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I’m all for minimum wage laws to apply to prisoners. I’m also guessing the reason the “opportunity” exists is in part because those laws don’t apply and you ca
by ada1981 8y ago
I’m all for minimum wage laws to apply to prisoners.
I’m also guessing the reason the “opportunity” exists is in part because those laws don’t apply and you can get firefighters for $1/hour.
Presumably they don’t offer the option to reduce sentences from other prison jobs like laundry or cooking, and these firefighter jobs are seen as providing a form of service to the greater community, and at a risk.
Also, keep in mind that much of our economic system and policy is predicated on the idea of using people’s desperstion to get them to do horrible jobs.
- lordgrenville 8y agoThinking out loud here - I don't agree with this, and I'm trying to get to why. I think that prison doesn't really have much of a redemptive or rehabilitative effect - quite the opposite, sometimes. So to me allowing people to work their sentences off seems fine. And even the fact that they aren't being paid doesn't necessarily seem unjust. They have a debt to society, but paying that with labour seems far better than the alternative of them sitting around doing nothing/interacting with more hardened criminals. As others have said, though, it definitely is unjust that they face discrimination when attempting to do the same work as civilians.