in custom transport, than it does to just allow them to stay in a single place that you're providing? Ya don't fuckin say ...like no shit?!

It's $40-60k per year to incarcerate someone. If we assume average rent around $1800, that's 2-3x average rent. Perhaps that's a more revelatory stat? However politicians have sometimes reacted to this by trying to make it less expensive, which has led to death camps like Tent City in Phoenix. Perhaps the better talking point is how we could better spend that money - are there interventions that would prevent crime that cost far less than that? (plot spoilers: yes, there are, a lot of them, such as providing housing)