Lobster in a Bucket

One-Percent of Americans are in Jail

This Washington Post article gives all the details, but the essential fact is that the 1% number is just a step on an upward slope that we've been on since the 90s, and the general percentage hides the fact that much more than one percent of african americans are in jail.

While I think it is an accepted fact that keeping people in jail keeps crime down, the effect is not that big, and there are better programs to deal with these folks. The prospect of our prison population continuing to inch upwards (we already have the highest percentage in the world) is a little ominous.