How does this stand up to the recent investigations on major corporations utilizing prison labor? What about groups like Texas correctional industries? Private companies profit from the regular services provided by prisons from food, healthcare, telecommunications, security, programming and more. While I do agree that this “new slavery” theory does not get at the root of the impetus for mass incarceration - I believe it is a useful point of discussion to draw attention to the financial exploitation experienced by incarcerated people and their families.
You aren't going to like this answer, but I really think my first paragraph lays out the scope conditions for my arg quite clearly. Prison profiteering is bad and probably drives some perverse incentives but does not explain broad trends in incarcerated population (stock or flow) over time.
I used to work primarily on fines/fees so I feel strongly that they can be argued against in their own right. In fact they are "low hanging fruit" for CJ reform advocacy. Most people find them outrageous
How does this stand up to the recent investigations on major corporations utilizing prison labor? What about groups like Texas correctional industries? Private companies profit from the regular services provided by prisons from food, healthcare, telecommunications, security, programming and more. While I do agree that this “new slavery” theory does not get at the root of the impetus for mass incarceration - I believe it is a useful point of discussion to draw attention to the financial exploitation experienced by incarcerated people and their families.
Hey, thanks for reading!
You aren't going to like this answer, but I really think my first paragraph lays out the scope conditions for my arg quite clearly. Prison profiteering is bad and probably drives some perverse incentives but does not explain broad trends in incarcerated population (stock or flow) over time.
I used to work primarily on fines/fees so I feel strongly that they can be argued against in their own right. In fact they are "low hanging fruit" for CJ reform advocacy. Most people find them outrageous