I always love the "teach them some marketable skills" argument. One has to make several assumptions for this to sound reasonable, or as Supe said in another context "not look too deep".

Let's start with the easy ones. Some folks in prison actually had marketable skills before they got there. I'm thinking "white collar" criminals and others that may have had decent jobs before screwing up their lives. Presumably, they will return to what they were doing, if legally able. If not, they can probably pick up the skills necessay to perform any level of work the prison system would train them to do, through some work rehabilitation program, in very short order. A "training program" that lasts the length of their sentance probably won't help them.

Next are the louts that will forever remain lazy, listless, and looking for an easy buck. Train them as much as you like; they will never be interested in holding a job anyway. They will never take advantage of any skills they may leave prison with. The skills we try to give them are very low level anyway, and if they were motivated in the least, they would have probably wound up working in one of those occupations anyway. They are just too lazy or stupid to do it anyway, and teaching them will not change that.

Last are the truly hardened criminals. Teaching them a skill is a joke; they don't want any more skills than what some of their fellow inmates can teach them. Why even try with these folks? Severe punishment is all they understand, and even the threat of that is no deterent once they get back out.

Work training programs in our prison system have a very low success rate. Very few inmates rehabilitate and assume a career in something they learned in prison. So why bother trying to teach them a marketable skill? Why encroach on private sector employment to do so? Give 'em the *****work that no one else will do. Even "make work" if need be, the nastier the better. Making big rocks into little rocks; that kind of thing. And not on a volunteer basis either; mandatory if they want to eat. Yeah, it would be great if they can perform some work that is beneficial to the community, but I think that should be a secondary objective. Punishing them is the first objective.

Prison labor, when entered into a competetive marketplace, does undercut private industry. There was an infamous to-do in California years ago where a bill was passed mandating all government building furniture be supplied by prison workshops and labor. The private sector was left out in the cold on some very lucrative contracts. Several furniture manufacturers got together, sued, and won. It was very much a case of "unfair labor practices", with "free" labor available to one of the contractors - the prison system.

As we see privatization of the prison industry creeping accross the country, I really don't want to see yet another "incentive" to keep the beds full. As I posted a few weeks back, the U.S. already leads the world in percentage of prison population - over 1% of us are in the slammer. It's turned into a big money business. Would sentences increase for relatively innocuous crimes, to feed this free labor pool? I don't know... but I am leary of the whole thing. As others have pointed out, some officials that control these kinds of "free labor" pools have already proven to be less than honest in their administration of them. Denied paroles? Minimum mandatory sentences? C'mon boys, the governor wants new office furniture next year!

So yeah, I say put 'em to work. Make it nasty and unappealing. Just don't let it compete with private industry, or turn into an economic and political tool that has the potential for abuse by prison and gubmint officials. There are plenty of big rocks out there...

WTF?!?!

From reading all your prior post I thought you were a little more informed than this.

Have you ever been locked up? I have, for 24 hours. I would have volunteered to work at the animal shelter in a heart beat.

Should have been a lot longer. You look good in pink.

I've also been shackled to a gurney for 10 hours, but I was wearing a nice purple and yellow floral pattern then...

BTW, this guy sound a bit like your cousin Chuck. ;)

with bike week starting this week here in carefree/cave creek.............


the number of drunks on the roads going from bar to bar to bar to bar(theres 27 bars or so last count) the efforts of MCSO to curb bedlam will be increased 10 fold.

the omar sheriffs use "K" band and "KA" bands and have fuzzy microphones extended about 3-4 feet above cars for decibel checks.

since i have to go in/out of town multiple times a day you get to know how much people including cops are creatures of habit as to their fave RADAR PARKING ZONES.

since living here since dinosaurs roamed...................THE LAST THING I WILL DO IS DRINK AT A BAR IN TOWN UNLESS I HAVE A RIDE........PERIOD! this place is literally a SHOOTING GALLERY FOR DRUNKS!

the number of bike fatalities in the next week across the valley is once again going to skyrocket. typical dumbass reasons........drunk/speed/no helmets. same-o same-o crap.

i in the mean time will snub my nose at the law in typical fashion and slam ungodly amounts of cerveza mas fina's, slam 16d nails into 2x4's, 7d's into T-111 siding, attempt straight rip cuts with my new magnezium skill 77 worm drive saw from hell, and generally bounce off saguaro cacti, find rattlesnakes,kill rattlesnakes violently, all in the name of reclaiming my outbuilding from the denisens of the dezert and rebuilding a 27 year old wooden building that the termites have had a field day with.

all the while having the presence of mind TO NOT DRIVE ANYWHERE!

friday afternoon hit lowes for nails/lumber and then safeway for munchies/beer and hideout until sunday afternoon when the "OUTBUILDING FIESTA CONCLUDES" and hopefully i have all 10 fingers still left on my hands and no 22-oz estwing framing hammer contusions anywhere on my body!

bike week along with horsey's for the upcoming cave creek fiesta days parade is about the STUPIDEST COMBINATION of activities ever thought of here! i have NEVER SEEN OR RIDDEN A HORSE THAT LIKES MOTORCYCLES! now thats what i call planning on the cities part. and throw in all the artsy/fartsy art gallery goofiness going on at the same time and you have a fine eclectic mix of LOUD motorcycles, skittish inbred horses, and 90 year old cottontops driving at 25mph UNDER the speed limit and you will understand why i hide out at my place for the entire weekend!

i will say this for the omar sheriffs office..............they do a fine job of keeping the hells angels and any other gang wearing colors down to a low rumble around here.

I bet they would get along great.

I bet Angels look good in pink, too.