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by rayiner 4279 days ago
But when the government privatizes services, that agency problem always exists. Instead of contracting to one service like any other entity, government would always need to contract with several. You're just making a stronger argument for not privitizing government services.

Moreover, laying all the blame at the feet of government for these companies being scumbags is precisely why I said private industry has the wrong culture for this sort of thing.
1 comments
waterlesscloud 4279 days ago
>Instead of contracting to one service like any other entity, government would always need to contract with several

No, the government is the entity making a selection among several choices, and is the entity in the position to negotiate the rates.

Therefore they could bargain for lower rates if they wanted.

Misrepresenting the choices isn't making your case.

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rdtsc 4279 days ago
> and is the entity in the position to negotiate the rates.

But Lower rates for whom? Inmates. Why would prison officials care if inmates get lower rates?

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waterlesscloud 4279 days ago
Sure, but that's not a failing of the free market, that's a failing of the government.
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rayiner 4279 days ago
As far as I can tell, JPay is picked because it's the biggest. Any evidence the competitors wouldn't do the same once they got the contracts?
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waterlesscloud 4279 days ago
Write it into the contracts that they cant?

The government is the entity with power here. The government regularly dictates all kinds of terms for their contracts. All the time.

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res0nat0r 4279 days ago
If you read the article you will see that they do it most likely cheaper than the prison can do:

JPay’s rapid rise stems in part from the generous deal it offers many prison systems. They pay nothing to have JPay take over handling financial transfers. And for every payment it accepts in these states — prisoners typically receive about one per month — the company sends between 50 cents and $2.50 back to the prison operator.

The government does have the power, and they most likely are outsourcing this part of their non core infrastructure like most other companies do, to save money.

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rhizome 4279 days ago
They will still save money without the kickbacks, which should be illegal as payola.
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