Don’t we routinely accuse the Chinese of this?
Many migrant workers in the states have filled jobs cheaply and effectively. Now, due to tough immigration laws, it seems that Colorado state is looking to the penal system help them overcome a labor shortage as migrants flee the state.
In a pilot program run by the state Corrections Department, supervised teams of low-risk inmates beginning this month will be available to harvest the swaths of sweet corn, peppers and melons that sweep the southeastern portion of the state.
Under the program, which has drawn criticism from groups concerned about immigrants’ rights and from others seeking changes in the criminal justice system, farmers will pay a fee to the state, and the inmates, who volunteer for the work, will be paid about 60 cents a day, corrections officials said.
60 cents a day is quite the wage these farmers have to pay. If the US penal system could somehow provide workers for all low-skilled jobs, you might have just found the goose that lays the golden egg AND solved your migrant problem. Unless you run out of prisoners.
Unless you run out of prisoners.
With the misnamed PATRIOT ACT, that should never happen.
As JCD has stated before, with enough laws, everyone can be arrested for SOMEthing.
J/P=?
Now this is the best thing I’ve heard all day. Seriously, you will never run out of prisoners because some people are just wired that way.
It’s a win-win situation too. The prisoners are doing more than sitting in their cell , thinking about what they did — and they get some $ out of it . While the farmers will have a nice cheap labour force and not have to hire some illegals to pick the vegetables
I think it is sound to give a criminal something productive to do with his hands. who knows maybe it will “build character” and get them to work hard at legitimate jobs when they are released…
I wonder if the only people who would ever complain about this are the civil rights wackos. (Not to be confused with legitimate civil rights proponents)
When you’re in jail, having a job (even one paying 60 cents a day) is considered a privilege. The downside to this is that there will be a lot of corruption involved on the institutional side. And the victims should be entitled to some of that money too.
1 – You got that right. And don’t forget the drug war laws – they are designed to fill the prisons with just the sort of low-risk prisoners a program like this calls for.
“And the victims should be entitled to some of that money too.”
Please. This ‘wage’ doesn’t come to fifteen dollars a month! Assuming no taxes, a victim could reap a whole $1800 in a short deaced.
I read a story about how they used to do something like this in Mississippi during the old south. Farmers would need extra hands during the harvests. So they’d place a call to the local sherriff. The Sherrif would then go out and arrest A few black men for things like “Loitering” or “Jay walking”, and as repayment for their crimes the men would have to help the farmers harvest the crop.
#2 — “It’s a win-win situation too. The prisoners are doing more than sitting in their cell , thinking about what they did — and they get some $ out of it .”
60 cents a day is money? Inmates are charged $2.00/minute for phone calls, $60 for a decent pair of prison slippers, $2.00 for a bar of soap, $0.90 for a candy bar, $0.60 for a bag of Ramen noodles . . . .
Hey, what a bargain, work all day shoveling pig shit for a farmer, just so you can have a bowl of Ramen noodles before you go to bed.
Only a liberal would argue for higher wages for criminals.
As long as the prisioners are treated humanley, then the link to the Chinese is false… and pathetic.
10. I have to agree. Its says Slave Labor in the Headline and goes on to state volunteers. Ahem. Even if I were paid nothing, I would volunteer to get out of a cell.
There’ll be plenty more prisoners once they pass a ban on religious defamation.
YOUR KIDDING RIGHT? if your a convict, your pretty lazy as it is if you had to commit a crime to get ahead. second, its voluntary, how many low risk inmates do you know that want 12 hour work days for .60 a day when you can stay in the cell watch TV, do drugs, and someone provides food for you 3 times a day. third, the ACLU will be all over this if they force inmates to do this once the voluntary part fails. and finally, if they go thru with it, how long till you hear in the news that an inmate picking the crops in Colorado escaped, kidnapped a 10 year old blond haired blue eyed girl (other races don’t make the ratings that these types do), raped, and then killed her.
in the end, well still be back in square one.
#4, Good preemptive attack. Anyone disagreeing with you automatically becomes a wacko. I guess that is better then being compared to a slave owner. Only the US Constitution has declared that penal servitude is OK so it isn’t slavery.
#13, joe, convincing post.
I used to teach in a Women’s prison, and thought I point out a few things.
1. Every prisoner is given an opportunity to do some type of work or education for money. It is considered a privilege, which means if you misbehave it is taken away from you. It is surprisingly effective.
2. Back in 1996 the prevailing wage was 50 cents a day. People could earn $13.00 a month. Top of the line pay, total that anyone could earn was generally $39.00 a month.
3. There are tiers of jobs, some pay a little more (not much), but people can get promoted. So your first job might not be fun, but if you behave, in time (and in prison you have a lot of time) you work up to a better job. You generally move from menial to semi-skilled or office to to skilled/tech oriented. Some inmates can learn trades that make them employable upon release (some do get out someday).
4. Prisoners can also take high school and college classes for credit, and get paid. Education has an even higher privilege level–you get tossed out for more minor offenses. I enjoyed teaching prisoners because they were very motivated to learn. I never feared for my life either.
5. Why pay them at all? Some prisoners (more than you realize) have no one to come for them, send them money, visit, provide stuff. It’s a larger number than you expect. Most states don’t permit the prison to buy personal items for prisoners (e.g. tampons for women), so how else to get it to them? Do you think prison is better off if inmates don;’t shampoo or wash? Thje amount is kept low to keep prisoners from having too much discretionary income (which leads to problems–when someone comes in who has money to spend, they get hustled, threatened, or they use it buy “services”.
6. The inmate may get paid 60 cents for picking vegetables in Colorado, but the farmer will pay a lot mroe than that, the difference goes to pay for the transportation, the guards, overhead, etc. Farmers will probably still want to hire non-prisoners.
7. Final thought–It’s easy to trash prisoners, but they are still human beings, and deserve some dignity. The smart guards know that, and have fewer discipline problems. I’m considered a conservative, but one thing I learned over teaching in a prison for 7 years is that most prisoners are weak, not evil. If you knew how many have untreated addictions, you realize prison isn’t cost effective. Helping them get straight give them a chance (which some take) to become productive upon release.
#15, Very well thought out and intelligent post. I learned a bit from it.
My understanding though is that most men’s prisons do not have the same luxury as what you allude to in your Women’s Prison. I wish it were so because I believe recidivism can be substantially reduced by giving those in prison rehabilitation instead of only punishment. That requires social workers and teachers. It requires classrooms and educational equipment.
An especially good acknowledgment for your point #7. Unfortunately it will take one occurrence, as joe pointed out in #13, to halt any rehabilitation. A 99% success rate won’t be good enough with prisoners out in society.