Let me start by sharing this article I read today:
“For-Profits'
Fundamental Difference”
“WASHINGTON -- Let's
stipulate up front that Bob Shireman is anything but an objective observer of
for-profit higher education. For much of President Obama's first term, he made
life a living hell for colleges in the sector through his aggressive pursuit of
new regulations designed to ensure they were preparing their graduates for
"gainful employment."”
“As Shireman explains it, for-profit colleges are fundamentally different from
nonprofit ones because their owners -- be they shareholders for publicly traded
companies or board members for privately held ones -- reap personal financial
gain if the institution grows in size or increases its profits.”
“The personal profit incentive that owners of for-profit colleges have
increases the chances, Shireman argues, that the institutions "compromise
student and public needs in pursuit of growth and profit." While Shireman
notes that "nonprofits have problems, too," -- questionable levels of
student learning, rising tuitions and student debt, etc. -- he is not shy in
asserting that for-profits perform worse, citing the colleges' higher debt
burdens and default rates, among other things.”
“And it is for that reason, he argues, that for-profit colleges
need more regulation "to better direct the profit motive toward socially
optimal ends."”
Whether you agree with For-Profits or not, they are educating
people and giving access to higher education like never before.
Where is this kind of scrutiny in the For-Profit prison industry?
“Private Prisons”
“Over the
past four decades, imprisonment in the United States has increased explosively,
spurred by criminal laws that put more people in prison for longer sentences.
At the same time, the nation has seen the rise of for-profit prison companies,
which benefit from keeping more people locked up.”
“Private prison
companies, however, essentially admit that their business model depends on
locking up more and more people. For example, in a 2010 Annual Report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)
stated: “The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected
by . . . leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices .
. . .” As incarceration rates skyrocket, the private prison industry expands at
exponential rates, holding ever more
people in its prisons and jails, and generating massive profits.”
“And while supporters of private prisons tout the idea
that governments can save money through privatization, the evidence that
private prisons save taxpayer money is mixed at best – in fact, private prisons
may in some instances cost more than governmental ones. Private prisons have also been linked to
numerous cases of violence and atrocious conditions.”
So
where are the hearings, committees, and massive attempts at government
oversight here?
What
I am saying here is that we have our priorities wrong. Public and private
universities should be working together, and perhaps if we fix these existing
issues of this sector, people could actually come out of prison with some
education.
Thoughts
(please be civil and polite)?
Dr
Flavius A B Akerele III
The
ETeam
