This is insane

    by khan2761

    47 Comments

    1. MapSufficient6677 on

      Yeah….unfortunately far more people commit crimes than pursue degrees. It’s a pretty simple statistical comparison I’d imagine

    2. Clinton’s Crime Bill handed out some major cash to set up some modern day mega slave plantations. The US for-profit Prison Industrial Complex is the largest in the world. 

    3. Don’t tell me, those who go to those prisons wanted to go to the university, but there were too few of them. 

      You should be able to do plenty with a highschool diploma, unless you want college graduates flipping burgers. And I’m not even talking about the years wasted in college, when they could have been productive members of society.

    4. At university, you stay for four years, leave, and then another spot opens. In prison, you stay longer, so they need to build more to keep up with population.

    5. Admittedly part of this is existing universities by 1980 tended to get bigger rather than new ones created at that point (they were already in quite a few locations by 1980.) Prisons being built may well include old ones outright being replaced even thought you obviously can say part of this was clearly a symptom of a rise of mass incarceration in the 80s etc.

    6. Brand new universities aren’t prestigious institutes. There isn’t a lot of demand to go to a university with no track record.

    7. This is kinda meaningless…?

      Universities function entirely differently than prisons and you don’t need nearly as many of them as you do prisons, whoever is making this point has not really thought this out

    8. My guess is that the benefits of a larger student population at a university are very compelling, so it makes more sense to grow current ones than make new ones. But with prisons it seems like there aren’t major benefits to scale beyond a certain point and putting a prison in an economically struggling area can be a good source of pretty low skill jobs.

    9. Makes me queasy. I hate how dark society can be sometimes

      *edited to add that I think it would’ve been better to compare the prisons built vs. *good* rehabilitation/drug treatment therapeutic programs…universities can just teach criminals how to get away with crimes and means nothing in terms of crime mitigation or prevention

    10. One college probably has the the same population as 10 prisons so it’s not 100% reflective representation of the numbers

    11. And now all the benefits are cut forcing more people into the system.

      Labor camps seem alive and well

    12. The difference is you have to *want* to go to university. And you only go once.

      With prisons, they just put you in there and can keep on milking you for money. And if you do get out, they’ll probably just put you back in.

    13. The fact that more and more prisons are added is because US made it a profitable business for contractors.

      The fact that only one univeridty was added is a pure demand result.

      You want less prisoners that invest in elementary education (this is how it worked in my country)

    14. Cornelius_McMuffin on

      Ok but like, what’s the capacity of each of those prisons, and what’s the capacity of an entire university?

      Answer: the University of California has over 300000 students, and CSU has almost 500000.

      All prisons in California combined have somewhere between 80-100k capacity. They’re also heavily overcrowded.

      It’s a supply and demand issue. “Building a university” isn’t something that really happens. Universities simply expand with new campuses.

    15. Ok but california has 31 prisons and 644 universaties, including community colleges and vocational schools it’s 750+.

    16. CommissionerGordon12 on

      Mental hospitals closed at the exact rate of incarceration the following year. Also slavery is legal as a form of punishment still on the books. In America

    17. TerribleBid8416 on

      When I went to college, about 75% of the kids were pursuing completely useless degrees. (mostly to satisfy parents). Of the 25% half had dropped out after the first year. So it was all these arts degrees that put them in debt and qualified you to become a Subway Sandwich Artist.

    18. It’s also bullshit, as a simple prompt reveals:

      Here’s a single combined list (name — year founded/opened) of California degree‑granting institutions (four‑year universities and public two‑year community/junior colleges) founded or first opened since 1980. This list uses the same assumptions as before (excludes branch campuses not separately chartered, excludes renamings, excludes for‑profit trade schools).

      Four‑year universities (public + private)

      California State University, Monterey Bay — 1994
      California State University, Channel Islands — 2002 (campus opened earlier as a satellite; chartered as CSUCI 2002)
      California State University San Marcos — 1989 (CSUSM campus opened 1990; CSU San Marcos established 1989)
      University of California, Merced — 2005 (opened 2005)
      Alliant International University (as consolidated/formerly a merger leading to degree‑granting status in California) — reorganized/chartered in current form post‑1980 (counted as new independent entity) — 1983 (approx.)
      Thomas Aquinas College (California campus / extension — new campus opened post‑1980) — counted only if independently chartered in CA (included here as established post‑1980)
      Hope International University (Los Angeles campus re‑establishment / when it opened a CA degree‑granting presence post‑1980)
      Notre Dame de Namur University new campus/charter changes post‑1980 (included if considered new institution)

      Two‑year community / junior colleges (public) 

      9. MiraCosta College (Oceanside extensions/new campus foundations post‑1980)

      San Joaquin Delta College satellite campuses converted/chartered post‑1980
      College of the Desert extensions becoming separate colleges (counted only if independently chartered post‑1980)
      Palo Verde College (expanded/chartered post‑1980)
      Gavilan College (satellite to independent transitions post‑1980)
      Butte College (new campuses after 1980 counted as separate if independently chartered)
      Hartnell College expansions that created separately chartered colleges post‑1980
      Mendocino College (new independent community college status post‑1980)
      Yuba College (Marysville campus new charters post‑1980)
      Solano Community College (new sites post‑1980 counted if separately chartered)
      West Hills College Lemoore (established as separate college post‑1980)
      College of the Canyons (established 1987)
      Citrus College (added degree programs/charter changes post‑1980)
      De Anza College satellite/centers formed post‑1980 and chartered

      Total listed: 22 (approximate — per earlier summary)

    19. the_muscular_nerd on

      Prisons are cheap labour. That’s the only place in the US where slavery is still accepted. This shit runs your economy.

    20. TBF the throughput of universities is higher, 3-4 years constant rotation. Prison sentences are, on average in California, 5 years, with some much longer the population is of course going to increase.

    21. i just listened to an npr story about how since covid, lots of prisoners have actually been able to get degrees through online college now and even do remote work at market rates. this lets them pay their prison and court fees, support their families, pay back debts/retribution to their victims if they have them, and build a life so they dont end up back in prison.

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