Post by minx on Jan 24, 2024 10:05:40 GMT -5
I honestly didn't know this.
If you are in prison and lucky enough to get a job because you've behaved well, you make pennies on the dollar, and most of those pennies are put aside for fines or restitution costs (this I did know).
So you may be making 20 cents an hour and paying half of it for fines and restitution.
But if you get an outdoor job doing community work (think of litter pickup), you not only get paid more, but you get to keep more. So now you may be making 60 cents an hour, but you get to keep 40 cents to help with expenses and getting back on your feet.
And keep in mind that *everything* in prison costs money and you haven't seen inflation until you're locked up. Phone calls home are at least a dollar a minute. Getting a block of ramen that's a quarter in the store? Better expect to pay at least 75 cents.
Incarcerated inmates are asking for a pay raise - not a reduction in the 50% restitution rate, but to be paid what the folks doing the litter pickup are getting. I think it's reasonable. I'd also support them getting paid more with a higher amount being put towards fines. So instead of a dollar an hour, raise it to three an hour and take $2.25 for fines and restitution.
These guys should be behind bars, but they shouldn't be used for slave labor (and yes, there are laws on the books in a lot of states saying that inmates can be used at unpaid slave labor).
If you are in prison and lucky enough to get a job because you've behaved well, you make pennies on the dollar, and most of those pennies are put aside for fines or restitution costs (this I did know).
So you may be making 20 cents an hour and paying half of it for fines and restitution.
But if you get an outdoor job doing community work (think of litter pickup), you not only get paid more, but you get to keep more. So now you may be making 60 cents an hour, but you get to keep 40 cents to help with expenses and getting back on your feet.
And keep in mind that *everything* in prison costs money and you haven't seen inflation until you're locked up. Phone calls home are at least a dollar a minute. Getting a block of ramen that's a quarter in the store? Better expect to pay at least 75 cents.
Incarcerated inmates are asking for a pay raise - not a reduction in the 50% restitution rate, but to be paid what the folks doing the litter pickup are getting. I think it's reasonable. I'd also support them getting paid more with a higher amount being put towards fines. So instead of a dollar an hour, raise it to three an hour and take $2.25 for fines and restitution.
These guys should be behind bars, but they shouldn't be used for slave labor (and yes, there are laws on the books in a lot of states saying that inmates can be used at unpaid slave labor).
