Huizen, 12th of january 2000 To the president of the United States of America Mr. Bill Clinton, The White House Washington D.C. United States of America By fax to the Dutch embassy at 070-3614688 Sir, A few days ago I learned from the Dutch main television network NOS that imprisonment in the United States of America topped over 2,000,000 people. The level of incarcerated people is almost ten times higher in the US than in the Netherlands. A few years ago I wrote the former secretary of State Robert Reich the 4th of April 1994 a letter with reference to my earlier letter in which I commented the situation of children in the US because of a book of Sylvia Hewlett. In 1994 there were just over a million people in jail in the US and today your country topped the record of two million incarcerations. Your jail industry is booming. As more and more correctional institutions are run by the private sector, investors become more and more interested in the billions of dollars that taxpayers have provide. Today I received an e-mail that said that my letter 'America, no, no, no!!' will be the starting point in a discussion group of immigrants in Canada, from the Netherlands, America, and Australia. It took years to be found as a signal for criticism on the so called Wisconsin Model that is cherished today in the Netherlands to get unemployment down. I wish you wisdom and get a nation wide insurance against illness for all people like us in the Netherlands. You should redefine what is really valuable for now and in the future. A 'Gross National Product' that consists of law suits, production of weapons, of security services, militarism, commercial education and commercial healthcare, go along with a extensive poverty of millions of people in your country. Therefore I point out that I have no regret at all of my saying in 1992 to be very proud NOT to be an American. The figures of a doubling to 2,000,000 captives in jail in your country, while in mine jailing capacity is more and more void, is the reason of my saying. Yours faithfully, Robert M. Brockhus Westkade 227 1273 RJ Huizen The Netherlands E-mail sdn@planet.nl Telephone +31-35-5244141