Jul. 05, 2003 - 22:01 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

A Low Blow

I know, things are tough all over it is easy to see in our country and in our state.

There is an editorial in Saturday's Rocky Mountain News which discusses cuts.

Early in 2003 the Colorado Legislature cut the appropriation for inmates in prison. The inmates were making the princely sum of 85 cents a day for their labor. Now it is cut to 60 cents a day.

Bald statement of fact, that is. One of the things that some will fail to note is that out of an inmate's earnings a percentage is taken out for child support and victim's restitution, and some of the pay the inmate does get must be spent on stuff the prison requires them to have - hygienic stuff. What is sold in the prison canteen is the same price we pay on the outside for goods.

Just how much incentive is there for a prisoner to work for 60 cents a day ? He can sit in his cell and do nothing, until he is forced to do some kind of work or another by the prison administration, and of course he will be overjoyed to do that.

Most of the work the inmates do is something that outside help would have to be brought in to do -- and outside help's wages are a darn sight higher than 60 cents a day.

The paper says, "There's a strong, positive record of the benefits of prison work-for-pay, even in countries such as China and Russia." Then the editorial goes on, "Prison employment has been proven to relieve boredom, diminish violence and reduce recidivism."

The editorial continues, "In some instances, employment can enable prisoners to acquire marketable skills while learning individual responsibility and the value of productive labor." The article mentions, "That is a much more likely prospect for the 1500 inmates fortunate enough to work for the department's nationally recognized Juniper Valley Products, a multimillion dollar manufacturer of office equipment, leather goods and numerous other products. Juniper Valley workers also saw their wages cut to 60 cents a day, but they will continue to receive bonuses for meeting production goals," I think this will be a source of trouble now that the regular inmates cant' look for a bonus and their wages have been cut. No matter how one looks at it, the state makes money from prisoner's work.

Myself I'd rather work than sit idle, but if I was working and my wages were cut and the same amount of work expected of me guess I'd go on strike too. So what's lockdown ? I'd already be in the lockup, why not relax ?

Of course the legislature here only works part time, votes their own raises and most of them have vocations to pursue the rest of the year.

Just did the calculator bit. At 85 cents a day, working 365 days a year it would amount to $310.25, at 60 cents a day for 365 days a year it figures out to $219. Even at $310.25 that is miserable pay for a year's work.

Sure they get free room, meals and clothing of a kind. But that 85 cents won't even buy a darned comic book, or a bar of soap for that matter.

I wouldn't dream of thinking that a prisoner should make the same rate of pay as a citizen on the outside. There are many reasons that it should not be so. But cut to 60 cents a day ? That is a heck of A Low Blow . . . . . . . .

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