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OPINION & EDITORIAL

Prisons waste valuable labor

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Also by Ben Patterson:

What would Jesus do with millions? (November 6, 2007)
University of Wisconsin System hinges on budget allocations (October 9, 2007)
Homeless need to find their bootstraps and pull up (September 25, 2007)
Bush veto puts spotlight on incompetent government (May 4, 2007)
UW to fund discrimination (April 20, 2007)

by Ben Patterson

Friday, February 16, 2007

Let's do a quick recap. The United States is in a losing war, with a president the majority of the world hates. We're losing business to overseas markets. Our prisons are overcrowded with millions of inmates, not to mention millions of victimless drug offenders. Immigrants are supposedly taking all of the United States' blue-collar jobs. Tax revenue seems to be spent on frivolous bureaucratic bull crap. All right, I'll stop there, but the list goes on. It's not so much that all of these things are happening to our country; we're always going to have problems. A bigger concern to me is that these political controversies come into the limelight and fade out the same way K-Fed did.

No one seems courageous enough to undergo scrutiny within politics to get anything done. Well, I've got an idea. We've got millions of people sitting in cells costing taxpayers money and not contributing to the country at all. Does it not seem like a great idea to get an ol' fashioned chain gang going again? No, not a real chain gang, but a system designed to have inmates do manual labor or factory work. I've committed no crimes that deem prison time necessary, but yet I have to work and support myself. Criminals, on the other hand, are societies' disgraced; yet they are not obligated even to provide for themselves? The worst of all people in the world are getting a free ride. They get to wear comfortable slippers, watch TV, eat free meals and sleep a lot. Everything I've always wanted. There is a rich source of resources within our nation's penitentiaries; it's time we tapped the source.

By instituting a mandatory work program for inmates, society would see many benefits immediately. To begin with, if we had a large, low-cost work force we could undercut our outsourcing competitors. The problem of cheap labor is eliminated, and leaves room for the United States to become a richer country with more white-collar jobs. Many will probably try to argue that by instituting this plan, people are going to lose jobs to inmates. This may be partially true, but the ability for the United States' workforce to form into less of a manual labor and factory-oriented entity would be a progressive step for an already deteriorating blue-collar atmosphere.

If inmates work, they are ultimately providing for themselves while still under government authority. The work they provide would pay for all of the expenses of housing inmates, building prisons and employing guards. Taxes could be reduced or the money saved could be devoted to other projects.

Finally, by training inmates in a trade or job, the state is giving them another form of rehabilitation. Being released from prison with knowledge of the work environment and its practices make it an easier transition for an inmate to adapt back to the real world.

For those inmates willing to work hard, rewards could be administered, such as better food or living conditions. The government needs to inspire rehabilitation and rejuvenation, not just administer punishment. Government needs to allow an inmate to make a conscious choice to be a better person and prove this desire. Those who work hard will benefit, maybe with a shorter prison term or just a new sense of what being a good person is.

We're wasting too many resources, and not just labor, but mental resources as well. Our prisons need to be an area of production and advancement, rather than a stale environment hell-bent on punishment and fear. We live in a country that believes in equality, so let's let our prisoners show that they are ready to be treated as equals again while the rest of the country can benefit.

Ben Patterson (bpatterson@wisc.edu) is a sophomore majoring in political science.

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Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 9:08am):

Did you do any research to see how many prisons actually have work programs?

Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 9:40am):

Actually a fine idea but the PC crowd will be screaming any minute.

Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 2:13pm):

Wow, you almost did research on this article.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_19_15/ai_54736555

You'd be surprised by how much prison labor is used in this country. I don't think you ever took the tour of your local prison in high school did you... because you'd see that they dont "wear comfortable slippers, watch TV, eat free meals and sleep a lot." They work for cheap (like they should) and get raped by Bubba.

But thanks for the try.

Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 2:48pm):

I agreed with your general sentiment too, until I looked at empiracal data. Based on current numbers from the federal government's prison labor organization, FPI (products marketed under UNICOR brand name), the savings generated by using inmate labor are only a tiny fraction of total correctional facility spending. The numbers have a long way to go before they reach your hypothesized level of correctional facilites being fully self-funded. This is not entirely surprising given: (1) increased security costs, (2) poorly trained inmate workforce, (3) production of low-margin products, and (4) distorted labor compensation incentives (for example, inmates face restrictions over what items/services they may purchase with any money earned).

Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 7:24pm):

I understand all of the points made on this message board, but I think you are all missing my point. I realize there are prison workforces, but their an exception. I'm advocating a work progam as a basic structure of our prison system. Currently, there are only a small percentage of inmates working. I understand there are flaws with this idea as well, just as there are with any. It was intended to be more of an ideological goal that could be potentially reached, not a program I see implemented during the current session in congress.

-Ben Patterson

Anonymous (February 16, 2007 @ 9:59pm):

Bring back the chain gangs!

Anonymous (February 18, 2007 @ 12:07pm):

Not missing your point Ben. However, you are definitely lacking on your research skills about this topic. The prison industry is just that - an industry. One of the main reasons it has become even more difficult for inmates to be released is because it costs the states money to release them. It's sort of like firing half your crew. When that happens production is down and corporations like Windex, Hanes, Hormel, etc. lose money because they can't sell their stuff to the general public. Most states have mandatory work programs for prisons because it is what pays the bills to keep these people incarcerated and fills the coffers for the prison INDUSTRY.

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