30% of California’s firefighters are incarcerated, and many make as little as $6 a day.

  • DeepSeaHexapus@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Frankly, I think you could make the argument that prison labor is more valuable based simply on the fact they can pay them less and get similar results. While also lining the pockets of the people running the prisons.

    My question is who pays the wages of the prisoners? The state? The Feds? I highly doubt the prison is paying them directly.

    • errer@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      This is rarely mentioned in discussions like this but volunteer work done by prisoners often results in sentence reductions. Honestly if I were in jail it feels win-win: get out of my cell for a bit and reduce my sentence? I can see why pay is less important for them

      • Seleni@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        True, but most volunteer work doesn’t involve them risking their lives. If they’re doing that, they deserve to get paid well too.