If the prison stsyem were working, the number of prisoners would be decreasing. Instead, the unmber of prisoners in Pennsylvania and in the United States continues to fatten at an alarming pace. Obviously the prison system isn't working. Not only is the prison system a gigantic flop, but the whole theory behind imprisonment is a failed religious mythology. The society is failing to cope with prisoners and "crime." It's a very expensive and completely irrational religious dogma. Most sensible individuals would stop doing something that they saw wasn't working, something which was actually making a problem worse. Why don't you splash gasoline on a bonfire? The Pennsylvania Department of Imprisonment has published its budget and its alarming projections for the continued growth of the system. What follows are their official statistics. COST OF PENNSYLVANIA PRISONS POPULATION OF PENNSYLVANIA PRISONS. If the imprisonment scheme were working, costs would be dropping and fewer people would be behind bars. What's Wrong?