←back to thread

In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs

(www.mainepublic.org)
245 points voxadam | 8 comments | 22 Sep 25 22:51 UTC | HN request time: 0.359s | source | bottom
Show context
rammer ◴[22 Sep 25 23:15 UTC] No.45340805[source]▶
For profit prisons are the worst, it should be a state responsibility not a for profit company.

Especially with all the race issues in imprisonment.

replies(2): >>45340852 #>>45340857 #
1. voxadam ◴[22 Sep 25 23:20 UTC] No.45340852[source]▶
All prisons in Maine are state or federally operated, none are private or operated for profit.
replies(1): >>45340894 #
2. citizenpaul ◴[22 Sep 25 23:26 UTC] No.45340894[source]▶
>Wages are garnished for child support, victim restitution and other fees. And for those who earn above a certain amount, 10% goes to the Department of Corrections for room and board.

So they take a cut of your pay. Totally not profit? They deserve it? Why not 20% why not 95%.

replies(3): >>45340969 #>>45340981 #>>45340997 #
3. ◴[22 Sep 25 23:36 UTC] No.45340969[source]▶
4. ◴[22 Sep 25 23:37 UTC] No.45340981[source]▶
5. nickff ◴[22 Sep 25 23:38 UTC] No.45340997[source]▶
This criticism 'proves too much', as the same critique can be made of taxes, which doesn't seem like your intent, unless you believe that prisoners are just the 'tip of the iceberg' when it comes to state-slavery.
replies(1): >>45341039 #
6. citizenpaul ◴[22 Sep 25 23:44 UTC] No.45341039{3}[source]▶
This is not rehabilitation. Its a politics long con to get free state money. Anytime someone has no rights and is getting money it goes to their captors. There is no exception. This guy in the link should be on probation at the very least.

Also this headline is yellow AF. "Prisoners are thriving" oh yeah? "THRIVING" In f-ing prison? I bet if you asked them 100% would rather not be doing their full time job in prison. I'd stake my life on it in fact.

replies(2): >>45341256 #>>45341726 #
7. daedrdev ◴[23 Sep 25 00:07 UTC] No.45341256{4}[source]▶
The choice is make 90% of their pay only if they make a lot, setting up a career that might be doomed to a life of crime, or do nothing all day in a cell.

They also have to volunteer, what are you even saying

8. johnnyanmac ◴[23 Sep 25 01:14 UTC] No.45341726{4}[source]▶
>This is not rehabilitation. Its a politics long con to get free state money.

1) it can be both

2) I don't see the economic value here. If a prisoner software engineer can make 80k and can instead make 200k if they weren't in prison, what would make the state more? the garnished wages on a prisoner that need to partially go into maintaining the prison, or the taxes on the free person who's paying their own bills? (this isn't rhetorical, I think it's closer than what first blush tells us).

> "Prisoners are thriving" oh yeah? "THRIVING" In f-ing prison?]

Given the context of the article, I take "thriving" as in "being rehabilitated". Which should be the goal of the justice system, but it's been clear that is almost never is the result.

If there's anyone wrongfully imprisoned or otherwise having the book thrown at them, that's a different matter.