If you're like me, you know America's criminal justice system is broken.
Whether it's affected you personally or not, it's something we need to talk about
right now.
Even though crime rates across the U.S. are going down, America locks up
7 times more people now than we did in 1970.
7 times.
We as Americans, put more people behind bars than any other
nation in the world, both as a percentage of population and in total numbers.
More than Russia. China. How does that add up?
2.3 million people that's how.
If nothing changes, 1 out of every 17 white men
will end up in jail.
1 in 6 Latinos.
And close to 1 in 4 black men born today will be locked up at some point in their life.
And, we're putting women in jail even faster than we're locking up men.
Our nation is divided on so much, but not this.
And still, our government does next to nothing to fix it.
Why? Well for a start: slavery, the 13th amendment, institutional racism, the war on drugs,
policing, private industry, immigration policy... I get it.
We may not be able to fix all of that quickly, but there are parts of the problem we can fix right now,
and it's just not getting done.
So I'm gonna lay out the case against those responsible
and by the end of this video, you're gonna need to decide what to do.
Exhibit A. This is a 2014 shareholder report from one of the nation's
largest private prison companies. Private prisons are for-profit corporations, by
the way. They hold 10% of Americans prison inmates, and
three-quarters of all immigrant detainees. Here's what they said: The demand
for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of
enforcement efforts, ...any changes with respect to drugs and control substances
or illegal immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and
sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to
house them. They are literally saying, the more people we lock up, the more money they
make. In the last 10 years, the private prison industry spent 64 million dollars
lobbying our government for longer sentences, stricter laws, and tougher
enforcement. And this year alone, they'll make $6 billion dollars in revenue.
And you're paying for it. With your tax money.
Now, Exhibit B. 60% of people in jail across America are awaiting trial and
haven't even been convicted of a crime. 90% of them can't afford bail, so they
sit in jail awaiting trial - probably lose their job - or pay even more money to
borrow from a for-profit bondsman. Exhibits C, D, E, and F and too many more... Many
judges are elected by voters, and they've been shown to give harsher sentences as
they get closer to Election Day. That's crazy. In recent years, 50-60% of
political donations for key judicial positions come from lawyers, lobbyists,
and business interests. Massive corporations use inmates as virtually
free labor instead of hiring paid workers. I know you remember the BP oil
spill. Well guess what, they made inmates clean it up, and most of them
African-American. They pay them pennies on the dollar, then qualified for a
$2,400 tax kickback for every inmate they used. And surprise, surprise: special
interests helped write the laws that created these programs. And then there are
the prosecutors associations, police unions, drug companies - these
multi-billion dollar industries have a grip on our elected leaders just so they
can keep turning profits - angling to protect their power, regardless of public
opinion.
Whether it's prisons, healthcare, taxes, education, or the economy, our broken
political system is standing in our way, when it should be working for us. Now,
before I ask you whether or not you're going to do something about this, I want
you to know what's possible. My friend Desmond not only knows what to
do, but as proven it can be done. After serving time, he went on to lead the
campaign to win back voting rights for 1.4 million former inmates in the state
of Florida. Thank you for your work, Desmond. Thank you, Omar. It's gonna be real hard
to address the problems we just laid out unless we first fix America's corrupt
political system. That means banning gives from lobbyists to politicians.
Closing the revolving door between Congress and industry. And
enfranchising even more voters, so politicians actually represent us. These
ideas are all part of a law called the American Anti-Corruption Act. This Act is
popular with both conservatives and progressives because it is not about
giving power to one party or the other. It's about fixing the systems behind
America's biggest problems, like our broken prison system. But even though
it's incredibly popular, politicians from both parties refuse to pass major
Anti-Corruption laws when they have the opportunity. It's not surprising... they
benefit from the system just the way it is. Well, we can't wait for them, so we have
to go around Congress, because throughout American history, passing state laws have
paved the way for the passage of transformative federal laws. If we follow
in their footsteps, we can win. And we already are. We just need
one more thing... Omar the floor is yours. Thank you, Dez.
Thank you. This is the part where you make your
choice. Desmond and I are part of a movement that believes the government
should work for you and your family, not just a handful of billionaires and
special-interests. Millions of people have already joined up and are working across
party lines to pass anti-corruption laws. Together, we've already wrapped up more
than 100 victories. And in 2018, we passed the most anti-corruption laws in
the history of our country. Let's be honest, America is facing a crisis. And we
need to act with an urgency commensurate to the severity of the problem. And
that's on you, it's on me, it's on all of us. Go to
www.Represent.Us and sign up to be a part of the next anti-corruption victory in your
state. There are already people near you fighting this fight, and they need
your help. if that's not for you, join the
Common Wealth. A community of people giving whatever amount they can every month to
support local anti-corruption campaigns. Every single dollar goes to the front
lines of the fight, not to overhead or organizational expenses.
Here's the bottom line. Nearly every issue that matters to you - or that
matters to the next generation of Americans - is blocked by our corrupt
political system, and if you do nothing, or if I do nothing, nothing is going to
change. But if each of us does something, we can win, together. Go to www.Represent.Us
and join us.