The Phoenix suburb of Mesa is Arizona’s third largest city, the spring training home to the Chicago Cubs, and, most famously, home to yours truly. Unlike most cities, our leadership is always looking for costs to cut, rather than expensive new programs to create. But their latest budget-minded initiative is angering the local powers that be.

For decades, Mesa has sent its misdemeanor offenders to Maricopa County jails, but that comes with a steep price tag. Over the past 10 years, the county has increased its daily housing prices by nearly 40 percent and its booking cost by more than 60 percent. So now the city is negotiating a deal with private contractor CoreCivic to house the inmates in a neighboring county. The move could save up to $2 million a year. Sounds like a win/win to me, but the county sheriff is seeing red ink:

[Sheriff Paul] Penzone was quick to condemn Mesa’s move, claiming it could increase county expenses and have a negative impact on his organization. To persuade Mesa and other cities not to search for better options, he said he would try to reduce costs and increase efficiency. He claims to have closed Tent City for just this reason.

The per-prisoner rate increases are due to reduced occupancy in the jails, according to his office. Since facilities need to remain open, they have the same hard costs regardless of how many inmates they hold. However, it’s hard not to wonder if the massive lawsuits from the Arpaio years could have something to do with it.

Penzone also is concerned about the free market interfering with government. “Any time we privatize housing inmates, there’s a profit element,” he said, suggesting that a for-profit model empowers lobbyists to try to increase the length of sentences and reduce diversionary programs. [emphasis mine.]

Profit? How icky.

The main complaint of private-prison critics is that, for some reason, profiting off prisons is immoral. Glance at the comments to my article above, and you’ll see “morals” tossed around more than Cotton Mather hosting a Puritan altar call.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris was blunter: “It is morally wrong for corporations to profit off the mass incarceration of millions of people in this country.” She doesn’t mention that vendors selling steel bars, uniforms, and fencing already profit from mass incarceration, along with countless other companies. Singling out private prisons for contempt shows a lack of understanding or honesty.

What’s left unexplained by Penzone, Harris, or lefty internet commenters is why private prisons are immoral. I know of no major religion that condemns the practice … outside of the One True Church of Progressivism. But it is stated as such a self-evident fact, I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

So I ask you, Ricochetti: Why is jailing prisoners in a public facility moral while locking them up in a private facility is sinful?