FACTS SHOW PRISONS DO NOT HELP RURAL COUNTY ECONOMIES

The facts:

1. Latest (Jan., 2007) unemployment rates (from Tenn. Dept. of Labor & WD) for Tennessee rural counties with prisons compared to unemployment rate for Trousdale County:

Trousdale County: 6.2%

Hardeman County (CCA prison): 7.7%

Morgan County (Brushy Mountain Prison + extensive construction going on for expansion): 6.6%

Bledsoe County (Pikeville Youth Prison): 6.8%

Wayne County (Clifton S. Central Correctional Ctr.): 9.5%

See anything strange about those unemployment figures? That’s right: Trousdale County has a better employment rate than all those Tennessee rural prison counties. Why? According to a statistical study by The Sentencing Project,“Big Prisons, Small Towns: Prison Economics in Rural America,” it’s because a vast majority of the prison jobs do not go to residents of the county of the prison. The prison guards come from elsewhere, most construction workers come from elsewhere, inmates fill the lower-wage jobs in the county inside and outside (during work-release) the prisons, and “spin-off” jobs (also called “multiplier effect,” or new jobs created in the community because of the prison being there) are really not created to any significant degree.

2. Per Capita Income (average income per person) in rural counties does not increase due to a prison being put there:

The above referenced statistical study that compared 7 rural prison counties to 7 rural non-prison counties actually showed that per capita income rose at a 9% greater rate for non-prison counties during the prison building boom period of 1982-2000.

3. The conclusion of the study:

“Reliance upon a prison as a means of economic development is short sighted and [does not provide] any long-term growth. The siting of a prison did not significantly influence either unemployment or per capita income. Moreover, once a town hosts a prison and becomes known as a “prison town,” discussion of other means of economic development is likely to evaporate. This is the real danger for the community. Potential host counties need to be particularly wary of viewing a prison as the panacea [cure-all] for their economic woes. Although the pitch may be enticing, the results indicate that there is little substance behind these claims. There is a high likelihood that these counties could be closing themselves off to other options of sustainable development.”

No decrease in unemployment? No increase in income for county people? Why would we want to become a Prison Town? Short-term profits for a few people (some who don’t even live here) and property taxes from a private prison (that will likely stop tax revenues from other business and new home construction ) are sell-offs and not good trade-offs for Hartsville and Trousdale County. Help us work to keep Hartsville from becoming still another Prison Town..