After reading a recent post, i was wondering what your thoughts are of prisoners working within the system. For little or no money, and why you feel the way you do.

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If you are compassionate in your approach to all tasks in life, believing that all "problems" contain valuable lessons, you will find peace of mind.
~Dr. Lee Jampolsky

Good question!

I feel it's good to work in prison, even if you get little to no money. The reason why I feel this way is that I think it's beneficiary to the inmates, in a way that it gives them work ethics, structure, going through the motions of being somewhere on time... It will be condusive for future jobs on the outside. I do feel that there should be some kind of compensation though, money and/or perks, so that the people who do work in prison will be better off than the people who choose to do something else with their time.

I think it is based on the inmate and the individual situation. Some inmates psychologically need to work and it becomes less about the money and more about feeling useful and having something to get up for and go to each day. Some simply can not stand being in a cell hour after hour and day after day.

Others dont want to work because they might have other skills and talents such as artists or tattoos. They can make on one tattoo what these poor guys with prison jobs will make in a year with the pathetic wages they get. Like my pal said when I asked about work in there, he refuses to work a 10 hour shift and be so tired he doesnt even want to spend the money anyway. To him, as an artist, his free time is worth far more than that to draw. I have to agree.

This is what I mean by it being completely based on the individual prisoner. If it was me in a female facility, I would work for nothing else to do and to keep my sanity. But I would never work for the prison if that makees sense.

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"Thats it then, they will go on double, secret, probation..."

I think it is a great idea that inmates wrok in prison. It keeps them occupied, and they can learn new skills.

I totally agree with you asha ,,,,took the words out of my mouth,, you already said it !

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I think this is one of those very broad questions that does not have single simple anaswer.

My Pal worked for a year in a lab learning the skill of manufacturing high quality optical lenses. She got a certificate of qualification. But she also now has the opportunity to be place in a job BEFORE she is released. We all know how difficult is for inmates to get decent paying jobs when they are released so this is important. They paid her 25 cents an hour. For her the outcomes are very good.

Now she works in the laundry for no pay. She doesn't like it...not because she gets no pay but because it is boring mindless work. She would much prefer being in school adding to her personal net worth for when she is released.

So each situation is different.

I have a problem with inmate labour providing services and making money for the prison system while there are people in the community who cannot get jobs. I have friend in federal prison who works at a 411 exchnage in the prison....these are jobs people on the outside can't get. She earns 23 cents an hour for a job that would pay at least minimum wage on the street. That is just wrong!

Just my thoughts

Tom

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An eye for an eye and soon the whole world is blind!

I agree,,, its about what type of job, what type of pay and what type of economic effect it has on the "community" especially the poor and dis-enfranchised. I am watching how they rebuild New Orleans very closely,,,,Now if its a job that will "teach" a skill that is valuable like plumbing,electrical ect I am for it,,but if it justs takes low end jobs away fromthe very people who will eventually live there again its a detriment because right now they are being even more discriminated against in the job market. You black, you a male and you from new orleans,,Nope! The only way they give you a job is in prison,yup! To make pennies in wages for a job that would normally be Union and pay $25-32 an hour with medical! And dont tell me they would turn down those types of jobs if they had the opportunity,,its the 5 dollar an hour job they dont want. Come on,,,there are 100,000(80% of the pop) black men in federal prison on only drug offenses serving very long terms who the tax payers are paying out the butts for,,,hence with about to be the economy cant afford this tough on minority crime stance it has taken so its been headed for collaspe ,,Its 5 houses on my "burb" block for sale and its been over 9 months,,,No sale,,,companies merging and sending jobs to India by the busloads,,,ok use Prison labor,,,we will pay them China wages,,,only problem is your paying US Corporate Management wages to house them-for life mind you! Ok I am rambling )
Crazee B

I keep hearing about American prisons ,, and the politics around it....what about prisons out of the US ????

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I dont even know how the prison employment situation is handled in other prisons outside of US peanut. If you know, please tell us. I only had one pp I was writing in Canada for a bit but have not heard from him now in over two months. I'm guessing he stopped because it was taking too long for letters to go back and forth, oh well.

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"Thats it then, they will go on double, secret, probation..."

Asha we have many here outside the US and curious about their prisons the iinside infor from their points of view economics and politics to the prison system they have, impact to their society as we talk about here.... I do not know but,sure want to find out.

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