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On the flip side the law abiding citizen working the same job on the outside has little to no opportunity to accumulate $10,000 dollars in savings because they

by slv77 10y ago

On the flip side the law abiding citizen working the same job on the outside has little to no opportunity to accumulate $10,000 dollars in savings because they have to put food on the table and a roof over their head. When do they get the chance to land on their feet?

feklar 10y ago
They don't have to fear for their life on a 24/7 basis while doing hard time http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3338209&postcount=1 http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3338209&post... I understand the position that why should criminals get anything since they have nothing coming to them, but some sort of plan has to exist to stop the revolving recidivism door or even promote prison order. There's state prisons that now allow you to order (with your meagre work wages) takeout pizza and other food from restaurants close to the prison if you have good time credit. Apparently that is the best discipline motivator since nobody wants to risk losing their pizza and takeout privs.
- slv77 10y ago
  Is their fear of living surrounded by criminals any more valid than the kid who sleeps on the floor at night to avoid a stray bullet? I'm not sure how cash payment to prisoners solves the problems of recidivism. If it did a more cost effective solution would just to pay criminals $10,000 and turn them back on the streets. Or are you saying that the prison experience itself somehow distills in the prisoner some essential skill which combined with $10,000 dollars turns them into law abiding citizen? I'm strongly against prisons being profit centers because it invites abuse like we've seen with private, for-profit prisons. I'm even for paying prisoners minimum wage but not all of it should drop to the bottom line. They can and should pay costs associated with their trial and incarceration and also pay into a victims compensation fund depending on the nature of their crime. Otherwise it's just a subsidy which could be better spent elsewhere.
lostlogin 10y ago
Yeah, those prisoners are lucky alright. Have you thought that comment through?
vkou 10y ago
A law abiding citizen who lives with their parents, and has the same job on the outside has an opportunity to accumulate $10,000 in savings. Should we forbid people from working while living with their parents? Never mind the ethical bankruptcy of using slave labour... The thirteenth amendment, as it was drafted is as much blight on civilized society as the Gulags were.
kd0amg 10y ago
It seems a bit disingenuous to describe it as $10k in savings when it first passes through the hands of a bunch of bankers and merchants who get to force the worker to buy various goods and services at vastly inflated prices.
deftnerd 10y ago
To be fair, to a lot of prisoners, 10k wouldn't result them in being richer than regular people when they get out because they'll immediately have to spend thousands on renting a place, getting a used car, buying some furniture, etc. Starting a life from scratch is expensive and after they do that they'll be on the same footing as a standard "pay-check to pay-check" citizen.

by slv77 10y ago

feklar 10y ago

They don't have to fear for their life on a 24/7 basis while doing hard time http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3338209&postcount=1 http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3338209&post... I understand the position that why should criminals get anything since they have nothing coming to them, but some sort of plan has to exist to stop the revolving recidivism door or even promote prison order. There's state prisons that now allow you to order (with your meagre work wages) takeout pizza and other food from restaurants close to the prison if you have good time credit. Apparently that is the best discipline motivator since nobody wants to risk losing their pizza and takeout privs.

slv77 10y ago
Is their fear of living surrounded by criminals any more valid than the kid who sleeps on the floor at night to avoid a stray bullet? I'm not sure how cash payment to prisoners solves the problems of recidivism. If it did a more cost effective solution would just to pay criminals $10,000 and turn them back on the streets. Or are you saying that the prison experience itself somehow distills in the prisoner some essential skill which combined with $10,000 dollars turns them into law abiding citizen? I'm strongly against prisons being profit centers because it invites abuse like we've seen with private, for-profit prisons. I'm even for paying prisoners minimum wage but not all of it should drop to the bottom line. They can and should pay costs associated with their trial and incarceration and also pay into a victims compensation fund depending on the nature of their crime. Otherwise it's just a subsidy which could be better spent elsewhere.

lostlogin 10y ago

Yeah, those prisoners are lucky alright. Have you thought that comment through?

vkou 10y ago

A law abiding citizen who lives with their parents, and has the same job on the outside has an opportunity to accumulate $10,000 in savings. Should we forbid people from working while living with their parents? Never mind the ethical bankruptcy of using slave labour... The thirteenth amendment, as it was drafted is as much blight on civilized society as the Gulags were.

kd0amg 10y ago

It seems a bit disingenuous to describe it as $10k in savings when it first passes through the hands of a bunch of bankers and merchants who get to force the worker to buy various goods and services at vastly inflated prices.

deftnerd 10y ago

To be fair, to a lot of prisoners, 10k wouldn't result them in being richer than regular people when they get out because they'll immediately have to spend thousands on renting a place, getting a used car, buying some furniture, etc. Starting a life from scratch is expensive and after they do that they'll be on the same footing as a standard "pay-check to pay-check" citizen.