this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
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An inmate makes between 10¢ and 65¢ per hour, with the majority being paid less than 25¢ per hour. According to the 13th Amendment, they don’t need to be paid at all. The prison dictates an inmate’s eligibility and mandate to work. It is compulsory in most prisons.
Here’s an article on some of the food, cotton, and tobacco industry brands that take advantage of the cheap labor.
This is not rehabilitation. It’s exploitation.
I dont think its exploitation unless they are being left in prison for longer due to the need for their labor. Outside of learning/rehabilitation, what in prison do you want them do to that is better than work?
Typically solitary confinement is used as punishment for not working.
So esentially, "work or get brain damage" is the motto of prisons. Couple that with it being a for-profit system, it is very clearly exploitation.
It's racially motivated as well, because POC are disproportionately policed/arrested/imprisoned for the same crimes as white people.
It's slavery, but with extra steps to attempt to make it socially acceptable. "They're criminals! Of course we should be allowed to force them to work and profit off of them, after all they're not innocent, they deserve it."
Nevermind the fact that there are loads of people in the system there because of non-violent drug offenses, which were very clearly made illegal to control racial minorities.
Non-violent offenders should generally be released. Those that remain, if they are going to work, should be payed a fair wage, with no consequences for failing to work.
Beyond that, rehabilitation should be the number one priority.
I could agree with the idea that they are paid a fair wage if they also have to pay for the costs of their imprisonment. And that actually might be a good way to get them back and ready for society. Outside of the bullshit pretend ways that people are "rehabilitated" what is a better way than actually working? I have nothing against reading books and talking to whoever, but that only gets men so far, most men (especially the kind the get to prison) need to work with their hands and learn by doing.
By and large that is already how it works, and it is fundamentally broken:
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/paying-your-time-how-charging-inmates-fees-behind-bars-may-violate
Prisoners end up getting released and indebted, which is a terrible recipe for recidivism.
The cost of imprisonment is a public service to keep society safe and functioning. And it should be kept to a minimum, which means ensuring that inmates actually have a chance of leading a good life once released. They can't do that if they are starting from scratch or debt.
I understand that prisons are part of the costs of government, but if you are wanting them to get paid fairly then I dont want people that have done bad to get free room and board.
"People who have done bad" is incredibly subjective.
And regardless of what you want, it is better for society that people have a good chance of starting a better life when they get out of prison. Not only is that cheaper in the long run, but it's also a matter of safety. The cheapest and safest move is to release them debt free with their earnings from their work.
And it isn't free room and board, it's imprisonment.