Shifting Prisoners...

Holy moly! Check out this article in the New York Times reporting on a study that shows today 1 in every 100 Americans are behind bars (the overall number of prisoners has tripled since 1987).

i-17e5f9241442ea242719a652a1d414a2-0229-nat-webPRISON.jpg

More like this

In just a year, electronic cigarette use has tripled among American teens. And considering that no one really knows what the related health impacts are and any regulatory framework is lagging far behind the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, public health advocates say it’s time for action.…
Previously... (Image via Jay Pinkerton) "My question to the audience: what kind of scientist is Batman?" (Ben Cohen) Scienceblogger responses below: Afarensis Obviously, he is a forensic scientist... The World's Fair (Dave Ng) I'm gonna go out on a limb here, and suggest that Batman is (amongst…
Because there can never be enough research to illustrate the positive impact of public health policy on people’s health, here’s another one. This one found that comprehensive smoke-free indoor air laws resulted in a lower risk of asthma symptoms and fewer asthma-related doctor’s visits. Based on…
Pew reports: Public awareness of the number of American military fatalities in Iraq has declined sharply since last August. Today, just 28% of adults are able to say that approximately 4,000 Americans have died in the Iraq war. As of March 10, the Department of Defense had confirmed the deaths of 3…

When I was a kid in the 50s and 60s it was somewhat common to refer to the "1%". That would be the rebels, the hoods, motorcycle gangs, Black Panthers -- whatever group was being blamed for messing things up for the rest of us.

Now, thanks to modern technology and government for the corporations, we can actually lock up the 1%! I feel safer already.

By Matt Platte (not verified) on 28 Feb 2008 #permalink

Matt - the term "one percenter" originally arose from an assertion by the American Motorcyclist Association that it was only 1% of motorcyclists that caused trouble. It didn't refer to 1% of the entire population.

Think how much safer you'll be when they lock up 30% of population like it is for certain demographics currently...and think how much more safer we'll all be when they get out with what amounts to a Master's Degree in Crime, having learned a few things.
On second thought I'd rather not.