Quote Originally Posted by IAN 2411 View Post
if the goods sold at the competitive price the Chinese throw at the west, it could be a useful to bring down the cost of keeping them.
Wouldn't it be better to place higher tariffs on imported goods? And even higher tariffs on domestic companies who ship their production overseas? Make it easier for companies to produce in country? But that's getting into economics, not prison reform.

It could be controlled by government and independent watch dogs, so that there is no exploitation of the system.
Oh, sure, that would work! Everyone knows government bureaucrats and "independents" appointed by them would NEVER exploit the system!

Sorry, but I don't trust politicians or the bureaucrats they appoint.

One thing which I have repeatedly heard from former prisoners is how important it was to them to do some kind of meaningful work. That's why I feel it should be held out as a privilege, not as a punishment. And there is plenty of work that can be done within the prison system itself, thus helping to reduce the costs of running the prisons. Plus there is outside work, in emergencies, which can be further incentive for inmates to try to reform themselves. Right now in the US Midwest there are dozens of communities trying to dig out from either tornadoes, floods or both. Those prisoners who have shown themselves to be trustworthy and working to better themselves can be used in those kinds of jobs, but as a reward, not a punishment.