A flawed system? U.S. boasts highest prison incarceration numbers in world.

The United States of America currently incarcerates the highest percentage of its own citizens when compared to any other country in the world. With it's harsh drug laws, minimum sentencing guidelines and repeated imprisonment of non-violent offenders, the country has literally thrown the shackles on millions of individuals.  In fact, the great superpower has more than 2 million of it's citizens imprisoned at this very moment. (some suggest numbers closer to 2.5 million) Below, are several graphs and charts from the Center for Economic Policy Research depicting the most recent data obtained concerning incarceration levels in the United States.

As shown above, the amount of individuals incarcerated in the United States is quite alarming. In fact, there is not a single country to compare it to on the (OECD) country list. The OECD is an international organization which helps governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalised economy. Basically, they are working toward a global government/ new world order.
 

This chart shows the correlation between crime and incarceration.
And as you can see, even as crime rates fall, incarceration rates rise. The question we should ask ourselves is why? Let's look at a few more graphs.

This graph shows the U.S. Incarceration rate from 1880-2008. Do you see a trend? For over 100 years the Incarceration rate in the United States stayed considerably low, (rivaling the incarceration rate of other nations) but in the last 40 years we have seen a tremendous increase. Now, some may argue that this is due to population, but remember these numbers do not depict population, they depict the rate per 100,000. This is why this issue is important.

This graph depicts the highest incarceration rates of all countries. (including OECD countries) Now this may seem like no big deal, but we need to read between the lines. Almost every country on this list has either gone through a change in government, is a communistic society, or is in an economic crisis. What does this say about the United States? Are the laws to harsh? Is law enforcement being used as a tool to create revenue in a struggling, uneasy economy? These are questions we should ask our representatives. Recently, laws concerning drugs and other non-violent offenses have loosened in several states due to growing concern. This shows that if the people speak, the government may just have to listen. Be proactive, question what is going on and think freely. If you enjoyed the article, feel free to subscribe.

Sources:

Center for Economic and Policy Research

Luimbe

Wiki

More Stories on The Real News

Abortion, stem cells and big business

100 hours of streaming conspiracy documentaries

D.C., London and the Vatican