"[B]uilding two private prisons in New Mexico solved some very serious problems - and saved the taxpayers a lot of money.

It [the New Mexico prison system] was a serious and urgent problem, and the legislature was unwilling to address it. I explored the available options, and it quickly became obvious that the solution was private prisons that could be operated at significantly lower cost, meet the standards necessary to get the State out from under Federal oversight, and resolve what was a tremendously costly and, frankly, embarrassing situation. At the time, the 'per-prisoner' cost in the state prisons was $76 per day. The cost to house prisoners in the private facilities was $56 per day. Better service, lower cost."

Source: Gary Johnson, "Private Prisons," Gary Johnson's Tumblr page, Feb. 10, 2016