America's prison labor system

[Mister Agenda]

Pay the inmates a decent and fair wage, with access to only a small % while incarcerated. This provides forced savings, with some money for them to start over when they get out. Part of the problem with this plan would be to find scrupulous leaders in the prison system to safeguard inmate savings. I'm not sure cutting them a big check upon release would work well either, but tweaking the details could make it work for most.....some......more than current solutions?

At least it sounds like an improvment over what Florida had when I was there in the eighties. Ex-cons had to pay the State back for the expense of keeping them. It was like someone sat down in a meeting and asked 'What can we do to make it more likely the people we release will commit more crimes?' I knew a guy, a decent carpenter, making fair bluecollar money for that area in that time, why he was dealing. He told me it was the only way he could pay the State's payback schedule for the time he put in for simple possession. He went from being a toker to a dealer because the State thought ex-cons don't have sufficient barriers to making a living when they get out. I hope there's been some reforms since then.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I told a sergeant at the Irving jail they're just going to have to sentence me to life in the Irving jail for a traffic ticket because I refused to pay $40 for my night in jail..

'Get the fuck out of here and don't come back..'  :-$