Bail bond industry: off the rails?

From NPR, a fascinating look at yet another way poor people, usually with addiction or mental health conditions, get the shaft in an expensive way that does no one any good - except for the police state industry. And bail bonds companies. 

"Jail doesn't do anybody any good," he says. "The only thing that jail is good for is to keep the dangerous people in the community away from the people who don't pose a risk."

But that is not who is in the nation's jails. According to the Justice Department, two-thirds of the people in the nation's jails are petty, nonviolent offenders who are there for only one reason: They can't afford their bail.

Fear is good for business, if your business is expanding the police state. What's weird is the influence of the bail bonds industry. Like the deputy says, jail is for dangerous people. Non-dangerous people with addiction or mental illness conditions need help. Not hugs and kisses, but help.