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
Derwood
October 10th, 2011
12:57 pm
We have a fire truck that is manned by inmates and they do an excellent job. They do as told adn when fire is over they help other depts load hoses, etc.
These guys also appreciate opportunity to get out of cell for training and fire runs.
DawgDad
October 10th, 2011
12:57 pm
Maybe they could round up the “Occupy Atlanta” bunch, jail them for trespassing, and farm them out for a week or two of “social justice”? Just saying.
Real American
October 10th, 2011
1:00 pm
Rational Citizen, the AJC encourages as much ignorance as possible in their comment section.
Real American
October 10th, 2011
1:01 pm
DawgDad, and I’m sure you want them to round up the Tea Party protestors too right?
George Mathis
October 10th, 2011
1:01 pm
Someone else’s opinion isn’t “ignorance,” despite what you hear on talk radio.
Jack
October 10th, 2011
1:01 pm
Prisoners harvesting crops should have been happening a long time ago.
Choices
October 10th, 2011
1:02 pm
shameonhumanity needs to get off the “slippery slop”. No sympathy. It’t the perfect way to get something back for good money spent on bad people. If they don’t want to do it……obey the law no matter what your color.
Question everything
October 10th, 2011
1:03 pm
Using inmate labor for government buildings and lands make sense, repaying the amount of money it takes to feed abd house them. I do not agree with using them in the private sector because that is influencing competition. Who dictates what farmers gets how many inmates? If I’m friends with the warden do I get the 20 strongest guys, or if I slept with his sister I get no help from inmates and I’m forced to compete with the guy who’s not paying for labor? Question I think worth asking. Plus there are plenty of government/ state lands, parks, and buildings that could use the free labor.
art
October 10th, 2011
1:05 pm
Slavery returns to Georgia, some things never change.
Love it
October 10th, 2011
1:05 pm
Love the idea and they need to add one more thing …..have them sing Sam cooke’s Working on the chain Gang….Ooh, aah, ooh, aah Ooh, aah, ooh, aah (Well, don’t you know)
That’s the sound of the men Working on the chain gang That’s the sound of the men
Working on the chain gang All day long they’re singing Ooh, aah, ooh, aah Ooh, aah, ooh, aah…….