Letters to the Editor, June 28,   Rocky Mountain News 
June 28, 2005 

'McPrisons' trend puts our safety in jeopardy 

I'd like to thank the News for its June 20 story, "Prison firm made
political donations/Lawmakers say there's no connection to lax
oversight," about the growing influence of the Corrections Corp. of
America on our state government. 

The News article should help in continuing to sound the alarm for what
is fast becoming a governmentwide concern. 

The prison-for-profit industry is steadily moving into the federal
system, too, where legislation to outsource government jobs is in full
gear. This would allow corporations to get richer while career positions
become low-paying service jobs. 

For the first time in our history, many Bureau of Prisons facilities
have been placed on the "commercial list," which means many of the jobs
are no longer considered "inherently governmental." If running a prison
is not inherently governmental, then what is? 

It is a sad reality that corporate money rules the day. Government-run
prisons are not immune to violence, but the record shows that
well-trained staff in career positions far outperform these rent-a-cop
McPrisons. The public should not take their safety for granted. Running
prisons is best left to well-trained experts. 

The first responsibility of government is to serve and protect the
public, but the prevailing right-wing ideology is that the government
should be run like a corporation where "the bottom line" is money,
putting profit over security. Let's hope the taxpayers are not fooled. 

This issue is not going away any time soon. We will continue to speak
out and educate the public and our elected officials. State Rep. Liane
"Buffie" McFadyen is one legislator who has taken notice and spoken out
against this; let's hope others follow her lead. 

She has posed the question to her colleagues, "How ethical is it to
make money off of prisons?" What do you think, Gov. Owens? 


Timothy D. Allport 
President, American Federation of Government Employees Council of
Prison Locals, Local 709 
Littleton 



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