Our Future -- The Big Gamble

Why gamble our future and the future of the very Town of Southwest Ranches on the words of  a bunch of snake oil salesmen and corporate pitchmen? Are we that strapped for cash that we would entertain such a risky proposition from Prison, Inc.?  Just look at the existing contract between SWR and CCA and see what shady business is all about.



People have drawn their own conclusions that the Town, CCA, ICE and the supporters of this prison have done nothing but lie about this prison.  Just take a look at all the slick, corporate literature CCA has spent tens of thousands of dollars on to make you believe in something more fairy tale than Mr. Ed, the talking horse.  Take a look at the all expense paid sight seeing tours to their showcase prison in the corporate home of Tennessee that they have provided to Town officials and elders over the years. They are trying to get you to believe you are going to get something for nothing with their prison.

The siren song of money for nothing is as old as the hills.  And just like doctors and lawyers who should know better than to fall victim to obvious hucksters and hoaxes and send their bank account information to some Nigerian pretending to be the wife of an assassinated minister, our elected officials are falling for the oldest trick in the book.  I love you and I would never do anything to hurt you.  Just sign on the dotted line, please.

There's a sucker born every minute.

The following article appeared in the LA Times yesterday regarding the precipitous drop in deportations of illegal aliens.  Number of deportation cases drops by nearly a third, report says

President Obama appears to be implementing a change in deportation policy.  From October to December, deportations dropped from 58,600 to 39,300.  If this is the case, why exactly do we need an immigrant prison in our back yard?  Doesn't this tell SWR Town Council that they are banking the entire future of their town on a disgusting industry which can radically change overnight even within an administration as this article suggests?

With a conventional prison run by the state, it's not likely that a huge change in the need for jail space will occur because the legislature decides to decriminalize murder, for example. The need for a conventional prison is fairly stable year over year.

The need for the ICE prison seems to be solely at the discretion of a single person's whims; the President.  Apparently, this immense change in policy is merely a change in mind of a single executive.  The need for immigrant prison bed space can change wildly even within a single administration.  It's all political.  The need for this detention facility could exponentially increase, or as reality demonstrates, quickly radically decrease.

Why would our Town gamble our future on a 20 year contract worth barely $10 million dollars over that entire length on such a fluid and transient foundation such as Presidential immigration policy?  We have Presidential elections every four years, so this prison's life could span as many as five Presidential administrations. This prison is risky business.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

This bad decision by our elected leaders has the potential of completely bankrupting our town.  If they make a mistake and suffer substantial financial losses, you the resident taxpayer are absolutely and 100% ultimately responsible for their gambling on risky business.  You elected them to represent you, after all.

Is the stability of the Town worth more that a roll of the dice?  What are Nelson, Breitkreuz, McKay, Jablonski and Fisikelli possibly thinking?

Please call them and ask them. Why gamble on a risky scheme?  At the SWR council meeting on 2/23, all four councilmen were using different language than that which they used after the 11/5 ICE meeting.  They are now adamant that they will not sign contracts unless it makes sense, financially to do so. Unfortunately, Steve Breitkreuz thinks that $10 million over 20 years makes financial sense. He's gambling our future.

Most dishearteningly, though, is that Mayor Jeff Nelson felt no need to state that his support for the prison is contingent on it making financial sense.  He told us all that he has always been a strong supporter of the prison and he will remain so.  The message is clear from Nelson, he doesn't care if it makes sense.  He's a pro prison zealot.  He's not gambling our future, he's appears obsessed with the prison; a Stepford wife. Why is that, we all wonder?

He needs to be removed from office by his constituents.  Any other councilman that gambles with your home, your Town, or your neighbors on a risky scheme such as this needs to go too.

Simple questions are in order.  Do you trust CCA?  Do you trust ICE?  Do you trust the Town Council?  Do you trust lawyers such as Keith Poliakoff or Sam Poole?  Do you trust Don Maines, John Canada or Jeff Nelson who were the creators of this prison scheme?

Is Russian roulette your poison? If you have to think about it, why gamble?