The prosecution of victimless "crimes" and rising real crimes both contribute to a burgeoning prison population, which must be relieved by levying more taxes for additional prisons or else by offering early parole to some convicts. Under the newly accepted statist value system, "crimes against the state" are regarded as more significant than crimes against persons or property, and consequently perpetrators of the latter are among the first to be paroled, returning to commit further such offenses. In a highly recommended article, which is available online, federal judge John L. Kane, Jr. notes that per-capita incarceration rates in the United States have multiplied sixfold since the late 1970s, bringing the federal prison system to 125% of capacity and causing prison overcrowding in all states. Kane attributes the problem largely to the "War on Drugs," which has also led to virtual "gridlock" in the court system and to the loss of "the protections the Constitution guarantees against government invasion and seizure of our homes and property." In the federal prison system, he notes, the unnecessary incarcerations cost the taxpayers an average $24,783 annually per prisoner.