With all of the hysteria about Michael Moore’s SiCKO, I wanted to show you a clip from another documentary that will not have the same reach as the Moore film, but covers just as important a subject.  And the focus is right here in California.

Susanville, California is a small rural town tucked into the northeast corner of the state that is one of many cities which has had to make the choice to take in a state prison as a means of economic survival.  The extent to which the town has become dependent on the prison is chilling.  The consequences of building municipal economies on the backs of the prison-industrial complex are obvious: public policy obviously would never want to REDUCE the number of inmates as that would necessarily reduce the number of workers, and support structures, and facilities to cater to inmate visitors.  And remember, the governor and the legislature are about to build these places out, adding 53,000 beds to the corrections system.  Those beds need space, and small rural towns while family farmers can be bought out provide the best opportunity.

This film is showing as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival next week.  You can see it by visiting the LAFF site and typing in “Prison Town” under “individual tickets.”