2.4 Million people in USA ready to work for $0.25 A Day Corporations hiring now!

Had posted this story as a reply to a very old thread I had started long ago.
Didn't see it on the recent list so I thought I would try it's own thread?




reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous
The story


An update or in the news today, well at least a website: www.classwarfareexists.com... website & story




" 37 States Allow Corporations To Get Rich Off Prison Labor" - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...





" But with any easily disenfranchised group (and prisoners might be the most disenfranchised in the country, almost by definition), the opportunity for exploitation and abuse is extremely high. The probability of abuse becomes even higher for a group of people typically perceived as “deserving” of it. Prisoners fit that bill nicely." - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...






" At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy’s, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more." - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...






" All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion." - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...



I could quote the entire article, a good informative read. His closing:




" We are building an unethical and unhealthy economic system that is further destroying our country’s workforce and shifting it over to underpaid, abused prisoners. That system has a strong incentive to keep jails full and criminals locked away for exorbitant sentences. If we continue to do nothing, the problem will only grow. Unfortunately, the stigma that being in prison means you deserve whatever comes your way has supported of this dangerous system and given politicians and businessmen political cover in further enriching corporate interests at the expense of everyone else." - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...



Have heard complaints about immigrants taking your jobs and jobs going over seas, does anyone care that,



" One out of every 100 American adults is behind bars. That’s more than 2.4 million people who have been taken out of the workforce and had their rights legally stripped away. That’s a lot of potential exploitable workers for a corporation to use." - See more at: www.classwarfareexists.com...



Where have all the people gone? Long time passing. Where have all the people gone? Long long time ago?
edit on 16-11-2013 by donlashway because: (no reason given)
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In California they won't hire people to fight wild fires during the season anymore because of it.

Pisses me off. Used to get some work during fire season…

This is a very interesting topic. I know a lot of people won't(or don't want to) believe this but it is absolutely true. I personally know the person who set up the entire network(and kept it running for the duration of the project) for the data entry and other parts of ancestry.com. The work was all done by inmates in an Ohio correctional facility. The average pay was slightly below the OP's stated .25. Entry level pay was .16 per hr and average was around .18 - .20 per hr. Some skilled workers were able to make around .45 per hr. Talk about taking advantage of a persons situation! If an individual tried something like that they would be drawn and quartered(figuratively speaking of course, actually they would be imprisoned and made to work for pennies).

Thanks for the info, OP. I was aware prisoners had low paid "jobs" inside, but I had not figured it that way...

Going from over 300mil of profit to 1.3bil... A very good incitation for corps to abuse, indeed...

No wonder prisons are now big business.

Considering how much the rest of us have to pay for the same goods the US gets, maybe $0.25/hr wages for them will finally bring things back to par.

It shocks me to see how much I can buy in the states for so little money. I sent $700 dollars down there a few years back and ended up with 10 pairs of shoes, 20 pairs of pants, 25 shirts and t-shirts, 3 jackets (one was 250 so the rest only cost 500), 10 hats, plus socks and blah blah. That same list would cost me 10 times as much here in Canada.

Obviously I am exaggerating 25 cents bringing us back to par, but with the price of goods in the US I think you would still be living better than welfare recipients here in Canada.

reply to post by donlashway


This whole idea of (almost) legalized slavery in the US has bugged me for a long time. I've always wondered what they would do to you in the prisons if you simply refused to take them up on the oh so generous offer.

Do they use force on the inmates to get compliance? Do they just let accidents *wink wink* happen to inmates who refuse to work?

dbl post

Just wanted to add a comment or two seeing as I just spent three days at the county "spa"...

1. First off, a $50 "intake fee" that was put into effect in January of this year. This price had to paid before you could put money on your account to purchase overpriced merchandice and/or phone calls. If you walked into the prison with any cash, it was immediately seized and applied to these costs.

2. A $7/day room and board fee...
Considering the first day I spent in leg irons at the courthouse and was only given 5 slices of processed cheese, 4 slices white bread and a diminutive orange for over 24 hours...and other meals were not much more than bologna and coleslaw...take that times all of the inmates=profit.

What disturbs me is most of the people I was incarcerated with were in on failing pee tests (3 month sentence, $7/day remember?), drug possession charges, and other nonviolent crime...
So, yes. Your tax dollars are not wasted on simple inmates.

reply to post by donlashway


The US should designate one state a slave/prison territory and move factories there and work the prisioner slaves until they drop dead...or is that too extreme ?

the owlbear
Just wanted to add a comment or two seeing as I just spent three days at the county "spa"...

1. First off, a $50 "intake fee" that was put into effect in January of this year. This price had to paid before you could put money on your account to purchase overpriced merchandice and/or phone calls. If you walked into the prison with any cash, it was immediately seized and applied to these costs.

2. A $7/day room and board fee...
Considering the first day I spent in leg irons at the courthouse and was only given 5 slices of processed cheese, 4 slices white bread and a diminutive orange for over 24 hours...and other meals were not much more than bologna and coleslaw...take that times all of the inmates=profit.

What disturbs me is most of the people I was incarcerated with were in on failing pee tests (3 month sentence, $7/day remember?), drug possession charges, and other nonviolent crime...
So, yes. Your tax dollars are not wasted on simple inmates.

I never knew that prisoners got paid this little for their work program, but that is making so much sense, seeing as how much prisons is such big business in this country. I am not surprised that corporations are getting on this, cutting their expenditure on labor WAAAYYYY down. Actually, this is to be expected.

I'm not gonna lie, though. I was one of those people that had the thought that it is good to let crims work it off, no matter how little the pay. But examining prison statistics in this country, and the environment that some people are forced to live in, producing the most toxic people when they could have been good contributors in better circumstances, and the fact that plenty of crims did not hurt anybody but rival/opposing crims to put food on the table for a family, then yeah, this is messed up.

MALBOSIA
Considering how much the rest of us have to pay for the same goods the US gets, maybe $0.25/hr wages for them will finally bring things back to par.

It shocks me to see how much I can buy in the states for so little money. I sent $700 dollars down there a few years back and ended up with 10 pairs of shoes, 20 pairs of pants, 25 shirts and t-shirts, 3 jackets (one was 250 so the rest only cost 500), 10 hats, plus socks and blah blah. That same list would cost me 10 times as much here in Canada.

Obviously I am exaggerating 25 cents bringing us back to par, but with the price of goods in the US I think you would still be living better than welfare recipients here in Canada.

edit on 16-11-2013 by MALBOSIA because: forgot about shirts

There is reason why the stuff was so cheap. It's made in China and other countries where slave labor is allowed.

Kinda' puts a new light on the exploding prison population and bureaucratic foot dragging on illegal immigration now doesn't it?

Two groups of very cheap labor right here in the good ol' USA who have no voice.

I don't know. If I was sent to prison I would be glad to work. Free room and board and medical insurance sounds pretty good. I think they should give prisoners a little money when they leave prison if they worked their stay and also give them a good reference if their work was good. It is supposed to be a rehabilitation program...teaching prisoners to work is part of that. I've lived a while, I know how much it costs to live. and I have to cook my own meals.

I think that that is a generous wage myself...as long as it will pay for tobacco.

buster2010

MALBOSIA
Considering how much the rest of us have to pay for the same goods the US gets, maybe $0.25/hr wages for them will finally bring things back to par.

It shocks me to see how much I can buy in the states for so little money. I sent $700 dollars down there a few years back and ended up with 10 pairs of shoes, 20 pairs of pants, 25 shirts and t-shirts, 3 jackets (one was 250 so the rest only cost 500), 10 hats, plus socks and blah blah. That same list would cost me 10 times as much here in Canada.

Obviously I am exaggerating 25 cents bringing us back to par, but with the price of goods in the US I think you would still be living better than welfare recipients here in Canada.

edit on 16-11-2013 by MALBOSIA because: forgot about shirts

There is reason why the stuff was so cheap. It's made in China and other countries where slave labor is allowed.

The goods we have here are made in China too. We have less manufacturing
than the US, Im sure of it.

Our made in China goods seem to still be waaaaay cheaper in the states.

And the portions of food you get in the US for the price... no wonder Americans
complain about obesity.

Cost of liquore....

Cigarettes....

Way to cjeap to not end up unhealthy.

Bassago
reply to post by donlashway

 

This whole idea of (almost) legalized slavery in the US has bugged me for a long time. I've always wondered what they would do to you in the prisons if you simply refused to take them up on the oh so generous offer.

Do they use force on the inmates to get compliance? Do they just let accidents *wink wink* happen to inmates who refuse to work?

Well they don't actually use force as we know it, but when given a choice between getting from $3.00 to $18.00 per month and working for ridiculously low wages amounting to about $22.00 - $50.00 per month there isn't much choice at all. No accidents are necessary, but if an inmate doesn't comply they just harass them to the point that they wish "an accident happened".

rickymouse
I don't know. If I was sent to prison I would be glad to work. Free room and board and medical insurance sounds pretty good. I think they should give prisoners a little money when they leave prison if they worked their stay and also give them a good reference if their work was good. It is supposed to be a rehabilitation program...teaching prisoners to work is part of that. I've lived a while, I know how much it costs to live. and I have to cook my own meals.

I think that that is a generous wage myself...as long as it will pay for tobacco.

I don't know if I would make that same statement. My friend talks about the horrors of the medical staff(can you say Jekyll & Hyde or Frankenstein?). The dentist gives you a choice: Get your teeth pulled or suffer and since suffering is some kind of crime against the state you are left with getting them pulled. Rehabilitation is a joke in prison. It is all about people processing. If you don't have enough money to buy your way out then you are stuck. Oh and by the way they don't teach the prisoners any kind of meaningful work. They have open enrollment for things like re-spooling ribbon and tying bows, but for jobs that require skill you must already posses the skill! Cook your own meals! I'll bet that most prisoners would be happy to cook their own meals. At least they would be able to identify what it was.

rickymouse
I don't know. If I was sent to prison I would be glad to work. Free room and board and medical insurance sounds pretty good. I think they should give prisoners a little money when they leave prison if they worked their stay and also give them a good reference if their work was good. It is supposed to be a rehabilitation program...teaching prisoners to work is part of that. I've lived a while, I know how much it costs to live. and I have to cook my own meals.

I think that that is a generous wage myself...as long as it will pay for tobacco.

Nearly all prisons are tobacco free. If you were to get caught with contraband, it could extend your sentence.

...and if you would go back and read my post...you do NOT get free room and board or health care.

One of my problems is that I'm not quick to understand things that are obvious to other people. This thread is an example. In short, what is it, specifically, that's wrong here?

Do people believe that corporations are causing illegal arrests of people so the corporations can profit?

Is the belief that somebody is causing illegal arrests? Who?

Is it that re-spooling ribbons, tying bows, or hammering together furniture is cruel and unusual punishment?

Perhaps the problem is that prisoners aren't getting union wages?

I'm not saying everything is right. What I'm saying is that everybody is saying that it's wrong, and I'm trying to find out why it's wrong.

they should call it what it is.
Slave laborer.

the worst part is
it TAKES jobs from people who are Not slaves
or in jail or getting benefits for being out of work,
and being made to do some job they get benefits for.

they are destroying jobs and the economy.
stupid as they make more money
if people pay more tax

reply to post by charles1952


their has been posts on ATS
that talk about more people being put in jail.
and people getting kick backs for it.