American Prisoner Exploitation

Not only do we have the largest percentage of the American population incarcerated but there is also a booming manufacturing industry that is growing around this prison industrial complex. This prison industry employs nearly 3/4 of a million people out of the a prisoner population of 2 million people which is "more than any Fortune 500 corporation, other than General Motors."

Prisoners manufacture goods "everything from blue jeans, to auto parts, to electronics and furniture" at dirt cheap wages since they are produced for exports (domestic goods produced by prisoners have to be paid "prevailing wages"). One such blatant example of how prisoners are being exploited for cheap labor is when Honda paid prisoner inmates $2 an hour to do the same job an autoworker would get paid $20-$30 to do.

Many of these prisoners involved in this work are serving non-violent crimes. In America in general, among our prisoner population, 76% of those incarcerated are in for non-violent crimes.

Unfortunately this industry will be expanding becoming "one of America's most important growth industries." It will help support the prisoner system which is expected to "double in the next 10 years" because of our war on drugs and tough mandatory sentencing. At the same time, our prisons have become overcrowded and neglected . Thus the industry is being used to pay for our reckless, racially biased criminal justice policies and our high-levels of incarceration which in themselves don't reduce crime rates in this country.

Interestingly enough though, many prisoners enjoy the work. Tony Matos an inmate says "When we step through the gates and into the shop, it's another world. This is a company. This isn't prison. Guards still keep watch, the capitalists still profit -- the critics and supporters still debate. But in the end, I get a skill, a few coins and a ray of hope and dignity." Though its important to keep prisoners busy, corporations should pay them atleast minimum wage if not a living wage considering they get alot out of this form of labor. This is just another way corporations undermine working people in this country by turning to dirt cheap prison labor. Not only does this undermine working people in this country but it also seems like more of an incentive for companies to push various levels of government for "tougher" criminal sentencing laws to expand that pool.