> with a system of private prisons (another fantasy, given the current trend of increasing the government size, instead of reducing it), maybe someone would be

> with a system of private prisons (another fantasy, given the current trend of increasing the government size, instead of reducing it), maybe someone would be able to turn a profit and make it work. Both prison labor and private prisons are absolutely a thing in the United States today. As I understand, prison labor is illegal in privately operated prisons. However, state-run prisons are allowed to use prison labor to manufacture goods and sell them to private entities for profit it many US jurisdictions. Many people find this practice objectionable because it creates a profit-based incentive for states to issue more prison sentences and to make them longer.