The historical roots of prison privatization are heavily intertwined with the inherent, profit-driven nature of outsourcing to private enterprise. During the eighteenth century, American colonists hired private contractors to watch inmates, like the English practices they were accustomed to. In the infancy of the for-profit movement, the main ethical argument that is still used today began to circulate. The issue was, for the private institution to make a profit, they must provide care for prisoners for a cost less than the minimum they were paid by the government, thus creating the temptation to cut costs in spite of moral
