The Paradox of Prison-Based Economic Development in Rural America :: Free Essays Online

The Paradox of Prison-Based frugal Development in Rural the States accounting entry Whereas prison facilities were once viewed with aversion as threats to a communitys well-being, prisons today are the focus of competitive bids by rural communities direful for economic stability. As non-metro economies deterio charge per unitd and prison populations exploded over the last two decades, rural America and prison facilities have developed a symbiotic relationship. This paper investigates whether prison-based economic development policies in rural America offer benefits that exceed their costs. Proponents of the prisons-as-development strategy cont blockade that prison jobs offer better requital and create more stability than the few industries that remain in non-metro America. Yet, critics remark higher crime rates and reduced property values as the social externalities and economic drawbacks that result from prison siting. Impact studies of prison-based developme nt strategies, although farthermost from conclusive, suggest that the truth may lie somewhere in the middle. However, it is as well clear that the varied impacts this strategy has, both good and bad, are rarely if ever considered in the prison siting process. Nonetheless, the prison-as-development approach continues as a maneuver to create jobs and to bring hope to the struggling communities of non-metro America.Two Trends Rural Economic Deterioration and Rising Prison Populations Prison siting as a wreak of economic development resulted from the convergence of two unrelated trends in America the economic downturn in rural America and the increase in U.S. prison populations. Over the last several decades, economic distress was brought on to non-metro regions as family farms were consolidated and manufacturing industries found trashyer labor elsewhere Almost both sources of well-paying employment drained out of rural America. The consequence, as Huling identifies, wa s that the poverty rate of working rural families actually increased in the 1980s (4). With deprave populations and stagnant economies, non-metro America looked to all but vanish by the end of the century. One of the few economic development strategies that remained was the acceptance of generally undesirable industries and facilities to create jobs. Samara suggests that rural communities were priced out of contests to attract manufacturers, as local development agencies in more prosperous areas offered aggressive packages of tax breaks, cheap loans, free land and more (27).