Abusing Prison Labor for Private Corporate Profits

Many prisons put the criminals to work and indeed most victims and most taxpayers do applaud such action. But on the flip side are we abusing prison labor for private corporate profits in some places? Some believe we are. This issue recently came up in an online think tank when one online think tanker stated;.

"I'm sorry that's just not realistic. We have organized slavery right in our prison system! Corporations contract to the prison for slave labor - the inmates earn ~ $0.12/hour, and from that (at least in CA) 55% is deducted for various fees, including administration fee (read: benefits and a 37% pay raise for the prison employees, thanks to Gray Davis' sweetheart deal with CCPOA).

So they get (I guess) what they are paying for in your estimation?".Indeed I am aware of all of this and it is not right and it does not just go on in California Prisons. And indeed it is basically using people as slaves for the profit of a company; It is rather sickening not to mention an unfair advantage to other competing employers. I once had a long discussion on this issue with a manufacturer who made "Pet Urns" of all things who used prison labor and he was bragging about it.

Yet there were competing companies who did not have this advantage and thus their labor was 25 times more. I felt that the human I was discussing this with was not such a nice guy after all. But at the same time, the criminals should be doing something productive while in prison and well making pet urns or license plates is fine by me?.

What should be done about this issue? Is everyone being treated fairly? Are the sweat heart deals more politics than anything else? And are we simply allowing a few to float above the law and use humans as slaves? It is hard to say as the issue is rather complex, although it certainly is an interesting topic for an online think tank isn't it? Consider all this in 2006.

By: Lance Winslow