4 ms·
"Are there any reasons against using prison labor? It gives inmates something to do and the ability to learn a new skill. " There are lots of reasons that I fi
by scarecrowbob 7y ago
"Are there any reasons against using prison labor? It gives inmates something to do and the ability to learn a new skill. "
There are lots of reasons that I find compelling-- I'm generally in favor of the abolition of prisons. I'm also aware that there are plenty of people who think I am a wingnut because I think that.
But even if you think prisons are a "good" thing, here is a reason that you could find compelling for preventing prison labor from interacting with the larger market:
it lowers the pay for other non-prison workers by throwing unpaid labor into the labor pool.
If you have a chair factory and the local prison starts using very low paid labor to produce chairs, how could you compete with that?
- mc32 7y agoThis effect is dwarfed by irregular immigrants who don’t have working papers. But yes, I agree they should be paid prevailing wages and escrow that for when they leave or use it to pay any debts they might have outstanding if they have judgements against them.
- homonculus1 7y agoOkay, I'll bite-- what would you propose as an alternative to prisons? I'm intrigued, and frankly amused, at the idea that there aren't individuals who must be sequestered from society due to past behavior.
- scarecrowbob 7y agosince you're actively laughing, I'll just tell you to google the wiki page for prison abolition. Surely you're creative enough to think of at least 3 or 4 other modes where we sequester people "from society due to past behavior"... there are a lot of other modalities than, say throwing people in an oubliette or conscripting them into an army. Some are actually ethical (in my opinion, which is far from the only legitiamte one), unlike prison in the US (also,, I do understand that this is my opinion as well).
- ryanmercer 7y agoSo we should just let child rapists and murderers roam free to offend again, with no consequences?
- DanBC 7y ago> there are a lot of other modalities Seems pretty clear. What about this did you not understand?
- ryanmercer 7y agoI understood that exactly zero were provided that allowed them to not still roam free. Forcing a child rapist or murder into the military is not a viable option.
- homonculus1 7y agoO enlightened sage, I am indeed too stupid and ethically depraved to see the truth that thieves and murderers can be trusted to continue walking among us without any physical restraint. Please bestow upon my puny mind the wisdom of your compassionate, holistic system which guarantees their rehabilitation.
- DanBC 7y ago> at the idea that there aren't individuals who must be sequestered from society due to past behavior. But over 2 million Americans? At a cost of over $74bn?
- homonculus1 7y agoIs this a binary issue? Reforming the criminalization and overprosecution of numerous victimless activities does not require abolishing prisons entirely, which would be completely asinine.