Government turns to prisoners for cheap labor
The road to riches is paved with cheap labor. (See: China) And you don’t get much cheaper than prisoners.
A skilled onion picker can earn $10 an hour.
Recently, the state of Georgia announced a plan to use prisoners to harvest crops. Why? A new law pretty much ran off Hispanic field hands.
As federal employees celebrate Columbus, perhaps history’s most famous and geographically confused immigrant, the lack of onion pickers in Vidalia brings crocodile tears to the eyes.
The prisoner farm plan comes after a failed scheme to seduce probationers into doing the dirty work.
Now, a Georgia county is planning to use inmates to man fire stations.
A properly trained firefighter costs upwards of $30,000 a year. An inmate will work a lot cheaper – Camden County hopes to save $500,000 a year.
Of course, when my flaming roof is about to collapse, I’d prefer a guy to show up with an ax that knows how to use it for its law-abiding purpose.
Georgia isn’t the only place giving jobs to the undeserving: Indiana’s War Memorial saves $400,000 a year since using inmates ($1.50 per hour) instead of a landscaping company.
With a seemingly limitless number of criminals to employ, the jobless rate may not go down anytime soon.
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125 comments Add your comment
ooneal
October 10th, 2011
2:09 pm
Actually, we are behind the curve on this issue; In other parts of the country, prisoners are used for government services including FIGHT FIRES!!!!!!!!!! For instance, out west, prisoners are used with great success for volunteer firefighting, particularly FOREST FIRES, people; Many good reports have been made concerning prisoners that do these services
WOW
October 10th, 2011
2:09 pm
Inmates have been firefighters for years in Georgia. They are trained just like other firefighters and respond to fires in the community. A officer goes with them for security reasons and the Inmate firefighters work along side of the paid county firefighters. It’s worked for many many years in several rural communites in Georgia.
db
October 10th, 2011
2:10 pm
@ bill you are absolutely correct..that’s my point also..@ms. sassie, they get two meals on the weekends and holidays…..breakfast and dinner
KGray
October 10th, 2011
2:11 pm
Pat, why shouldn’t the FARMER’S sponosor the illegals and allow them to become citizens? Why not have this done and make them legal through sponsorship. Also, in order for the prisoner’s to become firefighter they will need a lot of costly training for becoming a firefighter. I doubt if the prisoners will be used a voulunteer workers, then again I guess some people thought SLAVERY was comprised of volunteer willing workers!
john
October 10th, 2011
2:15 pm
sounds like this is going to incentivize corrupt cops and judges to send more people to jail to feed their slave labor contracts.
Pat
October 10th, 2011
2:21 pm
KGray, the farmers could have sponsored them if they wanted to, the illegals also have a chance to seek a work visa also. It was a personal choice for both parties involved. I am just saying that the article says that the inmates will not be forced to do the work and also be paid for the work, so it is not slavery. Based on what D.Clay said, I highly doubt the Ga Government will force and not compensate these people because it breaks the law.
def
October 10th, 2011
2:27 pm
Why not put the welfare rats on this program so they can “earn” their monthly check?
Pat
October 10th, 2011
2:30 pm
def, that is another good plan but it looks like, by some of these comments, asking people to work in these types of jobs is slavery.
Civic duty or slavery ?
October 10th, 2011
2:30 pm
Wow ! When law abiding citizens give of their valuable time, without pay, to a church, school, non profit organization or civic organization it is called a civic duty. However, when a is asked to do the same it is called slavery !
Walleye
October 10th, 2011
2:33 pm
Wow. Russians used their prisoners to mine gold and harvest timber in Siberia without paying them.
Way to Georgia!