Stop Recycling Prisoners Of the 3000 students currently attending Highland, 30 are predicted to wind up behind bars. One in every one hundred Americans are estimated to be convicted at some point in their lives. Of the millions currently incarcerated, a majority are recidivists, returning to prison for their second, third, maybe even fourth time. Maybe this is why the United States has, by far, the largest prison system globally. With these prisoners consuming so many resources, the government needs to implement programs for prisoner education and cooperatives to alleviate strain on the budget of the government and, in turn, the wallets of the taxpayers. There are approximately 9 million prisoners globally, of which the
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Uggen found a correlation between job satisfaction and up to 11 percent of a decrease in criminal activity (Mastuyama, Prell). Ex-prisoners, if not holding a job that properly supports themselves and their families, become desperate and turn to less than legal ways to supplement their income (Hall 11). Theft, trafficking, or drug dealing could all become viable options when these men and women become desperate to support themselves. Therefore, concern shifts to finding ways of helping prisoners find and keep good …show more content…
These systems give prisoners jobs during their sentence to help them gain experience and skills needed to find a career upon release (Angola for Life). Like a trade school, these cooperatives work to teach the prisoners, as well as help the prisoners earn some money, be it a few cents per hour for harvesting cotton, or major income from an original painting (Angola for Life; Moriarty). Italian cooperatives are a good model to follow in order to form American ones. In Italy there is widespread support for cooperatives by government incentives such as tax cuts as well as requirements for employers to include a percentage of cooperative participants (Moriarty). We already have some cooperatives in the United States. The problem again lies mainly in funding. Cooperatives do not earn enough money to be self sufficient, and need constant support from an outside source, namely the government (Moriarty) Obvious solutions would be along the lines of reevaluating the budget, but less direct ones would follow the likes of Louisiana State penitentiary; minimizing pay and keeping work within the walls of the prison (Angola for
Uggen found a correlation between job satisfaction and up to 11 percent of a decrease in criminal activity (Mastuyama, Prell). Ex-prisoners, if not holding a job that properly supports themselves and their families, become desperate and turn to less than legal ways to supplement their income (Hall 11). Theft, trafficking, or drug dealing could all become viable options when these men and women become desperate to support themselves. Therefore, concern shifts to finding ways of helping prisoners find and keep good …show more content…
These systems give prisoners jobs during their sentence to help them gain experience and skills needed to find a career upon release (Angola for Life). Like a trade school, these cooperatives work to teach the prisoners, as well as help the prisoners earn some money, be it a few cents per hour for harvesting cotton, or major income from an original painting (Angola for Life; Moriarty). Italian cooperatives are a good model to follow in order to form American ones. In Italy there is widespread support for cooperatives by government incentives such as tax cuts as well as requirements for employers to include a percentage of cooperative participants (Moriarty). We already have some cooperatives in the United States. The problem again lies mainly in funding. Cooperatives do not earn enough money to be self sufficient, and need constant support from an outside source, namely the government (Moriarty) Obvious solutions would be along the lines of reevaluating the budget, but less direct ones would follow the likes of Louisiana State penitentiary; minimizing pay and keeping work within the walls of the prison (Angola for