‘Free’ labor
State leaders have finally closed an egregious loophole that allowed near-criminal exploitation of taxpayer dollars in Ohio.
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With the passage of SB-5, public employers, not so-called “laborers,” will enjoy the opportunity to have the final say on how much money their employees take home. That policemen, firefighters, teachers and other public employees are allowed so much pay or job-related benefits to start with is baffling. Local government budgets were being sucked dry by professionals demanding a “living wage.” The middle class was effectively getting away with murder. But no more! The heady days of unlimited, no-cost public education and universal infrastructure are over.
And speaking of cutting down on free government rides, America’s prisons are woefully crowded — with an overpaid, government-subsidized workforce. About 2 million of these so-called “inmates,” mostly young minority men, are sucking the budgets dry with the sweet government payout of three square meals and housing, plus subsidized medical care. Corporations across the country have already helped ensure that these fellows collect a crisp fistful of dollar bills for a day’s work, and those same companies generously finance the prison’s operating costs. What possible need could the workers have for continued government payouts?
Let’s scale these time-doin’, stripes-wearing, cigarette-trading fat cats down to the bare minimum, say, minimum wage (and no more desserts). Then we will have the ideal solution for anyone worried about who will repair our roads, fight fires, teach our children and tend to public safety, while at the same time maintaining a balanced budget.
Replacing the current crop of public sector workers with the government’s fastest-growing labor force could be just the ticket to solving the budget crises facing our nation’s states. If they attempt to unionize, prison leaders have options to them state government officials would trade their golf outings for, such as solitary confinement, or retaliatory beatings.
As for the previous occupants of those high-paying public occupations, they may find themselves in a growing class of citizenry: the invisible poor. And if poverty and mental illness account for a large enough percentage of our nation’s prisoners, they could have their old jobs back before they know it.
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- Michelle Chen: State Budget Battles Converge on Prison Labor Force (huffingtonpost.com)
