this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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This is an interesting idea, but I'm still a bit irked about prison labor.
I understand that this permits productive ways to pass time, but the wages per hour are atrocious. It reminds me of the 13th amendment of the US Constitution:
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
I agree, especially in the US, with large brands taking advantage.
Don't the wages reflect that they have no bills to pay though?
I mean that'd be fine if they weren't charged absolutely unreasonable prices for everything they have to buy.
Prisoners are paid on average $0.14 to $1.41 per hour (depending on state and job), according to this website.
Even a fucking phone call cost prisoners $10-$15 per 15 minutes until Biden put a cap on it this year, and it's still $3 per 15 minutes. So basically, a prisoner needs to work for at least 2 hours and in some cases as much as 21 hours, to earn the privilege of a 15 minute phone call? Come the fuck on. Nevermind the price of commissary items.
I can understand not paying prisoners $25 / hr or whatever, but $5-$7 would still be low but far more reasonable rates. Further, if a fucking private corporation is using prison labor, IMO they should be paying the normal market rate for labor in that industry, even if some of it is put into a fund in the prisoner's name and released to them when they're released from prison. (This might actually help recidivism, as prisoners would have some money to help them get back on their feet when they were released; that's pure speculation, though, and I have no source to back it up.)
Yeah, I was referring to civilised countries like Finland lol
Fair enough. :)