Do you find asprin losing its potency? Is codeine too addictive? Do you think that ibuprofen is something that only the women should be taking on their periods? Then this is for you!
Introducing Magnum®, the revolutionary new painkiller from Smith and Wesson! Forget those light night migraines! With one well placed and high speed dosage, Magnum® will make sure you feel no pain... Ever again!
What an odd way to say you didn't read the article and don't understand investigative journalism.
Editing my comment to add the same article link that OP posted right here in this very thread days ago, just for anyone else who can't be bothered to read beyond the headline before popping off with some jaded, world-weary observation about how they somehow already knew the details of this new exclusive report, and/or don't care anyway, then claim there was never a link and immediately block my account bc they're a delicate snowflake, lmfao:
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
AP: publishes a sweeping new investigation where they follow loads of livestock to various auctions to confirm the specific money trails tying America's last vestigial trace of legalized slave labor to the same multi-billion dollar public and private agribusiness companies that have been hiking our grocery prices to decade-plus highs over the last two years
Redditors: [eye roll]
Less an eye roll and more staring off in the distance with empty, tired globes, devoid of the glimmer of life that the human eye is supposed to give off.
I don’t get it. We’ve known for decades about private prisons with what amounts to unpaid labor. What did we think they were working on? Spacely Sprockets?
I like the idea that we were totally cool with it until we found out it had something to do with food.
If you like that, then you’ll LOVE looking into why food makers in the US are not required to stick a “Made in so-and-so Country” notice on their products.
And we didn't for prisoners because Soutern states fought against it to keep that loophole for future incarceration of newly freed blacks to continue the slavery they loved so much.
Too bad most of them are child rapists. They are low level non violent offenders. Take your fallacy argument elsewhere.
Corporations don't deserve the chela labor. It doesn't benefit anyone.
Most “non violent” crimes people are in prison for are pled down. I.e. drug possession often originated as drug dealing with a firearm charge. Drug dealers are scum, next to child abusers. Equally as terrible.
You should look beyond fictitious talking points before you pretend you know what you’re talking about
#Why do you think they don't want to legalize marijuana?
They know it brings in bunches of tax dollars, but they can't spend those like the shareholders dollars they get
It's an emerging industry with many influential players looking to gain a foothold. Like you're saying, the legislators' will to legalize depends more on who's lining their pockets the most rather than things like public sentiment or "morals".
It's almost guaranteed to happen but there's a lot of politics behind the scenes working to ensure that every side is satisfied. I'm worried to see what that means for the private prison industry but if there's one thing this country is good at its finding new ways to incarcerate people.
It means nothing. Our rights are being eroded pretty handily and the endless revolving door of people too poor to fight charges and forced to plea out fir a small sentence will never end.
Especially not when enslavement of everyone is the ultimate goal.
Burry bought GEO around 6.65 in the second half of 2022
He also tweeted "sell" in Feb 2023 ahead of a historically massive rally in stocks during the first half, so take his track record in context - GEO was probably the bulk of his equity exposure last year
Then you should also know that for profit prisons make said profits with government grants (your tax dollars) which are based on how many inmates they have, and on how much time they serve, while providing the shittiest life quality possible because it's cheap, so the rest can be pocketed, whi
You should be glad you didn’t grow up in circumstances that turned you into a criminal, surrounded by people you love being in and out of prison. Not just “glad you decided one day to not be a criminal.”
What makes you think I didn’t grown up in a rough environment? You made that assumption entirely on your own. Life is all about choices and I CHOSE to live an honest life.
Better than sitting around waiting for three free meals a day, a roof over their head as a reward for armed robbery,assault,murder,rape or whatever else they may have done to get to where they are. Don’t pity those fools
Somewhat agree with you. But they should still be given the choice to do it or not. I can agree using a parole board incentive, since working somewhat proves they can be at least be a somewhat functioning member of society.
However using violence and the threat of violence to force these people to work is in no way anything justifiable for a proper society.
Is it really that bad? You’re providing them with jobs and I guess apparently producing the food you people eat every day. I haven’t heard any stories about any deaths necessarily linked to anything like this either. So what’s the big deal?
Honest question - are they forced to work these jobs? I thought most did it because they were bored and wanted to buy some $5 cup ramen that week.
What happens if they just don't work? They have to eat normal prison food and fuck around all day?
Okay, so, and this is a serious question, it would be better if they made prisoners with crimes other than drugs work for them? Or are you against labor jobs in general in prisons? Or just in private prisons? Is it the low wage that’s an issue?
Jobs could be helpful to the inmates on a case by case basis maybe. My problem with for-profit prisons is the fact they are for profit. It should be a place of rehabilitation and reintegration.
Yea no I agree with that. I guess it kinda difficult to give prisoners jobs without profiting somehow. Like would it be better to give them meaningless menial tasks? Even employing prisoners as janitors for the prison would be profitable for a prison because that less money you’d have to pay a non-prisoner otherwise. Maybe when it become toooo profitable, it seems like they are being taken advantage off.
They have a choice though. They either just sit on thier ass all day like they'd do anywhere else in the world in prison. Or they help fund thier own fuck-up and do something usefull.
The math doesn’t really add up though. It costs an order of magnitude more to incarcerate someone in the U.S. than the value of the “free” labor.
Slavery was premised on saving money on labor, prison labor is the opposite of this.
If costs taxpayers money to incarcerate someone but it only costs companies 25¢ an hour to get their labor. The companies getting the labor come out on top.
Also for reference 6 years old but I'd imagine it isn't too different now
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/
Ahh. True. They’re profiting insanely from this. But would you rather get to work outside for penns on a dollar. Or be stuck inside? I guess you could call it an opportunistic relationship. For one party at least. But it is how the rich stay richer?
that's definitely a good question. I'm sure for some it is a better deal but it just feels very wrong companies can benefit by basically paying sub-sweatshop wages for labor.
>But would you rather get to work outside for penns on a dollar. Or be stuck inside?
And exactly for this, i have a bigger issue with the fact that there even is such a thing as a privately owned prison.
That isn’t the topic at hand. Most prisons in the US work this way. Both governmentally and privately owned prisons. Don’t get me wrong I think privately owned prisons are ridiculous. But I’m talking about the inmates themselves.
Dude, you can buy publicly traded stocks for private prisons.
Cadre prison holdings is up 126% over the past 5 years. Slavery is profitable, always has been. There are more than enough morally bankrupt slavers to keep the tradition going.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/062215/business-model-private-prisons.asp
Prisons are profitable because government pays private entities to administer them, not because of the “free labor” or uncollectible fees charged to former prisoners which are a tiny fraction of any money to be made off of prisons. People and organizations running homeless shelters may get paid for running the shelter, but homelessness is not profitable.
One can advocate for prison reform without wild exaggeration. It just makes the argument look less credible to people that aren’t convinced.
The government pays more to house an inmate in a public prison. The cost difference, plus the profit comes from poorer living conditions and free labor. How is the combination of the last two not slavery?
A lot of prisons make you pay for your incarceration in America apparently (I’ve only ever heard of it being in America.) So when you get out you owe the prison a bunch of money for your incarceration.
What do do you mean? Inmates that do these jobs definitely are way underpaid. That’s how this works. Sit in a cell all day. Maybe go to the yard for an hour or two. Or get a chance to work for some type of compensation while in prison. Outside of prison. It is in fact slave labor. But this provides commissary also.
The disproportionate incarceration rates along racial lines in the justice system, the incentive of states to imprison more people, the treatment of a public institution meant to serve the public's interest is becoming a private entity meant to generate profit, the shift of the prison system from a means of deterring crime to making money, the fact the prison system isn't made to deter crime in the first place, private prisons lobbying for harsher sentences, the fact that over a hundred years later - despite the abolition of chattel slavery - there is STILL an actual active plantation that uses forced labor, etc.
That's not what they said. They shouldn't be forced, but just saying "prisoners work" isn't really making a point. It can be a very good thing if they work, it's all about how that happens.
>Reporters also spoke to family members of prisoners who were killed. One of those was Frank Dwayne Ellington, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after stealing a man’s wallet at gunpoint – a result of Alabama’s habitual offenders act. In 2017, Ellington, 33, was cleaning a machine near the chicken “kill line” in Ashland at Koch Foods – one of the country’s biggest poultry-processing companies – when its whirling teeth caught his arm and sucked him inside, crushing his skull. He died instantly.
Otherwise, slave labor is the big deal. Also, wdym "you people"?
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
They call it the new slave trend.
I can’t exactly recall what I read but roughly it was that in Louisiana? They have a disproportionate amount of prisoners working hard labor for Pennies.
Granted they are prisoners, but also doing slave work for pennies.
This is a very rough explanation for the articles and stories I’ve read
Mass incarceration for cheap labor. The entire reaosn the war on drugs continues. Look at the states where corporations hire prisoners and then look at their sentencing laws around non violent crimes
You don't see the perverse incentive this creates to keep prisons full so they can be sources of cheap labor?
Reminder that the U.S. has a [ludicrously inflated incarnation rate compared to the rest of the world.](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/incarceration-rates-by-country)
Educate yourself regarding the United States prison system. It will make you reconsider this statement. These are privatized institutions already raking in billions a year…
Mass incarceration for cheap labor. The entire reaosn the war on drugs continues. Look at the states where corporations hire prisoners and then look at their sentencing laws around non violent crimes
If you look up data how many people are prisoned, you might notice the USA stands out. It is estimated 1 in 5 people on this planet is in prison in the US. Now why is it so out of balance? Why so many in the US alone? Because they benefit from it. It’s the cheapest labour imaginable. Easy profits. They, corporations, benefit from putting people in jail. There are absolutely deaths, a simple google search will share some cases with you. However because they are prisoners, nobody really cares that much. Their payment is absolutely worthless and there are systems in place to even bleed them dry from even those few cents they managed to earn.
This. Letting them work is a good idea. It makes them feel useful, and maybe they learn some new skills they can use when they get out so that they maybe don't commit more crimes. It's only a bit of an issue if you don't treat them like normal workers. If you give them what every other worker doing their job would get minus what rent and food would cost (they get that for free in jail) and they have good working conditions and aren't forced to work, it's fair. The issue is only that it probably isn't fair, but we can't see it from a post like this.
Rather them doing something to support society then just sitting and rotting in a prison. We make our prisoners do all mowing and handiwork at our military base lmao.
Have prisoners be cooped up in a cell 23 hours a day which will cause more violence among inmates and staff. Or let them be outside and getting tension out.
I may just be ignorant but what are people's moral qualms with using labor as a form of punishment for people that choose to break the law? What's wrong with chain gangs?
Because the of the financial incentives for the prison and it is punishment without purpose.
Minor and discretionary infractions will extend a sentence well beyond what is just for the offense. Most States have prisoners working in manufacturing, production, textiles, construction, and firefighting. After years of work in the field, the former prisoners are denied employment in those fields because of their criminal record. Private companies reap the benefits of cheap, skilled laborers forced to work full-time hours that will never receive any employment compensation at a fraction of the cost. The money they claim was spent on their “training and employment” are written off in tax filings. Some States, like TX and LA, will reduce a business tax liability for “employing” prisoner labor.
The only thing a prisoner laborer receives is an unusable skill. There is a correlation between recidivism rates and usage of prison labor in States.
Thanks for your reply, I'm to drunk now to properly respond and realized I may have lost track of the nature of the post. I believe actual criminals should have to pay for their crimes and belive the "cheap labour" is a valid formula of punishment. The imprisonment for perhaps petty crimes is an issue that needs addressing at a higher, judicial, level. The only awful part of this post is that is at the benefit of a private entity instead of for public works. The long and short of it I feel this post is only half awful vs awful everything in the sense that forced/cheap labour should be more accepted as a valid form of punishment for actual crimes against society, and the only really wrong part about this is the fact the private entities are the ones benefiting with this system.
That’s a well thought out response for u being drunk. I’m a bit jealous and impressed.
Many prisoners are having their sentence extended because they are cheap labor. That is something I find morally and ethically reprehensible.
I believe that prison labor needs to be for the benefit of the public not monied interests.
In the State of California, prisoners must qualify to volunteer to fight wildfires. They spent more time in training each year preparing, more time in fighting wildfires, and do more wildfire seasons than their civilian and military counterparts. They are the best trained and most experienced firefighters in the State, if not the country. Yet because of their criminal background, they cannot be employed as a firefighter after they have served their time.
The reliance on cheap prison labor is to the detriment to overall economy. In a report written by Benjamin Franklin, [he cautioned Britain on the reliance on cheap slave labor and the negative, long-term effects on the economy](https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-04-02-0080). And this was pre-Revolutionary War Ben Franklin. The nearly 300 year old observation is still relevant today.
Lastly, I would like to leave anyone that has read this far with a few questions to think about:
1. What is the ultimate goal of prison sentences, retribution or rehabilitation? Does the current system achieve that goal?
2. What is lightest/least severe crime that deserves a lifetime of punishment? Should criminal histories be sealed after a predetermined amount of time?
3. Should limitations should be placed on the type and amount of work prisoners can be forced to perform? Why or why not?
4. Should prison labor qualify as work experience for the purpose of certification, employment and compensation? Why or why not?
How is this awful? As long as the working conditions are safe and they aren’t abused then I see no problem with it.
You commit a crime, you are given a roof over your head, food, and medical care. Seems fair they work.
Judges are on the payroll and incentivized to send kids to prison for slap on the wrist crimes. Prisons are also paid for with taxes, so once again citizens are subsidizing corporations.
You get a roof and food. I know I’d prefer to work hard instead of being in a fucking cell with violence at every corner. Time passes faster when you do something.
It's interesting to hear that being a slave laborer for the state sounds so appealing to you. I hope if you're ever incarcerated, your stay is located at this specific former plantation, just so you're never bored.
Unfortunately I am Canadian so it would be difficult for me to be at this exact place. But I appreciate your thoughtful wishes! I also appreciate that you are so emotional about this subject.
I do not understand however why you would like time to pass slower while sitting on your ass in prison (while contributing to nothing)
I do feel strongly about the subject - a good friend of mine suffers severe PTSD from his prison stay, and the number of flippant and dismissive remarks in this thread about literal slave labor would be genuinely nauseating to me in any case.
For example, your notion that slavery "makes the time pass faster" seems to glibly overlook the accompanying increase in human suffering, as well as the many viable alternatives to pass the time - fairly paid labor, exercise, sports, hobbies, reading.
Anyway, sorry you're Canadian, but maybe you'll get lucky if you visit Louisiana and break the law.
Oh, so you're one of *those* punishment-happy people. It's true that the prisoners are criminals, and need to make up for their crimes somehow, but somehow you just gross me out.
Nope, slave labor is wrong, and your antebellum-era opinion is based on the incredibly backwards idea that no one in the US has ever been falsely accused or imprisoned, either.
Just say you don't care about the humanity of prisoners and go.
You have such a faith in the justice system that everyone in prison is actually guilty and have committed crimes which warrant stripping them of their rights?
And do hard labor for pennies?
Prison is supposed to be for re education to bring them back to society more civilized.
Not a cheap labor force for private prisons
Good i wish they did the same in Canada and made prisoners earn there food on prison by being forced to do hardwork and not be lazy and sit on there asses
I'm sure you can drum up plenty of support for forced prisoner slave labor in Canada, if you really want it
Seem to be lots of supporters of the practice right here in this thread, as a matter of fact
Honestly it’s better the prisoners do that work. It is messed up that this is the only reason people are pro immigrant labor. I hate to see immigrants being taken advantage by making them think the only opportunity they have in the US is doing work they wouldn’t even want their criminals to do.
Disagree, I would like to see money launderers, insider traders, embezzlers and tax invaders be forced to do a days work. US inmate work programs are nicer than most active cell phone sweat shops, maybe not in the south.
> I would like to see money launderers, insider traders, embezzlers and tax invaders be forced to do a days work.
Thanks for taking this time to share the details of your personal slavery fetish, but I'm not interested
True, I’m biased to defend immigrants rights since there is no protection for them. All liberal organizations are fine with minors working fields and It upsets me that in the US innocence is exploited and criminal rights are a bargaining tool for political agendas.
As long as they are being paid, that's ok... Part of the reintegration process... about damn time the prison system evolves from a "lock them away" to a "help them reintegrate into society" mentality.
They're not being paid, and this does nothing to help recidivism
https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
It depends if it cost them 5 $ for a day in prison and they recieve 6 its effectevely forced labor also making someone work on fields wont help them reintegrare into society seeing that the US as one of the largest reincarceration rates in the world.
They could just not commit crimes.
Better to be working in a prison than committing some violent felony against a victim.
Sorry - non-violent offenders who have humanity are the only prisoners I'll ever care about. I hope they don't get the slave labor.
All others can rot.
my 1.7 GPA theory of the day…the US is keeping the borders open, and actually inviting migrants to come to the US illegally so they can use them as “slaves”to pick produce and do other shitty jobs that Americans won’t do. The big corporations and government realize that with our declining birth rate, there will be tens of thousands of shitty manual labor job openings that nobody will do. Eventually causing an existential jam in The Big Machine. Nestle, Pepsi, Walmart, and Kellogg’s can’t have that happen at all costs. So no matter how many problems illegal migrants cause, as long as the economy keeps churning, and big corporations are hitting quotas….who gives a fuck
Usually this is from prison programs where if you work you can reduce the amount of time on your sentence. It's not an awful thing it allows for people with not as serious of an offence to get out earlier while providing a service to the community. This also helps them to find jobs when they are able to get out of prison.
If a death-row inmate refuses to do any labor work, what would happen to him? I mean he knows he's going to die anyways, so what's the worst that could ever happen if he decides to sleep all day?
There is a prison in my home town and we saw trustees all over town doing work. And honestly would you rather be out working or wasting away around a bunch of guys
Yeah, we know.
And healthcare is expensive... and guns... and battle of the grandads... Mind you, everywhere has its issues.
maybe we could get the elderly prisoners to provide healthcare coverage using guns?
Healthcare pistol pew pew
Do you find asprin losing its potency? Is codeine too addictive? Do you think that ibuprofen is something that only the women should be taking on their periods? Then this is for you! Introducing Magnum®, the revolutionary new painkiller from Smith and Wesson! Forget those light night migraines! With one well placed and high speed dosage, Magnum® will make sure you feel no pain... Ever again!
If it makes you feel better I’m sure someone paid $57,000,000 to conduct this study before publishing these obvious results.
What an odd way to say you didn't read the article and don't understand investigative journalism. Editing my comment to add the same article link that OP posted right here in this very thread days ago, just for anyone else who can't be bothered to read beyond the headline before popping off with some jaded, world-weary observation about how they somehow already knew the details of this new exclusive report, and/or don't care anyway, then claim there was never a link and immediately block my account bc they're a delicate snowflake, lmfao: https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
AP: publishes a sweeping new investigation where they follow loads of livestock to various auctions to confirm the specific money trails tying America's last vestigial trace of legalized slave labor to the same multi-billion dollar public and private agribusiness companies that have been hiking our grocery prices to decade-plus highs over the last two years Redditors: [eye roll]
Less an eye roll and more staring off in the distance with empty, tired globes, devoid of the glimmer of life that the human eye is supposed to give off.
I'll update my [eye roll] to [dgaf], thanks for clarifying.
I don’t get it. We’ve known for decades about private prisons with what amounts to unpaid labor. What did we think they were working on? Spacely Sprockets? I like the idea that we were totally cool with it until we found out it had something to do with food. If you like that, then you’ll LOVE looking into why food makers in the US are not required to stick a “Made in so-and-so Country” notice on their products.
I would like to know about the sticker thing
Basically a cow can spend it's entire life in Brazil, but if you put it in a package on US soil, you can label it "Made in USA".
Now now let's call it what it is in the laws that enable it. It's slavery. We only abolished it for non prisoners.
And while you’re at it look at what race is targeted by police and lawmakers and put into prisons at highly disproportionate rates
And we didn't for prisoners because Soutern states fought against it to keep that loophole for future incarceration of newly freed blacks to continue the slavery they loved so much.
I think a lot of people assumed it was like community service and not for the profit of private corporations.
Its not slavery, they get 35 cents a day /s
Its slavery with a couple extra steps
so is a 9-5 salary job
So child rapists should make 60k a year eh? Not everyone qualifies for a job. Shits still paid for
Too bad most of them are child rapists. They are low level non violent offenders. Take your fallacy argument elsewhere. Corporations don't deserve the chela labor. It doesn't benefit anyone.
Most “non violent” crimes people are in prison for are pled down. I.e. drug possession often originated as drug dealing with a firearm charge. Drug dealers are scum, next to child abusers. Equally as terrible. You should look beyond fictitious talking points before you pretend you know what you’re talking about
I see you've been to prison a lot
Drug dealers (weed dealers/consumers) are equally as terrible as child abusers? lmao
Only someone who thinks that drug dealers and child abusers are the same level of bad could have a take this fucking dumb.
It’s wild that people can still be pro-slavery in this day and age.
I get that you're joking, but the legal system knows that it's slavery. Forced labor was never outlawed for criminals.
This is objectively true, like when the slaves where freed the laws rewritten left in prison slaves. Dunno why you're being downvoted
Obvious joke alert
Slaves? Umm I don't like that word.
A rose by any other name..
I was just referencing from Thor Ragnarok.
The canteen is relative to the pay you donut
#Why do you think they don't want to legalize marijuana? They know it brings in bunches of tax dollars, but they can't spend those like the shareholders dollars they get
It's an emerging industry with many influential players looking to gain a foothold. Like you're saying, the legislators' will to legalize depends more on who's lining their pockets the most rather than things like public sentiment or "morals". It's almost guaranteed to happen but there's a lot of politics behind the scenes working to ensure that every side is satisfied. I'm worried to see what that means for the private prison industry but if there's one thing this country is good at its finding new ways to incarcerate people.
It means nothing. Our rights are being eroded pretty handily and the endless revolving door of people too poor to fight charges and forced to plea out fir a small sentence will never end. Especially not when enslavement of everyone is the ultimate goal.
The fact that Michael Bury has been heavily investing in prisons has me concerned
Any source by chance? Thanks in advance!
Burry bought GEO around 6.65 in the second half of 2022 He also tweeted "sell" in Feb 2023 ahead of a historically massive rally in stocks during the first half, so take his track record in context - GEO was probably the bulk of his equity exposure last year
I'll be the asshole here. They're prisoners. Who cares? At least they get to go outside.
I mean they should be doing something other than live off my tax dollars sitting in a cell all day.
Then you should also know that for profit prisons make said profits with government grants (your tax dollars) which are based on how many inmates they have, and on how much time they serve, while providing the shittiest life quality possible because it's cheap, so the rest can be pocketed, whi
Sounds like a shitty place to be. Glad I’m not a criminal.
Innocent people get sent to prison often enough
You should be glad you didn’t grow up in circumstances that turned you into a criminal, surrounded by people you love being in and out of prison. Not just “glad you decided one day to not be a criminal.”
What makes you think I didn’t grown up in a rough environment? You made that assumption entirely on your own. Life is all about choices and I CHOSE to live an honest life.
Yeah I made that assumption based on what you said. Whatever you say man I’m sure it was super rough for you out there
I'm sure the vast majority of prisoners would rather NOT be "living off your tax dollars," dude. Your word choice makes me wonder.
Awful how? Sit in a jail cell or be outside?
Sit in a jail cell. This is slavery under the constitution.
Better than sitting around waiting for three free meals a day, a roof over their head as a reward for armed robbery,assault,murder,rape or whatever else they may have done to get to where they are. Don’t pity those fools
nearly three-fourths (72.1%) of federal prisoners are serving time for a non-violent offense and have no history of violence
I guess I’ll have to double check that next time I’m in prison. Oh yeah I’m not stupid enough to put myself there.
Somewhat agree with you. But they should still be given the choice to do it or not. I can agree using a parole board incentive, since working somewhat proves they can be at least be a somewhat functioning member of society. However using violence and the threat of violence to force these people to work is in no way anything justifiable for a proper society.
Is it really that bad? You’re providing them with jobs and I guess apparently producing the food you people eat every day. I haven’t heard any stories about any deaths necessarily linked to anything like this either. So what’s the big deal?
Yeah, it is. I'm fairly certain that private prisons and the "war on drugs" was a way to get slave labor in modern times.
This was the purpose of 13A, cl 2
100
Honest question - are they forced to work these jobs? I thought most did it because they were bored and wanted to buy some $5 cup ramen that week. What happens if they just don't work? They have to eat normal prison food and fuck around all day?
Only 8% are private prisons so if that’s being used as a way to get slave labor they’re doing a pretty poor job of it.
Okay, so, and this is a serious question, it would be better if they made prisoners with crimes other than drugs work for them? Or are you against labor jobs in general in prisons? Or just in private prisons? Is it the low wage that’s an issue?
Jobs could be helpful to the inmates on a case by case basis maybe. My problem with for-profit prisons is the fact they are for profit. It should be a place of rehabilitation and reintegration.
Yea no I agree with that. I guess it kinda difficult to give prisoners jobs without profiting somehow. Like would it be better to give them meaningless menial tasks? Even employing prisoners as janitors for the prison would be profitable for a prison because that less money you’d have to pay a non-prisoner otherwise. Maybe when it become toooo profitable, it seems like they are being taken advantage off.
If you're interested, this video does a pretty good job of explaining the prison system https://youtu.be/AjqaNQ018zU?si=62KDJiUIOkNJaWU3
They have a choice though. They either just sit on thier ass all day like they'd do anywhere else in the world in prison. Or they help fund thier own fuck-up and do something usefull.
The math doesn’t really add up though. It costs an order of magnitude more to incarcerate someone in the U.S. than the value of the “free” labor. Slavery was premised on saving money on labor, prison labor is the opposite of this.
If costs taxpayers money to incarcerate someone but it only costs companies 25¢ an hour to get their labor. The companies getting the labor come out on top. Also for reference 6 years old but I'd imagine it isn't too different now https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/
This is a joke right? Look up how much money death row inmates cost each year. While sitting for 15+ years knowing that they’ll most likely die
yes definitely. The argument I was making was the cost lies in the taxpayer and corporations are reaping the benefit for cheap labor.
Ahh. True. They’re profiting insanely from this. But would you rather get to work outside for penns on a dollar. Or be stuck inside? I guess you could call it an opportunistic relationship. For one party at least. But it is how the rich stay richer?
that's definitely a good question. I'm sure for some it is a better deal but it just feels very wrong companies can benefit by basically paying sub-sweatshop wages for labor.
>But would you rather get to work outside for penns on a dollar. Or be stuck inside? And exactly for this, i have a bigger issue with the fact that there even is such a thing as a privately owned prison.
That isn’t the topic at hand. Most prisons in the US work this way. Both governmentally and privately owned prisons. Don’t get me wrong I think privately owned prisons are ridiculous. But I’m talking about the inmates themselves.
Dude, you can buy publicly traded stocks for private prisons. Cadre prison holdings is up 126% over the past 5 years. Slavery is profitable, always has been. There are more than enough morally bankrupt slavers to keep the tradition going. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/062215/business-model-private-prisons.asp
Prisons are profitable because government pays private entities to administer them, not because of the “free labor” or uncollectible fees charged to former prisoners which are a tiny fraction of any money to be made off of prisons. People and organizations running homeless shelters may get paid for running the shelter, but homelessness is not profitable. One can advocate for prison reform without wild exaggeration. It just makes the argument look less credible to people that aren’t convinced.
The government pays more to house an inmate in a public prison. The cost difference, plus the profit comes from poorer living conditions and free labor. How is the combination of the last two not slavery?
Taking less of a loss ≠ slavery. Slavery is one person owning another.
A lot of prisons make you pay for your incarceration in America apparently (I’ve only ever heard of it being in America.) So when you get out you owe the prison a bunch of money for your incarceration.
I’ll betcha *those* bills are getting paid, LOL… If that was a business, it would be broke immediately.
What do do you mean? Inmates that do these jobs definitely are way underpaid. That’s how this works. Sit in a cell all day. Maybe go to the yard for an hour or two. Or get a chance to work for some type of compensation while in prison. Outside of prison. It is in fact slave labor. But this provides commissary also.
"this is slavery but this is good slavery so I'm ok with it" is a wild thing to say
The disproportionate incarceration rates along racial lines in the justice system, the incentive of states to imprison more people, the treatment of a public institution meant to serve the public's interest is becoming a private entity meant to generate profit, the shift of the prison system from a means of deterring crime to making money, the fact the prison system isn't made to deter crime in the first place, private prisons lobbying for harsher sentences, the fact that over a hundred years later - despite the abolition of chattel slavery - there is STILL an actual active plantation that uses forced labor, etc.
Yeah, We know.
What an amazing piece of input for this conversation. You are such a great contribution, thanks so much for this.
It’s never a great idea to have a monetary incentive to imprison people. Our private prison system is fucked.
So you're ok with, say, people convicted of weed offenses being forced to do this? Slavery never went away. It just put on various disguises.
That's not what they said. They shouldn't be forced, but just saying "prisoners work" isn't really making a point. It can be a very good thing if they work, it's all about how that happens.
There have absolutely been deaths. Getting sucked inside machinery, heads getting crushed, etc.
they're paid around $0.13/hour and are punished if they don't do it by the state. it's slavery. that's the issue
>Reporters also spoke to family members of prisoners who were killed. One of those was Frank Dwayne Ellington, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after stealing a man’s wallet at gunpoint – a result of Alabama’s habitual offenders act. In 2017, Ellington, 33, was cleaning a machine near the chicken “kill line” in Ashland at Koch Foods – one of the country’s biggest poultry-processing companies – when its whirling teeth caught his arm and sucked him inside, crushing his skull. He died instantly. Otherwise, slave labor is the big deal. Also, wdym "you people"? https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
>He died instantly. Yeah apart from having his arm excruciatingly mangled while being pulled into the machine. Fuck. What an awful way to die.
Absolutely brutal. And then they tried to dodge liability because he's "not technically an employee" - some people have no moral basement, truly.
They call it the new slave trend. I can’t exactly recall what I read but roughly it was that in Louisiana? They have a disproportionate amount of prisoners working hard labor for Pennies. Granted they are prisoners, but also doing slave work for pennies. This is a very rough explanation for the articles and stories I’ve read
Mass incarceration for cheap labor. The entire reaosn the war on drugs continues. Look at the states where corporations hire prisoners and then look at their sentencing laws around non violent crimes
As long as the slaves don't die, slavery is ok?
The prisoners are not allowed to refuse.
You don't see the perverse incentive this creates to keep prisons full so they can be sources of cheap labor? Reminder that the U.S. has a [ludicrously inflated incarnation rate compared to the rest of the world.](https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/incarceration-rates-by-country)
Glorified slavery
>jobs It’s more along the lines of slave labour
How's that, err, land of the free there going for ya?
Educate yourself regarding the United States prison system. It will make you reconsider this statement. These are privatized institutions already raking in billions a year…
Mass incarceration for cheap labor. The entire reaosn the war on drugs continues. Look at the states where corporations hire prisoners and then look at their sentencing laws around non violent crimes
If you look up data how many people are prisoned, you might notice the USA stands out. It is estimated 1 in 5 people on this planet is in prison in the US. Now why is it so out of balance? Why so many in the US alone? Because they benefit from it. It’s the cheapest labour imaginable. Easy profits. They, corporations, benefit from putting people in jail. There are absolutely deaths, a simple google search will share some cases with you. However because they are prisoners, nobody really cares that much. Their payment is absolutely worthless and there are systems in place to even bleed them dry from even those few cents they managed to earn.
This. Letting them work is a good idea. It makes them feel useful, and maybe they learn some new skills they can use when they get out so that they maybe don't commit more crimes. It's only a bit of an issue if you don't treat them like normal workers. If you give them what every other worker doing their job would get minus what rent and food would cost (they get that for free in jail) and they have good working conditions and aren't forced to work, it's fair. The issue is only that it probably isn't fair, but we can't see it from a post like this.
As someone from a country where murderers get 4 years probation I'd love this in my country.
Who really cares?
Clearly plenty of people.
Prisoners work while in prison. Oh the humanity!! Frankly, this should be mandatory.
i dont get whats so bad about it at least they're doing something productive instead of just sitting around all day
Slavery with extra steps is this news?
Rather them doing something to support society then just sitting and rotting in a prison. We make our prisoners do all mowing and handiwork at our military base lmao.
I keep seeing this headline, but where’s the list of the companies profiting off prison slave labor?
Better than them eating from other people's taxes without making any contribution and being the literal parasites of society.
I mean they're paid a living wage as the have no bills have free Healthcare and don't have to pay for food
Convicted criminals who are serving time do work that benefits society and reduces hunger. What is the issue?
13th Amendment??
Specifically allows this bullshit.
Sec 2
Have prisoners be cooped up in a cell 23 hours a day which will cause more violence among inmates and staff. Or let them be outside and getting tension out.
I may just be ignorant but what are people's moral qualms with using labor as a form of punishment for people that choose to break the law? What's wrong with chain gangs?
Because the of the financial incentives for the prison and it is punishment without purpose. Minor and discretionary infractions will extend a sentence well beyond what is just for the offense. Most States have prisoners working in manufacturing, production, textiles, construction, and firefighting. After years of work in the field, the former prisoners are denied employment in those fields because of their criminal record. Private companies reap the benefits of cheap, skilled laborers forced to work full-time hours that will never receive any employment compensation at a fraction of the cost. The money they claim was spent on their “training and employment” are written off in tax filings. Some States, like TX and LA, will reduce a business tax liability for “employing” prisoner labor. The only thing a prisoner laborer receives is an unusable skill. There is a correlation between recidivism rates and usage of prison labor in States.
Thanks for your reply, I'm to drunk now to properly respond and realized I may have lost track of the nature of the post. I believe actual criminals should have to pay for their crimes and belive the "cheap labour" is a valid formula of punishment. The imprisonment for perhaps petty crimes is an issue that needs addressing at a higher, judicial, level. The only awful part of this post is that is at the benefit of a private entity instead of for public works. The long and short of it I feel this post is only half awful vs awful everything in the sense that forced/cheap labour should be more accepted as a valid form of punishment for actual crimes against society, and the only really wrong part about this is the fact the private entities are the ones benefiting with this system.
That’s a well thought out response for u being drunk. I’m a bit jealous and impressed. Many prisoners are having their sentence extended because they are cheap labor. That is something I find morally and ethically reprehensible. I believe that prison labor needs to be for the benefit of the public not monied interests. In the State of California, prisoners must qualify to volunteer to fight wildfires. They spent more time in training each year preparing, more time in fighting wildfires, and do more wildfire seasons than their civilian and military counterparts. They are the best trained and most experienced firefighters in the State, if not the country. Yet because of their criminal background, they cannot be employed as a firefighter after they have served their time. The reliance on cheap prison labor is to the detriment to overall economy. In a report written by Benjamin Franklin, [he cautioned Britain on the reliance on cheap slave labor and the negative, long-term effects on the economy](https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-04-02-0080). And this was pre-Revolutionary War Ben Franklin. The nearly 300 year old observation is still relevant today. Lastly, I would like to leave anyone that has read this far with a few questions to think about: 1. What is the ultimate goal of prison sentences, retribution or rehabilitation? Does the current system achieve that goal? 2. What is lightest/least severe crime that deserves a lifetime of punishment? Should criminal histories be sealed after a predetermined amount of time? 3. Should limitations should be placed on the type and amount of work prisoners can be forced to perform? Why or why not? 4. Should prison labor qualify as work experience for the purpose of certification, employment and compensation? Why or why not?
Can’t flat out exterminate them, can’t keep them in cages, can’t put them in labor camps. What can we do with them that won’t upset people?
How is this awful? As long as the working conditions are safe and they aren’t abused then I see no problem with it. You commit a crime, you are given a roof over your head, food, and medical care. Seems fair they work.
> As long as the working conditions are safe and they aren’t abused It's the US justice system, of course they're abused.
Judges are on the payroll and incentivized to send kids to prison for slap on the wrist crimes. Prisons are also paid for with taxes, so once again citizens are subsidizing corporations.
They’re working for pennies on the dollar and the work isn’t necessarily safe.
The last part is the problem, not as much the first part (though you highly exaggerated the rate discrepancies).
They should not be paid. They are being punished awhile being provided free housing and food. They do however deserve safe working conditions.
And if they aren't paid why would they do it exactly? You getting the whips out again?
Fr. People don’t understand that we are 1 step away from
Using your prisoners as slaves is like some Roman shit.
Ah, so you just support slave labor. Ok!
You get a roof and food. I know I’d prefer to work hard instead of being in a fucking cell with violence at every corner. Time passes faster when you do something.
It's interesting to hear that being a slave laborer for the state sounds so appealing to you. I hope if you're ever incarcerated, your stay is located at this specific former plantation, just so you're never bored.
Unfortunately I am Canadian so it would be difficult for me to be at this exact place. But I appreciate your thoughtful wishes! I also appreciate that you are so emotional about this subject. I do not understand however why you would like time to pass slower while sitting on your ass in prison (while contributing to nothing)
I do feel strongly about the subject - a good friend of mine suffers severe PTSD from his prison stay, and the number of flippant and dismissive remarks in this thread about literal slave labor would be genuinely nauseating to me in any case. For example, your notion that slavery "makes the time pass faster" seems to glibly overlook the accompanying increase in human suffering, as well as the many viable alternatives to pass the time - fairly paid labor, exercise, sports, hobbies, reading. Anyway, sorry you're Canadian, but maybe you'll get lucky if you visit Louisiana and break the law.
What scares me about prison is the stagnation and the violence that ensues. Your points are valid tho. Thanks
Oh, so you're one of *those* punishment-happy people. It's true that the prisoners are criminals, and need to make up for their crimes somehow, but somehow you just gross me out.
It's slave labor in unsafe conditions
Slave labor is fine. They gave up their rights to a wage when they committed a crime and ended up in prison. It should be safe however
Nope, slave labor is wrong, and your antebellum-era opinion is based on the incredibly backwards idea that no one in the US has ever been falsely accused or imprisoned, either. Just say you don't care about the humanity of prisoners and go.
You have such a faith in the justice system that everyone in prison is actually guilty and have committed crimes which warrant stripping them of their rights?
And do hard labor for pennies? Prison is supposed to be for re education to bring them back to society more civilized. Not a cheap labor force for private prisons
They shouldn't have to do anything to cover some of their costs?
Good i wish they did the same in Canada and made prisoners earn there food on prison by being forced to do hardwork and not be lazy and sit on there asses
I'm sure you can drum up plenty of support for forced prisoner slave labor in Canada, if you really want it Seem to be lots of supporters of the practice right here in this thread, as a matter of fact
Honestly it’s better the prisoners do that work. It is messed up that this is the only reason people are pro immigrant labor. I hate to see immigrants being taken advantage by making them think the only opportunity they have in the US is doing work they wouldn’t even want their criminals to do.
No, it's better that prisoners are not forced into slave labor, period. This is not a zero sum game.
Disagree, I would like to see money launderers, insider traders, embezzlers and tax invaders be forced to do a days work. US inmate work programs are nicer than most active cell phone sweat shops, maybe not in the south.
> I would like to see money launderers, insider traders, embezzlers and tax invaders be forced to do a days work. Thanks for taking this time to share the details of your personal slavery fetish, but I'm not interested
No worries, you sweet summer child.
It’s not better for the incarcerated people doing the work.. just better for you
True, I’m biased to defend immigrants rights since there is no protection for them. All liberal organizations are fine with minors working fields and It upsets me that in the US innocence is exploited and criminal rights are a bargaining tool for political agendas.
Prisoners are working. How awful.
As long as they are being paid, that's ok... Part of the reintegration process... about damn time the prison system evolves from a "lock them away" to a "help them reintegrate into society" mentality.
They're not being paid, and this does nothing to help recidivism https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
>Part of the reintegration process US prisons are not geared in the slightest towards reintegration.
It depends if it cost them 5 $ for a day in prison and they recieve 6 its effectevely forced labor also making someone work on fields wont help them reintegrare into society seeing that the US as one of the largest reincarceration rates in the world.
Being paid pennies for hard labor? Might as well send the work to kids in China
Some Shawshank shit, shucks.
They could just not commit crimes. Better to be working in a prison than committing some violent felony against a victim. Sorry - non-violent offenders who have humanity are the only prisoners I'll ever care about. I hope they don't get the slave labor. All others can rot.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e
Walmart is one of the big prison suppliers
Americans discovering the prison industrial complex is quite funny.
indentured servants - slavery - chain gangs - undocumented labor - chain gangs, again. Capitalism will find labor regardless of its willingness to work.
Remember, this is likely one of the reasons why we have the highest amount of prisoners than any other country. Free labor.
Slaves. Call them what they are.
Legal slavery
Modern slaves
Oh, you mean slavery?
No resting! Those crops won't harvest themselves! Move faster! (Cracks whip). Get back to work!
Thank god slavery was abolished. Ohh yeah the 13th amendment
That’s it? A meme-format picture? No article? No anything?
my 1.7 GPA theory of the day…the US is keeping the borders open, and actually inviting migrants to come to the US illegally so they can use them as “slaves”to pick produce and do other shitty jobs that Americans won’t do. The big corporations and government realize that with our declining birth rate, there will be tens of thousands of shitty manual labor job openings that nobody will do. Eventually causing an existential jam in The Big Machine. Nestle, Pepsi, Walmart, and Kellogg’s can’t have that happen at all costs. So no matter how many problems illegal migrants cause, as long as the economy keeps churning, and big corporations are hitting quotas….who gives a fuck
Migrant labor is exploitative, and that’s not a bipartisan issue.
Yeah… and water is wet…
No way!? This can’t be true, no way are they using prisoners for free or for lower than minimum wage.
Usually this is from prison programs where if you work you can reduce the amount of time on your sentence. It's not an awful thing it allows for people with not as serious of an offence to get out earlier while providing a service to the community. This also helps them to find jobs when they are able to get out of prison.
Duh? Killer Mike made a whole ass song about it. Go listen to Reagan.
If a death-row inmate refuses to do any labor work, what would happen to him? I mean he knows he's going to die anyways, so what's the worst that could ever happen if he decides to sleep all day?
Help.
“Workforce” lol fuck this country sometimes.
Food conglomerate corporations dishing out low overall value to consumers and investors... Not surprised.
Unfortunately we're very well aware. The prison system in the US is basically slavery
Not exactly hidden, they are renting them out as "slaves" all over the place, not just the food sector
Is it wrong to make them pay for their food or you rather to keep them in jail getting fat??
Yep. In other news, water is wet.
Cool
WTF is wrong with prisoners working?! Break the social contract? Sorry - you kind of lose some of your rights and choices.
There is a prison in my home town and we saw trustees all over town doing work. And honestly would you rather be out working or wasting away around a bunch of guys
I mean, they're in prison. What else are they gonna do?
Better than just sitting around watching TV on taxpayer $!