Indeed, much like the Southern states claimed after the Civil War, “states facing growing budget deficits are increasingly turning to inmate labor to produce additional revenue, or at a minimum, offset the cost of imprisonment.” “At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons.”
While amending the Constitution to fix a $2 billion a year compulsory labor industry is politically unlikely, Congress may take measures to ensure that rehabilitative compulsory labor is not uncompensated, like compelling the payment of a federal minimum wage. State legislatures also could apply minimum wage rules to prisoners.
Prisoners are often indigent upon release; allowing them to save money for their transition back to society seems only logical if the goal is the reduce recidivism. Paying prisoners fair wages allows them to afford housing and sustenance while transitioning back to being a productive member of society. Additionally, the availability of compulsory, cheap labor to private companies undercuts domestic industry itself.
America must change its practice of not compensating prisoners for their labor. While work has rehabilitative benefits, rehabilitation of the wards of the state should not convert them to the “slaves of the State.” Fair wages should follow compelled work.
Randal John Meyer is a legal associate in the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies.
Article Appeared @http://www.newsweek.com/slavery-still-legal-united-states-365547