While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are stationed at 737 bases, in 130 nations around the world, defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Democratic (socialist/fascist) de facto President Obama (either a natural born subject of the United Kingdom enclave of Kenya, or a natural born resident of the republic of Hawaii) speaking in Philadelphia, pennsylvania to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says.

       The United states is home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.  Think about that.  Our incarceration rate is four times higher than China’s.  We keep more people behind bars than the top 35 European countries combined.  And it hasn’t always been the case—this huge explosion in incarceration rates.  In 1980, there were 500,000 people behind bars in America—half a million people in 1980.  … Today there are 2.2 million.  It has quadrupled since 1980.  Our prison population has doubled in the last two decades alone.

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       Every year, we spend $80 billion to keep folks incarcerated—$80 billion.  Now, just to put that in perspective, for $80 billion, we could have universal preschool for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old in America.  That’s what $80 billion buys.  For $80 billion, we could double the salary of every high school teacher in America.  For $80 billion, we could finance new roads and new bridges and new airports, job training programs, research and development.  We’re about to get in a big budget debate in Washington—what I couldn’t do with $80 billion.  It’s a lot of money.  For what we spend to keep everyone locked up for one year, we could eliminate tuition at every single one of our public colleges and universities. 

The day before Obama commuted (shortened; not pardoned by commuted) the sentences of 46 non-violent Federal drug offenders out of 35,000 who have already applied.

       NOTE: At the time of Obama’s speech and action, according to the U.s. Bureau of Prisoners there were 207,847 total Federal inmates.  Eighty-six percent (or 180,000) of them are incarcerated for non-violent drug felonies.  But Obama did not see it in his heart to pardon a single one of them.  Of the 64 presidential pardons Obama had issued up until this date, only 47 of them were for victimless crimes, most of whom the offenders had already served out their sentences.

       Question: At the thought of finding an additional 80,000,000 “dollars” in funding, why is Obama so ambitious to speculate about other initiatives to spend on?  What is wrong with deficit reduction, or better yet tax reduction, so U.s. subject/enemy/citizens can engage in their own debt reduction?

       [added 12/27/2022]

       President Edward D. Mullins, of the New York City statute enforcement officers Benevolent Association condemns the 5,900,000 “dollar” out of court settlement reached with the family of Eric Garner: “Where is the justice for New York taxpayers?  Where is the consistency in the civil system?”

       NOTE: The editors wholeheartedly agree: New York City residents should not have to pay through lawful taxes for the killing of Eric Garner; compensation should have been paid out of the property and pension of SEO Daniel Pantaleo.

       [added 12/27/2022] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.