ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS HAS UNFORTUNATELY
RESCINDED AN OBAMA ERA LETTER, A MEMO, THAT RECONFIRMED WHAT THE
CURRENT LAWS ARE IN REGARD TO DEBTORS PRISONS.
NOW, WE ARE NOT
SUPPOSED TO HAVE DEBTORS PRISONS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES BUT
THERE ARE CERTAIN MEANS APPELLATE THESE THROUGHOUT THE
NATION THAT HAVE DECIDED THAT REGRESSIVE TAXATION AIMED
SPECIFICALLY AT THE POOR IS THE WAY TO GO TO COLLECT SOME
REVENUE.
DURING OBAMA'S ADMINISTRATION THERE WAS A
LETTER PUT OUT THAT REMINDED THE OFFICIALS INVOLVED IN ALL OF
THIS THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO CONSIDER THE FINANCIAL BURDEN
AND THE POVERTY LEVEL OF THE PERSON YOU ARE IMPOSING CERTAIN
CITATIONS AND FINES ON, AND IF THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO PAY THEM,
INSTEAD OF CREATING A SITUATION WHERE THEY ARE IN THIS PERPETUAL
DEBT, WHICH LEADS TO JAIL TIME, THINK ABOUT OTHER WAYS TO CARRY
OUT A PUNISHMENT THAT IS LESS OF A FINANCIAL BURDEN.
ATTORNEY
GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS DIDN'T LIKE THAT, SO HE RESCINDED THAT
MEMO.
SO ESSENTIALLY HE RESCINDED A MEMO REGARDING WHAT
THE CURRENT LAWS ARE.
SO WHAT IS HE TRYING TO DO, ENCOURAGE
PEOPLE TO BREAK THE LAW?
LET'S GIVE YOU THE DETAILS --
>>NOW, THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO WHAT
POLICE WERE DOING IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI, WHAT THE COURTS WERE
DOING IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI --
>>SO THEY WERE SPECIFICALLY ATTEMPTING TO GENERATE REVENUE
BY IMPOSING FINES AND CITATIONS ON THE WORKING POOR IN THE AREA.
GREAT.
SO --
>>SO THAT'S THE RUNDOWN OF WHAT THE OBAMA MEMO INDICATED, BUT
JEFF SESSIONS AGAIN DIDN'T LIKE IT SO HE DID RESCIND IT.
AND
WE'LL SEE HOW THIS WILL PLAY OUT.
BUT IT'S INTERESTING
BECAUSE THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND DONALD TRUMP DURING THE
ELECTION REALLY EMPHASIZED THAT HE WAS THE LAW AND ORDER
CANDIDATE, AND WHAT WE SEE TIME AND AGAIN ISN'T AN EMPHASIS ON
LAW AND ORDER BUT ON BREAKING THE LAW AND COMPLETE DISORDER.
YOU ARE GOING TO THROW POOR PEOPLE IN JAIL BECAUSE THEY
CAN'T AFFORD THEIR FINES?
>>WEED IS LEGAL IN CALIFORNIA BUT IT'S ILLEGAL AT A FEDERAL
LEVEL, THAT IS A CONTRADICTION BETWEEN THE KINDS OF LAW
HAPPENING IN ONE LOCATION.
BECAUSE WE ARE IN AMERICA BUT
ALSO CALIFORNIA, SO WE NEED IS BOTH LEGAL AND ILLEGAL.
AND
FREQUENTLY IT'S THE JOB OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AS THE
MOUTHPIECE OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ON BEHALF OF THE
PRESIDENT IN LARGE PART TO SAY, HERE IS THE LAW WE CARE ABOUT.
AND THAT'S WHAT HE'S DOING.
IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE MEMO HE'S
OVERRULING SAID THIS IS THE LAW WE CARE ABOUT, HERE ARE OUR
PRIORITIES HERE, BY RESCINDING IT HE SAYING HERE ARE OUR
PRIORITIES.
AND HIS PRIORITY SEEMS TO BE, TRY TO MILK THE
POOR.
AND BY THE SAME TOKEN, THE RICH CAN AFFORD TO BE WORSE THAN
THE POOR.
SO THE POOR CAN DO SOMETHING, KEEP THE FIND THE
SAME FOR BOTH, AND IT'S A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF SOMEONE WHO IS
RICH'S WEALTH, AND THE SAME OFFENSE CRIPPLES, RELATIVE TO
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THE PERSON HAS, CRIPPLES THE HELL OUT OF
ONE PERSON WHO DOESN'T HAVE AS MUCH MONEY.
>>LIKE YOU WERE MENTIONING, ANA, THIS HAS NO POSITIVE IMPACT ON
PUBLIC SAFETY WHATSOEVER.
AND IT'S ONLY A PROFIT MOTIVATED
DECISION MADE ON THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S PART, AND EVEN MORE
SO, I'LL GO MORE THEORETICAL FOR A SECOND --
>>HOLD THAT THOUGHT BECAUSE I HAVE TO RESPOND, I DISAGREE
THERE'S A PROFIT MOTIVE HERE.
MAYBE IT MIGHT HAVE STARTED OFF
AS A PROFIT MOTIVE BUT IT ACTUALLY ENDS UP DRAINING
RESOURCES FROM ANY GIVEN MUNICIPALITY BECAUSE THINK ABOUT
IT, YOU ARE GOING TO FINE POOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T PAY THOSE
FINES, AND THEN PUNISH THEM BY THROWING THEM IN THE JAIL SYSTEM
AS A RESULT?
WHO DO YOU THINK PAYS FOR THE JAIL SYSTEMS?
THE TAXPAYERS.
SO IT'S DRAINING RESOURCES.
>>IT'S DRAINING OUR RESOURCES, NOT THE FEDERAL RESOURCES
OR THE STATE LEVEL.
>>OR THE PRIVATE PRISONS.
>>THEY HAVE TO FIND UP SOME WAY TO MAKE UP THE MONEY THEY LOST,
A MUNICIPALITY IS TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE UP THE MONEY THEY
LOST, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE UP
THE MONEY THEY LOST.
SO ON A THEORETICAL LEVEL, THE GLOBAL
ELITE ARE ON STRIKE.
AND BECAUSE THEY ARE ON STRIKE THEY'VE
REFUSED TO PAY TAXES THAT THE REST OF US ARE ALL PAYING, AND
THE EQUITABLE RATE THAT ALL OF US ARE ALL PAYING, SO THEIR
REFUSAL TO THROW MONEY INTO THE POT THAT WE ARE ALL COLLECTIVELY
THROWING MONEY INTO MEANS THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO FIND SOME
OTHER WAY TO GENERATE THAT INCOME.
AND WHO ARE THEY GOING
TO GO AFTER?
PEOPLE WHO CAN'T PROTECT THEMSELVES ON A LEGAL
LEVEL.
POOR FOLKS, WORKING-CLASS FOLKS, PEOPLE OF COLOR FOLKS.
SO
THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE TARGETING.
>>I LIKE THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT IN REGARD TO NOT HAVING THE
RESOURCES TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, BECAUSE IF THE OBAMA ERA MEMO
LET THESE JUDGES KNOW YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAW, AND WHAT JEFF
SESSIONS IS DOING IS ESSENTIALLY LETTING THEM KNOW YOU CAN BREAK
THE LAW, THEN IF PEOPLE ARE BREAKING THE LAW YOU HAVE SOME
LEGAL RECOURSE.
YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO FIGHT BACK.
BUT THINK
ABOUT HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO FIGHT BACK.
PEOPLE WHO ARE
POWERLESS UNFORTUNATELY FALL IN THE LOWER END OF THIS TWO-TIERED
JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND THAT'S THE MOST ENRAGING PART ABOUT THIS.
IS PICKING ON THE POWERLESS BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU CAN,
BECAUSE YOU KNOW THEY CAN'T FIGHT BACK.
AND IT'S DISGUSTING.
>>AND IT PROVIDES THE PERFECT, FOR THEM, JUSTIFICATION FOR
EXPANDING THEIR PRISON SYSTEM.
THAT'S WHY WE -- THANKFULLY
THERE WERE AMAZING SCHOLARS WHO MADE THE CONNECTION THAT THESE
MANDATORY MINIMUMS, THESE KIND OF REGRESSIVE TAXES ON THE POOR,
THEY ALL GO TOWARDS TRYING TO EITHER BUILD OR EXPAND THE
PRISON SYSTEM, WHICH CORPORATIONS PROFIT OUT OF, OR
THEY GO TOWARDS TRYING TO MAKE UP THIS DEBT.
>>IT'S CRAZY WHERE IT MANIFESTS ITSELF.
YOU WATCH THE CAMP DAVID
PRESS CONFERENCE THE PRESIDENT GAVE, HE ESSENTIALLY JUST SAID
THAT THEY'RE HAVING A LOT OF SUCCESS IN THE PLACES WHERE THEY
GO AFTER THE DRUGS HARSHLY.
YOU ARE JUST LIKE, AND THAT LITTLE
MOMENT, THAT'S ENOUGH FOR JEFF SESSIONS AND OTHER PEOPLE TO
SUPPORT THE MANDATORY MINIMUMS TO STRIKE AND KEEP THAT STUFF
HAPPENING, AND IT'S NOT FAIR.