The Indentured Prison Worker

Colorado has a shortage of laborers since passing harsh illegal immigration laws, and to fix the problem the state has decided to use prison inmates to fill the void, according to the Concord Monitor. The prisoners will get paid 60 cents a day.

Now I do not want to make the comparison of a mostly black population working in fields for nearly nothing, but, luckily, I do not have to. “’If they can't get slaves from Mexico, they want them from the jails,’ said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, which favors restrictions on immigration.” This quote came from the same article in the Monitor.

The inmates may not be slaves; I would say this strategy reflects the indentured worker practice of the past. A worker who would want to come to America would have to work, nearly for free, for a specified number of years before receiving permission to live on his own. The Colorado inmates would have to work for a certain time-period, while incarcerated, making next to nothing, until they are sent free. Sound similar?

This type of laborer has not been used in the United States since the 1800s. Does Colorado really want to bring this back? After all, it is not like the rapists or killers will be the ones picking melons, instead it will be the casual drug user or low-level drug dealer who got caught. The idea would be fine if the inmate received a real wage for the work. I am sure Colorado can think of another idea besides turning to the shameful servitude system of the past.