- Nov 2, 2009
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- Occupation
- independent thoughtist thinker, context linker
All contracts should require federal regional approval. All work sites should have to be inspected and approved by a federal regional authority.. the work sites should be subject to federal monitoring.. spot checks.. surprise inspections.. etc.. and the federal regional authority job should be an elected position with a fixed budget and funded completely by a tax on prison labor. The federal regulation needs to establish a Prison Labor Minimum wage that allows the prisoners to pay their fees and other legal obligations.. ie child-support/spousal/family support.. mortgage.. rent.. etc.. (It makes no sense to further destabilize the already unstable.)
These jobs should not be open to those convicted of violent crimes.. murder.. aggravated assault, rape, etc.. The money should not be placed on their books in order to avoid becoming apart of the prison economy. The inmates that participate must be segregated from the general population. And any inmate that participates in these programs needs to be given a guarantee that they will be hired for a term of up to 3 years maximum upon release from jail/prison to continue to work on these prison contracts.. and at market rates.
If they can work this jobs while in because they are prisoners.. they should not then be excluded from working these same jobs because they were prisoners.
Theoretically.. Society has a responsibility to fold them back into society.. ostracizing them just leads to more crimes against the public. Although we know the myriad of ways that our people are railroaded into the system, we have to remember that their lies about the fairness and honesty of the system is our greatest weapon against the true and brutal reality of the system.. We have to hold them to the lie of justice for all.. and use their own arrogance and self-righteousness to push them into decisions that benefit the victims of their brutality and blindness and incompetence.
I don't think the government should be competing against the private sector unless it's going to do something that private sector is not doing.. and hiring convicted felons is something they are not doing outside of Prison labor contracts.