GEO Group, a private, for profit, prison company, refused to decline charging inmates for phone calls. While the prison for hire company does not provide phone services directly, it receives a portion of every collect call made from behind iron bars from the phone service providers.
As it is, GEO Group generates nearly 1.4 billion dollars a year, mostly paid by tax payer dollars. The government pays GEO Group for every inmate so governments don't have to foot the bill for more prisons. The reality is, at over $130 a day, which rivals the price of a luxury hotel room, the tax payers foot a larger bill for private prisons than they would if they were built and staffed by government employees.
Not satisfied with the tax payer revenues, GEO takes a cut for every collect call made. Securus, Global Tel Link and Century Link compete for the telephone contracts. In order to gain exclusive access to the GEO market, the cell companies cut GEO in on the lucrative contracts. While GEO can shop the telephone market to it's competitors, the unfortunate inmates have no choice about what company to use in making a call or what that company decides to charge. Most families who find the bread winner locked up behind bars have their hands full with legal fees, bonding and the emotional roller coaster that goes with the disruption of the family unit.
Securus offers "family plans" with "unlimited minutes" just like other telephone providers. The companies make a profit at the expense of mostly the poorest of the poor.
Many GEO Group inmates are immigrants who find themselves locked up for improper lane changes and other minor traffic charges. Opponents say these people pose no risk to society and could be allowed to go home to their families wearing ankle monitors rather than being housed at tax payer expense in for-profit institutions. The nearly 1.4 billion dollars tax payers give to GEO could be used to reduce the federal debt or to build schools and parks, opponents say.
GEO is a publicly traded company. Respectable banks, like Wells Fargo, invest their client's money through subsidiaries in GEO Group, Inc. because they like the returns on investment. We interviewed a former Wells Fargo Bank employee who was told to deny the Wells Fargo/Geo Group connection when customers asked. Wells Fargo says they are not directly involved in GEO Group, they only invest customer money for a better return.
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| Photo from the Pulp |
As it is, GEO Group generates nearly 1.4 billion dollars a year, mostly paid by tax payer dollars. The government pays GEO Group for every inmate so governments don't have to foot the bill for more prisons. The reality is, at over $130 a day, which rivals the price of a luxury hotel room, the tax payers foot a larger bill for private prisons than they would if they were built and staffed by government employees.
Not satisfied with the tax payer revenues, GEO takes a cut for every collect call made. Securus, Global Tel Link and Century Link compete for the telephone contracts. In order to gain exclusive access to the GEO market, the cell companies cut GEO in on the lucrative contracts. While GEO can shop the telephone market to it's competitors, the unfortunate inmates have no choice about what company to use in making a call or what that company decides to charge. Most families who find the bread winner locked up behind bars have their hands full with legal fees, bonding and the emotional roller coaster that goes with the disruption of the family unit.
Securus offers "family plans" with "unlimited minutes" just like other telephone providers. The companies make a profit at the expense of mostly the poorest of the poor.
Many GEO Group inmates are immigrants who find themselves locked up for improper lane changes and other minor traffic charges. Opponents say these people pose no risk to society and could be allowed to go home to their families wearing ankle monitors rather than being housed at tax payer expense in for-profit institutions. The nearly 1.4 billion dollars tax payers give to GEO could be used to reduce the federal debt or to build schools and parks, opponents say.
GEO is a publicly traded company. Respectable banks, like Wells Fargo, invest their client's money through subsidiaries in GEO Group, Inc. because they like the returns on investment. We interviewed a former Wells Fargo Bank employee who was told to deny the Wells Fargo/Geo Group connection when customers asked. Wells Fargo says they are not directly involved in GEO Group, they only invest customer money for a better return.
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