Golden Gulag

"Golden Gulag" is a term from historian Ruth Wilson Gilmore's book describing California’s prison system as a lucrative industry that expanded during economic downturns, particularly the 1980s and 1990s. It highlights how the prison industry became intertwined with regional development, with prisons often built in economically troubled areas to create jobs and stimulate growth. The phrase emphasizes the paradox of a system that profits from incarceration while impacting communities, especially marginalized ones, raising questions about the social and economic costs of prioritizing incarceration as a solution to social issues.