The Prison Industrial Complex

Overview

“PIC” (PIC) refers to the stimulation of prison infrastructure growth and the prioritization of cheap incarcerated labor. Corporations like McDonalds, Walmart, Verizon, Fidelity, and American Airlines fund and benefit from the PIC (12 Major Corporations Benefiting from the Prison Industrial Complex). These large investments incentivize the expansion and use of prison labor, which results in higher incarceration rates, due to the benefits of the PIC for the government. To reiterate the incentives of using penal labor, the minimum wage of a Californian is $12. However, the minimum wage of an inmate is on average $0.251. Because private, for-profit prisons (the ones that make up the PIC) prefer low-care, young, and fit inmates, they tend to overrepresent young males of color (Why For-Profit Prisons House More Inmates Of Color). Also, corporations that benefit from the PIC are often not required to clarify that they use penal labor, making inmate “slavery” an almost total-gain no-loss situation.

Why Does the PIC Still Exist?

As noted in the previous paragraph, the PIC is encouraged by large corporations and investments. However, another driving factor is the DOJ’s continued support of mass incarceration. ”The Case For More Incarceration,” published on October 28, 1992, written by then and current Attorney General William Barr argues that there are no negative effects of continued and increased incarceration. However, there are worthwhile benefits of penal labor. Also, prison labor is explicitly allowed in the 13th amendment, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The key phrase here is, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,” which entails that any convicted criminal can be extorted and used for free or cheap labor. To give a view as to the extent that this has been used, 30-40% of California Firefighters are minimum-security conservation camp inmates.

How Do We Benefit From the PIC?

Not only do prison inmates make up around 22.5% of American Fire Response Units along with the Forest & Fire Protection Departments, they also help bring many of our daily conveniences. For example, chances are the clothes that you’re wearing right now were sewn, packaged or shipped by inmates. Cellular providers, including Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and Mint use towers made by penal labor. Even fast-food restaurants and convenience stores such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, Walmart, and Starbucks sell items manufactured, packaged, and cooked by prison inmates! Much of the military gear and law-enforcement equipment in use today was and still is made by prison laborers. Think back to the last time you called tech support. If you were calling an American company, chances are that you were talking to an inmate (Products Made By Prisoners - Clothing, Furniture, Electronics)!

Why Is the PIC Wrong?

One might argue that using convicted felons as low-cost laborers will reduce crime rates or help reform criminals. However, most of the labor done by inmates does not help them prepare for life after release. The Bureau of Prisons classifies 49 out of its 144 locations as “Federal Correctional Institutes (FCI).” They are called “correctional” institutes as their main aim is to rehabilitate prisoners. Unfortunately, these institutes tend to force inmates to work for pennies, if anything. A more efficient method would be to use “apprenticeship” programs. These programs provide the experience and credentials needed to find work and a stable financial future upon release. Apprenticeships consist of a hybrid between classroom and on-the-job learning. However, the current problem with these programs is the extremely low 80¢ wage.

Forms of Extortion

While hard labor and backbreaking wages are a large part of the industrial complex, much of the extortion of prisoners actually occurs in a more personal aspect. Family visits and phone calls are restricted or banned if a prisoner refuses to work. Other punishments result in prisoners being shot at, put in solitary confinement, or stolen from.

What Needs To Change

Penal labor should not be abused and extorted. When the 13th Amendment was written, it was stated that prisoners may be forced to work for low to no costs. However, this was included only so that certain correctional facilities could rehabilitate prisoners for a reasonable price. It was not put in so that the U.S could become the lead incarcerator in the world. Nor was it added so that the majority of inmates would be extorted and forced to labor away in prisons while the public unknowingly benefits from them. While certain programs like apprenticeships are a step forward in the right direction, it is my opinion that we are nowhere close to where we should be. A leader in free economies should not have the modern equivalent of slaves as a large source of labor.

Conclusion

The PIC needs to be abolished or severely reformed. Corporations, firefighters, and government savings depend on penal labor. This should not be the case in one of the leaders of the free world! New programs, reformation facilities, and blocking corporations from using inmate labor are just a few of the many steps we need to take. Slavery and indentured servitude may have been abolished long ago, but penal labor still lives on.