Louisiana Healthcare Connection: Fill & Download for Free

A couple of weeks back, I was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and I made a mistake of asking an Uber driver who he will be voting for in November. He happened to be a Trump supporter. He assumed I was from England because of my accent (go figure — because I have a typical African accent).I asked him why he supports Trump and he said the following:Trump is not a politician and thus connects with ‘real people’sicTrump is a business man and so understands the economyTrump is the only man ISIS and Russia fearsTrump will protect employment by keeping Mexicans outClinton as President is a 3rd term for Obama (who he hates)I moved on to his hatred for Obama. He went on to say Obama has destroyed America( without saying how) and that he destroyed Healthcare. He added is the most divisive President in history and has divided America into racial, religious and class lines. He went on to ask me ‘Did you know Obama was born in Kenya?” ‘When he was Senator, he visited Kenya and in an interview, he admitted he was born there — I saw the clip.”At the point, I decided to inform him that I was Kenyan and my area of expertise is Health Insurance and I have substantial knowledge of American history and politics through my studies. The topic moved quickly on how far it was from Kenya to Baton Rouge to my grasp of the English language and money, etc. which I found to be patronizing but I accommodated his questions.My conclusions are that this is typical of Trump support and the support MUST come from a point of ignorance. His points were Trump rhetoric.Edit 1: When I wrote this, I did not expect the comments section will turn into a battle ground of Clinton and Trump supporters. I never indicated that I support either (after all I am not even a voter). I have even been accused of making up this story up. I responded to the question as asked and gave this exchange because it was quite fresh in my mind.

I actually wrote my undergraduate thesis on the cost differentials in private versus public prisons, so this is a topic I am very passionate about.Louisiana created one of the first private prisons when it leased its state penitentiary to a private company in 1844.An inmate who wrote his memoir about the experience said this:“[Once privatized, the jailers] laid aside all objects of reformation and re-instated the most cruel tyranny, to eke out the dollar and cents of human misery.”As others have said here, it is extremely morally depraved to create a profit incentive to imprison people. If you are really interested in understanding private prisons, then I would recommend you read this expose[1][1][1][1] in Mother Jones (magazine) by Shane Bauer.This incentive created the Cash for Kids scandal, where a Pennsylvania judge sentenced more than 2000 CHILDREN to juvenile detention for as little as cursing in exchange for money…Let’s not even consider the kind of conflict of interest that simply exists, there is no denying it, when police pension funds depend on private prison profits to secure their own retirement.All of these are moral reasons, but at the end of the day it all comes down to one thing: money. In fact, private prisons fail there too.[2][2][2][2]Private prisons save most of their money by paying their staff less. They achieve this by stifling unions, and dealing with high turnover. Some people in the comments have gone so far as to suggest that being a prison guard is a low skill job. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the inexperience created by private prison corporate practice has lead to systemic failure. For instance…In Tennessee, private prisons run by CoreCivic experienced twice as many murders and four times as many homicides as state-run prisons. In order to avoid the obvious disparity in quality, Tennessee ordered public prisons to reduce costs ( i.e. be just as crap as the private prison), ostensibly to save public money, but really to protect the political career of whoever in the state’s government wanted private prisons so badly they are blowing up the public system to cover it up as you read this sentence.Private prisons have on average one guard per 6.9 inmates, compared to 4.9 in public prisons. That’s staff total. At Winn Correctional in Louisiana active staff sometimes leaves us with a ratio of 1 guard per 176 inmates. This has at times caused prison administration to ally with gangs in the prison to maintain order, instead of the prison staff. A particular prison using this practice earned the nickname “Gladiator School.” Some prisons even went so far as falsifying documents in order to meet the minimum staffing requirements set out in their contracts (sometimes listing a guard as having worked a 48 hour shift to meet the requirement). Invariably, when one state official begins an investigation into this, another public official will kill it… the investigation not the official.Private prisons do not have to take any old inmate the State gives them. They are allowed to select the ones that will fill their beds. As a result private prisons overwhelmingly select the lowest-security-risk inmates, and those with the least healthcare problems (which they would have to pay for otherwise). Remember the murderpalooza in Tennessee prisons run by CoreCivic? That’s even with a low-security risk population. Here’s a list of all the politicians that this dystopian company bribes to continue functioning. The “cheap” inmates get funneled into the private system, and then…We turn around and say, “Oh look how much cheaper private prisons are than public prisons,” in order to justify more privatization. If you had to equally distribute people housed (and I use the word housed deliberately, because for a segment of society prison has replaced residential mental health services, and affordable housing) in jails according to security risks and healthcare costs across private and public systems, then the so called “savings” evaporates. Consequently, I think this is why training in formal logic is so important, because this idea even in the abstract seems to be the victim of circular reasoning (but of course logic and efficiency are never the entire basis of policy decisions).Private prisons also have inferior (or nonexistent) reform programs offered to inmates during incarceration.[3]Let’s say the judge tells you that eligibility for parole depends on you completing five anger management classes.Well, the private prison makes it as hard as possible for you to take those classes, because there is no regulation on program access, and that in turn means you have to stay longer in the prison, and that by extension means the prison “makes” more money. This makes their bosses (the corporate shareholders) happy because the stock goes up and they can sell, or the company will pay them out an increasing dividend. It is called the fiduciary duty. The concept of fiduciary duty to shareholders is also why trickle down economics is legally impossible, and only a plausible concept for people who don’t actually understand how corporations work.On the other hand, the public prison wants you to take those classes ASAP, because the sooner you do the sooner they can parole you; meaning the sooner they can stop spending tax money on you. That makes their bosses (the politicians) happy, because they can say they are saving tax money during elections.So yes, Elizabeth Warren is right to call for a ban on private prisons. They accomplish nothing but the utter corruption of our society’s moral fabric.Update:Private Prison and Criminalization of MigrantsIt’s so awesome to see how many people have found the information her worth noting, and I hope you’ve found the chance to share it in conversation with friends. It’s because of this increasing awareness that private prisons have faced increased scrutiny from state administrations. I hope you’ll also find this information worth noting.While increasing scrutiny has been successful in diminishing the number of U.S. citizens in private prison detention by some degree, the reduction in profits has caused private prisons to adapt. They’ve done so by entering into extended contracts with the federal government ostensibly to detain people without citizenship, and whom the government has targeted, prior to their deportation.I say ostensibly, because while the Trump admin, and his leftovers still acting under Biden during the transition, were pushing for the arrest of people (and funneling them into camp run by private prison companies)[4][4][4][4] they did not actually proceed with deportation.For some reason, it seemed as if the government was pursuing a policy supposedly aimed at deportation, but that actually resulted and maintained a period of extended incarceration; and private prisons were intimately insinuated both to the political actors facilitating the policy, but also in the socio-cultural reinforcement that underpinned the “justice” of it.Of course, delayed and indefinite incarceration of people with dubious access to civil rights attorneys (I actually am reflecting on a case I worked where the guy was taken to a secret ICE jail and am just making the connection now) is music to the ears of a private prison. Capitalism.Biden Administration Ending Federal Contracts with For-Profit PrisonsThe Biden administration has taken a great step in ending federal contracts with for-profit prisons.[5][5][5][5] We should never have a profit incentive to imprison people. It is anti-social to say the least.The next step should be for the Biden administration to set a prison reform committee. The committee should invite people formerly imprisoned in private facilities, community organizations, and other interested people to relate their experience with this system, and how it could be better. My answer to that question would be, if it were gone, but I recognize some people consider this to be a more nuanced discussion, so we need to at least be having that discussion.Footnotes[1] Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside—then things got crazy[1] Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside—then things got crazy[1] Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside—then things got crazy[1] Private prisons are shrouded in secrecy. I took a job as a guard to get inside—then things got crazy[2] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf[2] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf[2] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf[2] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/es_20161021_private_prisons_economics.pdf[3] Private Prisons; Profits Before Purpose - Focus for Health[4] How Private Prisons Are Profiting Under the Trump Administration - Center for American Progress[4] How Private Prisons Are Profiting Under the Trump Administration - Center for American Progress[4] How Private Prisons Are Profiting Under the Trump Administration - Center for American Progress[4] How Private Prisons Are Profiting Under the Trump Administration - Center for American Progress[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/biden-private-prisons-immigrant-detention/2021/02/02/b535d9d6-6567-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2H7IdfEJzXpOiMZ4nQhTp9nrEe2DZUQB8CMdHLKMED22HPgjSKCTCHxmQ[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/biden-private-prisons-immigrant-detention/2021/02/02/b535d9d6-6567-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2H7IdfEJzXpOiMZ4nQhTp9nrEe2DZUQB8CMdHLKMED22HPgjSKCTCHxmQ[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/biden-private-prisons-immigrant-detention/2021/02/02/b535d9d6-6567-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2H7IdfEJzXpOiMZ4nQhTp9nrEe2DZUQB8CMdHLKMED22HPgjSKCTCHxmQ[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/biden-private-prisons-immigrant-detention/2021/02/02/b535d9d6-6567-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2H7IdfEJzXpOiMZ4nQhTp9nrEe2DZUQB8CMdHLKMED22HPgjSKCTCHxmQ

Most Indians do not follow US politics and don't care about Bobby Jindal one way or another. Among the minority that follows US politics the opinions range from jingoistic "there's my boy" to an extremely shrill "he is a sell-out".The irony is that the Indians who expect the Italian-born Indian politician Sonia Gandhi to follow Indian traditions [such as wearing a saree] are so aghast when the shoe is on the other foot. How often do you want Sonia to talk about her Italian heritage? What do you expect from the poor Piyush who was not even born in India?Here is what I think of Bobby Jindal.Despite all the anti-Jindal vigor, his elevation as candidate in the national race is a positive one for Indian Americans. Sure, he might have changed his first name and also distanced himself from India, but his rise will be an inspiration for many Indian Americans and people of many other races. Obama was half-white and had an atypical black American background, but his rise was still a momentous one for the blacks. Jindal's is not as big, but would still be big for many Indian Americans. I will point to one of USINPAC's press releases: USINPAC Congratulates Bobby Jindal on Being Re-elected as Governor of LouisianaThe road to reformation happens in fits and bursts and not linear. In an ideal world, Jindal would not have to distance himself from India. But, we don't live in that world. Jindal is a brown-skinned governor in a southern state. What do you expect? However, once his precedence is set and people are ok with various races to hold top positions then more self-confident Indian Americans could emerge on the scene. Regardless of his own set of views, Jindal would set a positive example.Despite all his ultra-right rhetoric to please his crowd [without that he cannot get votes], there are some positives:Growing up in a poor state to parents of recent immigrants, he topped in academics, started his own ventures. He was accepted into Harvard Med and Yale Law, but chose to go to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He probably has a better world view than most US politicians.His parents were from middle class who had no political background. Thus, he had to grow up on his own without family connections to call upon like the other Presidential candidates of 2016.He took over a broken medicare system in his state and successfully reformed it. At a time US is grappling with healthcare, his academic and practical experience with the field will help a lot.He helped rebuild his state post-Katrina, managed Hurricane Gustav very well and well liked by his citizens. That is the yardstick with which he should be judged upon.He is an American politician of Indian origin who is serving his people well. Indians should be proud that one of theirs is adding value to their host society instead of throwing rubbish at him. I would not vote for him even if I had a vote, but I think he is unfairly criticized for his skin color.