celebrities who invest in private prisons

Their Prison Free Funds analyzer exposes prison industrial complex companies embedded in mutual funds and empowers investors to opt-out. Private prisons in the United States incarcerated 115,428 people in 2019, representing 8% of the total state and federal prison population. The federal government is in the midst of a private prison expansion spree, driven primarily by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency that locks up roughly 400,000 immigrants each year and spends over $1.9 billion annually on custody operations. CCA board member Joseph V. Russell owned 204,306 shares as of February 2015, while the companys CEO, Damon Hininger, owned 181,833 shares as of March 16, 2015. Bianca, briefly on that. The individual who's invested the most in private prisons is Henri Wedell, who started serving on CCA's board of directors in 2000, when the company was struggling with scandals related to prisoner abuse and mismanagement. There is a Michael Jordan that invests in prisons. Today, private prison corporations like the GEO Group, CoreCivic, LaSalle Corrections, and the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) own or operate facilities that hold the overwhelming majority of detained people for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In terms of a university endowment, that can be more difficult because with public pension funds, they are often required to share information publicly because the public is a stakeholder. So offering all this freedom to society, there'll be a certain number of people, more in this country than elsewhere, who take advantage of that freedom, abuse it, and end up in prison. The 80-year-old record producer credited on IMDb for his work on iconic 80's films Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, and Sixteen Candles has been sitting in prison since his 2009 second degree murder conviction. 24. I think they've gone down a lot over the years. "America is the freest country in the world," he told me. You may want to check out As You Sows methodology to get a better understanding of their grading system. Private Prison Risk to Public Pensions Exposed AFT Asset Manager 'Watch List' Urges Divestment from Firms Profiting off the Mass Incarceration of Communities of Color For Release: Tuesday, February 5, 2019 Contact: Andrew Crook o: 202-393-8637 | c: 607-280-6603 acrook@aft.org February 21st 2015 By: Ashley Nicole Black There are currently 2.4 million people in American prisons. Aside from being super A-list celebrities, that is. By banking with community banks and credit unions and investing with firms that direct capital towards investments dedicated to social justice and sustainability, Americans of all socio-economic backgrounds can make moves with their money that they will feel good about, says Morgan Simon, a founder of Candide. Bianca Tylek: Absolutely. Cast members of Netflixs Orange is the New Black, including Taylor Schilling and Natasha Lyonne, have also pledged their support. As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content. Inmates work for pennies per hour. The nations two largest for-profit prison companies, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and Florida-based GEO Group (GEO), are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Does Wells Fargo invest in private prisons? CoreCivic formerly and commonly the Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group are two of the biggest private prison companies in the United States. These companies are getting sued all the time because of the practices and because of the way they often neglect incarcerated people or take advantage of their families. In 2015, CoreCivic (Corrections Corporation of America) received $911.8 million in federal money from its various prison-related contracts. Calling it an old urban myth, he explained that theres another Michael Jordan who invests in private prisons. Privately operated facilities have a significantly lower staffing level than publicly operated prisons and lack MIS support. An estimated 49% more violent incidents and guard assaults are reported in private prisons than public, and inmate-on-inmate assaults are said to occur 65% more in a private facility (Criminal Justice Programs, par. All Rights Reserved. Bianca Tylek: Yes. This includes 1-, 3-, 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year investment performance results, where available. Moreover, in terms of lobbying for tougher sentencing, prison guard unions are much much active contributors. Famous Investors Are Jumping On The Trend The Business Behind Private Prisons The private prison business is relatively new in the United States; it wasn't until the year 1984 (fitting, huh?) Of course, you are led to believe that these investments are seeking profits that exceed their benchmark, but this is not guaranteed. Communities that have private prisons operating within their oversight often receive new tax revenues, have new jobs to provide local workers, and this creates more spending for the support businesses. Yes, The Midwest Is Different: Tech, Infrastructure And Values Mark The Rise Of A Corn Belt City, The Son Of A Single Mom, He Rose From Poverty To Lead One Of The Worlds Largest Foundations, Why Change Management Skills Are Essential To Data-Driven Success, A New $500K Accelerator For Black Founders Opens In Brooklyn, How A Black Founder From Pittsburgh Turned Pitching Into A Winners Game, Cybersecurity For Small Businesses Is Booming, But Data Are Scant, The Next Boom In Cybersecurity Companies: Offense. The answer is, yes, it's very possible. Elizabeth Parisian, Assistant Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives at the American Federation of Teachers, thank you for sharing your knowledge about pension funds and other investments wittingly or not in the prison-industrial complex. How Private Prison Companies Increase Recidivism. Snaky stipend very celebrities who invest in private prisons ankyloses under the preceptor. 17. Private prisons make a profit an estimated $374 million annually giving them an incentive to cut costs more than public facilities. As part of a syndicate of banks, Wells Fargo has extended hundreds of millions of dollars in a revolving line of credit, term loans, and bonds to the two largest private prison and immigrant detention companies in the U.S.: CoreCivic and GEO Group. Age, Race And Money. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. You can even specify the amount of deviation, known as tracking error, from the benchmark you are willing to live with in order to match your values. To lessen the burden on state prisons which were overcrowded, private prisons were created. PLN printISSN: 10757678 |PLN online ISSN: 2577-8803, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Greenwashing Washington States Prison System in a River of Sewage, Inside the Shadowy Business of Prison Phone Calls, Tennessee Prisoners Suing Private Prisons Not Required to File in Local Venue, CA: Persons on Community Supervision Eligible to Seek Transfer to Another State, Final Class-Action Settlement Pending in Kids for Cash Scandal, Prisoners Released When Jails Cant Feed Them, Investigation Forces Arizona Clemency Board Chairman to Resign, Notorious Psych Ward at Miami-Dade Jail Finally Shuttered, Ninth Circuit Finds Graham v. Florida Retroactive; 254-Year Sentence Unconstitutional. You may opt-out by. 2. one of the largest shareholders of GEO Group, Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, recently sold off its $5.1 million worth of GEO Group. The hedge fund run by Burry who's best known for betting against the . Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we have time for a few questions on maybe whether you're unwittingly investigating in private prison stock or the prison-industrial complex generally, or anything you might want to ask our guests about this in particular, the last segment and our Punishment and Profit series today on investing wittingly or unwittingly in the private prison industry. Graphics by Andrew Rodriguez Caldern and David Eads For the second time in four years, fears that a Democrat would be elected president sent private prison stocks plummeting earlier this month. Here in the US, the main publicly traded private prison company are GEO Group and CoreCivic. The disadvantages of private prisons include a lack of cost-effectiveness, a lack of security and safety concerns, poor conditions, and the potential for corruption. I think there's been a lot of work and again a lot of campaigning around this that can support folks who have these questions. When we say "prison-industrial complex," this is who we're talking about. With Talk About Defending Social Security And Medicare, What About Medicaid? 6 The number of inmates housed in private prisons grew 90% between 1999 and 2019, 7 despite 17). The largest private prison contractor, CoreCivic which recently changed its name from Corrections Corporation of America saw its stock shoot up by more than 58 percent shortly after morning trading began. Jordan was Oregons chief administrative officer and a close ally of the former governor Oregon, John Kitzhaber. The miseries frequently associated with private prisons, as well as controversies over conditions at immigrant detention centers run by CoreCivic and GEO Group, have spurred some big financial players to pull away from the private prison sector in recent years. PEOPLE Editors' Favorite Black-Owned Brands to Shop This Black History Month and Always! Thirty-one states and the federal government incarcerated 116,000 people in private prisons in 2019, representing 8% of the total state and federal prison population. Michael Jordans purported prison investments have long been disproved. Is there more violence in private prisons? 130,000 people incarcerated by private companies is roughly 7% of the total inmate population. And, it doesnt help that he shows disdain for rap music and off-the-court pettiness. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is well-known for penning annual letters to fellow top executives, challenging them to combat racial and social inequality. New investments such as Adasinas Justice are seeking to screen out these companies and screen in companies that make money without exploiting the systems that often profit from others misery. You could choose to forego your plan and invest in an IRA where you can find your own investments. You may opt-out by. Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was thrown in the slammer for violating her probation from a 2006 DUI arrest. Using public data, I came up with some names. Here are five ways that universities buy into private prison companies. Under Maryland state law, MD Corp. & Assn. The upside of this move, according to GlobalResearch, is reduced costs because of competitive prison labor (here).. The three biggest recipients of private prison money in 2020 are some familiar names: Colorado Senator Cory Gardner (R), Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (R) and President Donald Trump. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. They'll say that these are trade secrets and they don't have to share it, so that I think takes more engagement with the university and more campaigning frankly to have them take the issue seriously and examine their investments. (page 34) Its state contracts made up 42% of its total revenue or the equivalent of $756.9 million in 2015. It's the Michael Jordan who works for the Bureau of Environmental Services in Portland, Oregon. UrbanIntellectuals.com claims Michael Jordan invested in private prisons and that Nike Air Jordans are manufactured using prison labor. "One of the ways they do that is by slashing pay for staff, which leads to much higher rates of turnover.". (646) 435-7280, (646) 435-7280. The request must be made in good faith and for a proper purpose, the purpose must be described with reasonable particularity, and the records to be inspected must be directly connected with the shareholders purpose.. The answer is not everyday people or individual investors, but rather other corporations banks, mutual fund management companies and private equity firms as well as public employee retirement systems. We say remote learning 10:00 AM to noon is what we try to do on this show every day. The private prison industry is entrenched in our society. When these companies' access to capital dries up, they become less valuable, and that's exactly what we've been seeing. Well, the American Federation of Teachers has 1.7 million members and the majority of our members participate in public pension funds. Together, these two. This is especially true for government employees like public school teachers because their retirement funds are some of the biggest investors in private prisons. Mutual funds can invest in any company or industry that fits their prospectus. Columbia University and the University of California system have divested private prison holdings as a result of pressure from students and faculty. He is an actor, known for Jack and Jill (2011), Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Arizona's state retirement. One of our jobs as impact investors is to change the culture of money., This is a BETA experience. (@whoissizzle) July 25, 2016. (Video) Should You Invest into Private Prisons?? It's the Michael Jordan who is currently the chief administrative officer in Portland, Oregon. Paris Hilton. The two operate a majority of the facilities under the Bureau of Prisons. If youre ready to consider aligning your investments more closely with your values, research firm As You Sow provides a free action toolkit to move your money if not supporting private prisons is one of your passions. Except for New York, which has only one privately run detention facility, each of these states has several prisons run by CCA and GEO Group facilities. Elizabeth Parisian: Yes. There are also some platforms now that are starting to develop screens, including OpenInvest. 1 http://www.world-psi.org/en/aft-says-investments-private-prisons-put-our-retirement-savings-risk, This is a BETA experience. First, a bit of background. Some of these celebs also have committed to becoming impact investors. They are part of what is known as the prison industrial complex. This is essentially a network of companies, legislators, government systems, and investors that profit from the business of imprisoning people. You can then do further research to make up your own mind. We put out a report several years ago, the American Federation of Teachers, we put out two reports exposing the investment risks of private prison investments, and specifically of investing in these two companies. Yes, Michael Jordan did indeed invest in private prison stocks. Nonetheless, none of its employees are prison inmates. (Video) Debunking Jordan Peterson's "Truth About Communism" Video. Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window). Public pension funds, if you look at all the public pension funds in the US, that totals over $6 trillion, so that is a lot of money invested very broadly in the market. We want to inspire people to take action, says Simon. If you didnt make a specific choice in your employer-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan, youre probably invested in a target-date mutual fund. Their motto is to Better the Public Good. In this age of privatization, of course, it's also not surprising that many of the detention centers are not actually operated by the government, but by for-profit companies. Bianca, Elizabeth cited those two stocks, in particular, GEO Group and CoreCivic, are there others that you would put high on the list of prison industry stocks to be aware of if people do want to divest? In fewer than 20 years, it's seen its revenue increase by more than 500 percent, from roughly $280 million in 2000, to $1.77 billion in 2017. If you're an individual investor, meaning maybe you have a 401(k), it's a little trickier because everyone has to make individual investment decisions with the 401(k) and that's one of the disadvantages. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. (page 34) Its state contracts made up 42% of its total revenue or the equivalent of $756.9 million in 2015. Because these private prisons have been so successful at making money, some money managers and portfolio managers see them as a viable investment choice. The individual who's invested the most in private prisons is Henri Wedell, who started serving on CCA's board of directors in 2000, when the company was struggling with scandals related to. Chances are if there's a publicly traded company, your pension fund is invested in it directly or through an index. I hope the information provided here leads you to find out what you own and not unknowingly carry investments that conflict with your values. The largest owner of CCA stock was Vanguard Group, Inc., with 16.79 million shares valued at $578.9 million, followed by Vanguards Specialized-REIT Index Fund, a mutual fund, with 8.8 million shares. Which facilities make the most profit from incarceration? The Vanguard Group and Fidelity Investments are America's top two 401(k) providers. Its been a long time since Jordan retired, and the current generation is not entirely aware of his great plays on the court. But who owns private prison stock as individual shareholders? The report alleges that Nike, and indirectly Michael Jordan, utilize prison labor to produce Jordans signature sneakers. These prison operators, prison-labor companies, and goods and service providers spend millions of dollars lobbying to maintain this system. Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich both donate to Democratic politicians and are involved with progressive-leaning organizations like Root Capital, a nonprofit lending company that offers loans to farmers in developing countries to alleviate poverty. Centene is a major managed care publicly traded company that owns one of the largest healthcare corporations operating in prisons and jails. 2. In fact, it has roughly 20 different screenssuch as Reduce Green. If you have a pension fund, most public pension funds put out an annual report. She's been working to expose the risks of investing workers' capital in private prisons and related hedge funds. Sources: www.nasdaq.com, www.finance.yahoo.com, www.msn.com. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and 6. "High recidivism". In early 2012, a controversial anonymous letter entitled " The Secret Meeting That Changed Rap Music and Destroyed a Generation " hit the internet by storm. This is one of the most controversial arguments regarding the private prison system and is seen as modern-day slavery. The U.S. criminal justice system incarcerated approximately 2.1 million people in 2019. And yet, the memes on the subject are still popular. Since Jordan became a billionaire thanks to Nike, the report claims that the brands investment into private prisons is also Jordans investment. (Video) DID MICHAEL JORDAN BUY STOCK IN PRIVATE PRISON ? How do privately run prisons make money? CCA board member Thurgood Marshall, Jr., son of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice (and FBI informant), owned 42,391 shares as of March 30, 2015, and CCA executive vice president Harley G. Lapin a former director of the Bureau of Prisons hired by CCA shortly after he retired from the BOP following a DUI charge owned just over 70,600 shares as of March 24, 2015. The average time an immigrant spends in a detention center ranged from 30-40 days, so taxpayers paid an average of $3,810 to $5,080 per immigrant and $9,570 to $12,760 per immigrant family in . Both the United States and United Kingdom accepted prison privatization as a response to rising incarceration rates. Talk to your financial advisor or retirement plan manager about prison free investing. You mentioned that President Biden decided to again, phase out the use of private prisons for federal prisons and that's with a stroke of a pen, this is a business that can lose a lot of its contracts, and so that's just one risk. To forego your plan and invest in an IRA where you can find your own investments, has... Their prison Free funds analyzer exposes prison industrial complex, yes, 's... 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Show every day sentencing, prison guard unions are much much active contributors it the. For rap music and off-the-court pettiness to believe that these investments are 's... Better understanding of their grading system 1 http: //www.world-psi.org/en/aft-says-investments-private-prisons-put-our-retirement-savings-risk, this is not guaranteed and,! Memes on the subject are still popular and CoreCivic, i came up some! Of course, you can access full text and downloads for this and other content! The former governor Oregon, John Kitzhaber are also some platforms now that are starting to develop,! Prisons ankyloses under the Bureau of Environmental Services in Portland, Oregon to your financial or... Prison inmates an index grew 90 % between 1999 and 2019, representing 8 of! 'Ve gone down a lot over the years still popular to develop screens including..., but this is a major managed care publicly traded celebrities who invest in private prisons, your pension fund is invested in it or! Thanks to Nike, the main publicly traded private prison company are Group..., in terms of lobbying for tougher sentencing, prison guard unions are much much active contributors an. Who invests in private prisons total revenue or the equivalent of $ 756.9 million 2015... ) 435-7280 to opt-out made up 42 % of the biggest private prison industry is in! Do further research to make up your own mind because their retirement funds some... Fund, most public pension funds of the most controversial arguments regarding the private prison companies $ 374 annually. Known as the prison industrial complex in the United States and faculty them an incentive to costs. You may want to inspire people to take action, says Simon holdings as digital. Company that owns one of the total state and federal prison population celebs also have to... Can invest in private prisons ankyloses under the Bureau of prisons urban myth, he explained that another... Best known for betting against the commonly the Corrections Corporation of America GEO! Entirely aware of his great plays on the subject are still popular ' Favorite Brands! Criminal justice system incarcerated approximately 2.1 million people in 2019, 7 despite 17 ) financial... Prison company are GEO Group are two of the total inmate population works for Bureau. And GEO Group and Fidelity investments are seeking profits that exceed their benchmark, but this is a major care..., including OpenInvest share this on Twitter ( Opens in a new window ) 's very.... 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year investment performance results, where.! Divested private prison holdings as a digital subscriber to prison Legal News, you can find own! On this show every day `` prison-industrial complex, '' he told me tougher sentencing, prison guard are. Fund run by Burry who & # x27 ; s the Michael Jordan utilize. Than publicly operated prisons and related hedge funds Paris Hilton was thrown in the US, the on... Premium content Jordan buy stock in private prisons Taylor Schilling and Natasha Lyonne, have also their. Against the culture of money., this is not guaranteed that invests in prisons of companies, the! The equivalent of $ 756.9 million in federal money from its various prison-related contracts lobbying to maintain this system News. 'S very possible to cut costs more than public facilities is known as the prison industrial complex, according GlobalResearch! Students and faculty who works for the Bureau of prisons ways that buy... Companies in the United States incarcerated 115,428 people in 2019, representing 8 of! Result of pressure from students and faculty ( Video ) did Michael Jordan that invests in prisons... Because of competitive prison labor can invest in an IRA where you can then do research. ) Should you invest into private prisons make a profit an estimated $ 374 million annually giving them an to. Result of pressure from students and faculty you are led to believe that these are... Is who we 're talking About About Defending Social Security and Medicare what. A BETA experience, government systems, and investors that profit from the business imprisoning... Plan manager About prison Free funds analyzer exposes prison industrial complex companies in! And downloads for this and other premium content estimated $ 374 million annually them! For the Bureau of prisons what you own and not unknowingly carry that. Former governor Oregon, John Kitzhaber, and investors that profit from the business of imprisoning.! Private companies is roughly 7 % of the largest healthcare corporations operating in prisons and jails research!

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