Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.

Jailing the Poor for Fines and Bail Is a Government-Operated Loan Shark Operation

- Truth-Out

Arrested on minor matters, people are held in jail on bail for $500, $1,000 or much more, and their only path out is to plead guilty.

Far too many people are considered guilty of being poor. Peter Edelman's book, Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America, details the many pernicious ways that the poor fall prey to the criminal justice system. Get the book now with a donation to Truthout.

The criminalization of poverty by the mass incarceration system is slowly changing, but you can hear the creaking. In this exclusive interview with Truthout, author Peter Edelman discusses some of the more egregious scams inflicted on the poor and prospects for reform.

There are 700,000 people in jail every day, being held for trial, and 450,000 of them have not been found guilty.

Making "customers" pay in the courts and institutions is not limited to the for-profits. Almost all the states charge for "services" across the board.

To what extent are corporations making profits off the criminalization of the poor?

Enormous. In 2010, [CoreCivic, formerly] Corrections Corporation of America had 66 facilities with revenue of $1.7 billion and the Geo Group had 65 facilities with revenue of $1.6 billion. They are ubiquitous. They have facilities with states and the federal system and detention centers where people are being held pending deportation. They are in the health business -- Corizon is the largest now -- and they have been sued and paid out millions of dollars in settlements because of their gross negligence.

How does the criminalization of poverty perpetuate poverty?

From many fronts. The fines and fees are the obvious thing. Take driver's license suspensions, which almost all states use, although some are beginning to dial back what they have done. A person often owes $1,000 or much more because of the fees that are tacked on, and the underlying offense is often unrelated to driving or is something minor, like a broken tail light. They keep driving -- they need to get to work, drive the children to school, and so on. They get arrested. The tab goes up and up, easily reaching $5,000 and more. That alone can push someone into poverty and keep them there.

Read further...

..