Over the last few weeks prison strikes have been sweeping around the country, since many prisoners realize their lack of compensation for the work they do in prisons as well as what many consider to be the industrialization of prisons, in which the design of prisons, specifically those that are privately-owned, replicates some kind of industry. On top of this there is a complete lack of media coverage only furthering the strikes, as the strikers realize the lack of change that the strikes have caused thus far.
Nearly 20,000 prison inmates in over 10 different states have taken part in the prison strikes in the last three weeks, and they are protesting what they see as a modern manifestation of slavery. The prisoners believe that, although the use of their labor can fill their time, it is unjust given that they get minimal pay, which is usually from 12 to 14 cents an hour, and if the company that privately runs the prison had to pay for the same labor for non-prisoners, they would most likely pay more than just the minimum wage. The inmates have obviously been met with some opposition, but they have continued to protest and strike against their oppression.
The main cause of this slave-like treatment of prison inmates around the country is what is known as the Prison Industrial Complex. In this, private companies are able to exploit prisoners by not having to provide any benefits or insurance, while also being able to pay almost nothing for the prisoners labor and having no risk of the workers unionizing, which only lines the pockets of corporations while damaging many of the prisoners. Ultimately the Industrial Prison Complex, which mostly developed under Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, is just like any other unjust labor system that has been present throughout history, since it exploits already marginalized groups that are perceived as less than human by many. Thus it is an important social issue as well as an economic one.
Ultimately, the prison system should be de-privatized in order to prevent the exploitation of the prisoners, as the government provided some level of pay for their work. This specific case lends itself to a greater political idea, which is that the government is necessary to protect many groups of people from being exploited by others, and attempting to reduce the work of the government by increasing privatization only creates situations like the one that currently plagues America's prisons. The already grossly- overpopulated prisons shouldn't be a place of massive economic gain for the already advantaged at the price of higher incarceration rates, which only further reduces the conditions prisoners live in.
