Every so often I like write a blog article about the prison industrial complex. I have taken to calling what I wish to talk about Con-Sourcing, though in the past I also called it insourcing. People are very aware of outsourcing jobs overseas, often to a sweatshop. Yet there was some wizardry that occurred when the 13th Amendment passed. Many people know it ended slavery, though it didn't. Really all that happened is they found a way to hide it from the public eye.
The 13th Amendment clearly states that slavery is illegal EXCEPT when used as punishment for a crime. Should it be any wonder that we have so many crimes that have no actual victims but have long prison sentences? We mentally have the image of prisoners breaking rocks with hammers and picks, or manufacturing license plates. This long ago ceased to be the case. They increasingly add more and more products and services that they can provide. The prisoners that do this labor typically earn less than $1 per hour. It can be very low in some cases. There have already been jobs in our society that have mostly ceased to exist, due to people being unable to compete with the slave labor of the prisons.
We talk about out sourcing, we make a big deal about it, and we even have "Made in America" movements. These days when I hear someone say "Buy American", or "Give us our jobs back" in this country that sends some concerns. People are so oblivious to the slave labor aspect of prisons that they really do not consider those sentences in that context. If you buy products manufactured by prisoners then you technically are still buying American. If you are arrested for some stupid crime that has no actual victim, you could end up with a long prison sentence. You'll likely get a job as a slave in the prison industrial complex. Furthermore, it is not unusual for crimes that had no victim to get longer prison terms than some violent crimes. Is this because the people who in reality didn't hurt anyone make better and more docile slaves?
I post something about this every so often as it is something I want more and more people to become aware of. The United States (also known as "The Land of the Free") has the largest prison population on the planet.
Here are some articles I've written about this in the past:
Stop sending our jobs over seas... OKAY WE'LL STOP... How about the Prison Industrial Complex?[9]
Excuses... How easily we accept them, and how casually we toss them about...[8]
Source: giphy.com
Penalties for businesses that outsource jobs... smokescreen for another problem...[3]
Forever damned, locked in place, inside static molds...[2]
Other steemit.com members have written some good articles on the subject as well
@andrarchy:
SLAVERY Funds WAR (Prison Labor Still Exists)[9]
@dana-edwards:
Ending Prison Slavery: Prisoners organize to protest involuntary servitude[8]
@slowloris:
Modern Slavery and the War on Drugs[10]
@jeffreyahann:
Largest prison strike in U.S. history, against state sponsered slavery, has entered its second week[8]
"WE DON'T HAVE LABOR CAMPS IN THE US!" says the news reporter talking to Rodman about North Korea. :3
I have to admit though I was completely unaware of the points you touch. I always thought your high prison number stem from misguided laws and were so to say an 'accident'. But them being used for cheap labor makes a lot of sense. Guess the war on drugs was not only to demolish the hemp industry.
In Germany it is different! I heard people can get educated in crafting jobs and can get a non-college degree, that helps a lot when they are released... But a small google search revealed that it is the same problem here in Germany:
Billiglöhner hinter Gittern = cheap workers behind bars.
http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/arbeiten-im-gefaengnis-billigloehner-hinter-gittern-a-1143147.html
My older articles I linked have examples including links to their actual catalogs (at only a few places) so you can see some to the types of products and services they provide.
"WE DON'T HAVE LABOR CAMPS IN THE US!" says the news reporter talking to Rodman about North Korea. :3"
There's truly no comparison, though, between U.S . prison labor conditions and North Korean labor camps. I've read many accounts of former prisoners, including a book by one called "Eyes of the Tailless Animals."
It sometimes left me in a daze of horror at the brutality, which at least equaled the Nazis. It very much reminded me of the Holocaust, and that's the overwhelming conclusion of people who research it. From the UN, where North Korea should be brought to the International Criminal Court:
"the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world".
"unspeakable atrocities" which amounted to "crimes against humanity".
And this from the UN leader in charge of investigating North Korea's atrocities:
"Mr Kirby said that the descriptions he heard reminded him of Holocaust abuses.
"He said: "I never thought that in my professional life, my life as a judge or as an officer of the United Nations, I would sit there and hear descriptions that were so similar to the descriptions of what went on in those places.
"I thought we had said as a world community, 'never again'.
"I thought that was what the charter of the United Nations was about. I thought that was why in the charter it speaks of international peace and security and the protection of universal human rights together."
Whenever I think of those North Korean camps, I think that right now, under the same sky of this planet that I'm looking up at, there are people being constantly and most cruelly tortured in dozens and dozens of horrific ways.
http://news.sky.com/story/north-korean-defectors-harrowing-stories-10407270
https://www.amazon.com/Eyes-Tailless-Animals-Prison-Memoirs/dp/0882643355
still that doesn't undermine anything i said. A labor camp is the same as a prison where people are forced to work. Sure labor camp has the connotation of torture and death. But it's like saying a car is not a car anymore, just because it is always breaking down and pretty much a death trap on four wheels. It is still a car. Everything else would be a from of euphemism (dysphemism to be precise).
Of course I dont want other people to suffer, but there are countless atrocities committed all over the world. cough Guantanamo Bay cough
I dont trust the defectors stories. Remember the girl speaking in front of the UN about the atrocities in Iraq that led to the 1st Iraq war. Her statement was an act, but she still convinces me to this day , when I watch the video.
I will post an article about Rodmans visit to NK in about 10 minutes if you are interested ;)
This really took off when they privatized much of the prison system... Detainment (slavery) became big business. You can't make money off empty jail cells!!!
Privatized AND Subsidized.... also government gave exclusivity deals with the prisons... which is how monopolies and corruption happen.
Many governments mandate that a large portion of their goods must be purchased from the prison industry.
I dont quite understand. What goods do you mean? And who is mandated to purchase them?
Ah... the Chinese model! I also heard that in many metropolitan areas the cops get kickbacks to help keep the prisons full!
I wouldn't be surprised. Judges too.
There was a juvenile judge in Pennsylvania that got busted for it. He was handing out huge sentences for ridiculous crimes like shoplifting or curfew violations, playing hookey and stuff like that... turns out he was getting kickbacks from for-profit juvenile facilities.
Cronycapitalism! Reminds me of the book written by Max Barry in 2003 titled Jennifer Government
https://maxbarry.com/jennifergovernment/
My entire life has been one brush off after another for pointing out this fact of the 13th amendment. You cannot say you've abolished slavery if there is an 'except' on the table, you've only restricted slavery to a class that is perceived as less than and often subhuman.
We show the world who we are by the physical slavery we practice in for-profit prisons and the debt slavery we practice as economy.
Cant you see? Prisons are not labor (slave) camps! Else they would have the same name, duh.
Let me explain you the difference: A prison is run by good guys, a labor camp is run by evil guys.
It's so easy to understand, how can people not get that simple fact?
Combine this with victimless crimes and it is SLAVERY that they are trying to pretend is not slavery.
Suddenly it makes much more sense how we still have a war on drugs, eh?
Another great post dwinblood
meep
Very interesting take on this subject. Never thought of it before.
Yeah, it is something I saw happening but didn't realize the ramifications of until the last decade or so. I actually witnessed some of this industry growing in the mid-90s as inmates would come pick up stuff from a furniture company I worked for (CPSI). I hadn't really realized what I was actually seeing until recently though.
Most, like better than 80% of the people in prison, committed no crime (harmed another human) and have never been to trial.
And most americans believe they are in prison for a reason, because they are bad guys and are getting rehabilitated. But they are not. Most need real help. But here in The USSA we fob our responsibility to humanity off on the govern-cement. Which does less than nothing to aid the poor and get them into stable positions in our society. We, as a community, need to stop this travesty.
But, this is what happens when you use violence to get what you want. It always gets you the opposite. And thus, The USSA steals money from everyone and then spends that money to make the problems worse.
Great article. Something to be aware of for all US citizens, as chances are with the overwhelming number of laws here, you are more than likely "unwittingly" breaking some every day. UV'd and following
This is true... there are some truly crazy laws out there, and more all of the time.
Interesting theory! Thank you for work !
The older articles I wrote offer a lot more details including some links to some catalogs of products and services.
I actually worked for a corporation that provided goods to inmates to assemble in 1994-1996. I hadn't really realized what the implications of that were until many years after I was no longer working there.
Great post, the system is really messed, sometimes its about who you know and how much money you have. It sucks but it true.
I have no issues in seeing life sentenced prisoners working for pennies in jail!!
You should check out their catalogs. I doubt you realize how many businesses they can effectively put out of business for people that are NOT in prison.
People worry about robots taking their jobs, etc.
I also think many people still view them as breaking rocks and license plates. It has gone behind that to making tons of food, dominating large parts of the furniture industry, catering, making web pages, etc.
The older posts I linked have some links to catalogs and more specifics.
Hmm, maybe that's the case in US, but here in India, it is seen as a training programme, so they have necessary skills to make a decent and honest living when they get released from the prison. It's called the rehabitalation programme. Between what do you think would be a good use of these prisoners? We can't obviously feed them for free. Personally I think, instead of testing drugs on poor people or people of third world countries, better test on these prisoners, to make their life worthwhile for others.
Please see just a discussion, not any critique of your work. Your points are also valid
Well I believed the same thing you stated about India is true for Germany. They can even get a (non-college) degree in our prisons. The truth is tho that they are forced to work for 9% of the normal wage, this is actually a law of our constitution that I was not aware of until I googled 2 hours ago. Also our private manufacturers feel a lot of pressure from the cheap labor out of prison.
Ya here also they are allowed to study and get college degrees. Some of them end up getting real good jobs after coming out of the prisons.
I do not think the working and learning of the convicts is the problem. It is rather the infrastructure around it. You could easily prevent the pressure on the free market, by in example putting an extra tax on prison produced products or make a law that companies are only allowed to produce max 10% of their goods in prison.
Hmm, I guess conditions are very different here and in West. Here we tend to increase their production more and more, and people also support products made by prisoners in order to encourage them. And the big fact is that most of the prisoners are only for some months. Out of them many are involved in the regular jail tasks only, like cooking, cleaning, serving etc. And the rest work in the factories. So not much impact on the outside labor force.
In the US once you are released from prison you have a permanent black mark. It can be very difficult to get work. In fact some people end up committing crimes to intentionally get thrown back into prison as they can no longer survive very well in society.
Hmm, well yes black mark remains. After all being in jail is not an achievement to celebrate (except for politicians)!!! ;)
It is also not just life sentenced. It can be people that were caught with marijuana (maybe several times) though not necessarily selling it. They can often end up in prison for a decade or more. They are in prison for choosing to put something the government has deemed illegal in their body, though they didn't actually harm anyone.
They make up a large portion of the prison population.
Here's a thought: If you don't want to be an exploited con, don't rob the bank.
Did you read anything I wrote?
The vast majority of criminals in our prison system are there for victimless crimes. That means they did not rob a bank, in fact they didn't hurt anyone. In fact, a lot of them are in there due to putting substances in their own body and being hit with the three strikes rule.
If the people in prison were there due to harming others or property belonging to others then your points might be valid.
However, this practice also greatly impacts people OUTSIDE of prison that have committed no crime as they cannot compete with the slave labor of the prisons. So it also hurts people that are not even criminals.
When it was pounding rocks and hard labor those were jobs people don't want. Yet had you read what I wrote you'd see that this has not been the case for some time now and it is getting worse. Do you for example make web pages? Well so do inmates, and their cost might undercut yours. Not to mention government agencies are often mandated they must get a pretty high percentage (the document I am thinking of I saw last year said 60%) of their goods and services IF AVAILABLE from the prison industry.
Some of the older posts I link share links to numerous catalogs that show what you can buy from some places in terms of services and products. I likely only did Colorado and California, though I may have also hit upon Texas. These programs exist in every state within the U.S.
Many of the so-called "victimless" criminals weren't - they pleaded down from far more serious crimes. Why should these folks just sit around watching tv?
DO NOT FORGET THE SLAVERY YOU LIVE IN: DEBT SLAVERY. 100% the same thing. You are forced to work, to pay your way in a world you are entitled to a piece of (a fair piece). To advocate for this freedom ignores the greater and easier to solve freedom... Your own. Once you free yourself, you can consider freeing others... You are all slaves to an idea. An idea where people can tell you your future, and steal your wealth and your dreams. We all live in this world.. The TRUTH will set you free. SEEK THE TRUTH. YOU ARE A SLAVE AND WERE BORN ONE.