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Working on databases from prison

(turso.tech)
849 points dvektor | 1 comments | 16 Jun 25 12:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.225s | source
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mlissner ◴[16 Jun 25 14:28 UTC] No.44289885[source]▶
Maine's remote work program is an incredibly promising development to prevent recidivism. The amazing thing about it is that it gives real jobs to prisoners that they can seamlessly continue after they get out of prison. Normally when you get out, it's impossible to get a job, and the clock is ticking. This leads to desperation, which leads to bad behavior.

There is a real risk of exploitation, but if it's properly managed, remote work for prisoners is one of the most hopeful things I've heard about the prison system. It gives people purpose while there and an avenue to success once they're out.

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dfxm12 ◴[16 Jun 25 14:52 UTC] No.44290150[source]▶
Do participants get paid a real wage?
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glommer ◴[16 Jun 25 14:57 UTC] No.44290225[source]▶
Preston was free to negotiate his pay with us, and we pay him a full salary. Just no health care benefits.
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dgacmu ◴[16 Jun 25 15:24 UTC] No.44290487[source]▶
Does he actually get the salary, or does the prison take huge overhead?
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glommer ◴[16 Jun 25 15:31 UTC] No.44290547[source]▶
they take an (actually very reasonable) cut, but he is free to take his salary.
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kgwxd ◴[16 Jun 25 15:37 UTC] No.44290606[source]▶
No cut is reasonable.
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hashstring ◴[16 Jun 25 15:53 UTC] No.44290761[source]▶
Why would it not be reasonable?
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hildolfr ◴[16 Jun 25 17:47 UTC] No.44291692[source]▶
Google feeds staff members and provides rest areas , why are they paid?
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borski ◴[16 Jun 25 18:54 UTC] No.44292371[source]▶
The government takes a cut then too, both from the employer and employer, in the form of taxes.
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kgwxd ◴[16 Jun 25 21:13 UTC] No.44293444[source]▶
Which should be paying for the prisons and the operations society approves of to reform inmates. Prisons should not be a businesses of any kind.
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1. hashstring ◴[16 Jun 25 21:47 UTC] No.44293704[source]▶
I agree that a prison should not be a business (aka a different model than the US-model). I also think that many prisoners are currently treated unfairly.

However, ideally, I don’t think that it makes sense for someone to go to prison, which costs tax money, and meanwhile earn the same amount of money by remote working from prison as someone in the outside world, who actually has living expenses to pay for (which get taxed also).

So, I think, when it comes to fairness, it wouldn’t be unreasonable if a partial cut goes to the TCOO of holding that prisoner.

Now again, American prisons have their whole incentive model messed up, so I don’t even want to get in an argument about America’s implementation of this system and how it would lead to more problems— because it’s well-known and more than expected.