While Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s attack on public employees unions has been bad for public employees, there’s one key group that Walker’s attack on public employees unions has been really good for: inmates.
While Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) law dismantling collective bargaining rights has harmed teachers, nurses, and other civil servants, it’s helping a different group in Wisconsinites — inmates. Prisoners are now taking up jobs that used to be held by unionized workers in some parts of the state.
Racine County has already begun letting inmates onto the streets of Racine County to do landscaping, painting, and another basic maintenance around the county that was previously done by county workers.
Republican Governor Scott Walker: standing up for the working rights of inmates across Wisconsin!
once again, people of thought and good will are caught in a difficult bind:
our country imprisons more citizens then any other western nation and a very large percentage are non-violent offenders;
prisons are terrible places without appropriate funding to develop or sustain educational, rehabilitation and work training programs;
shortsided “budget” policies are privatizing prisons to companies with Blackwater-like ethics and practices; and,
torture occurs in American prisons.
Work projects outside the prison wall could be one element of meaningful prison reform.
BUT we all know this is not what Walker is doing! Good intentions and sincere community problem solving are not his style.
I was one of those workers for awhile . One worker for every three supervisors drinking coffee and watching.Thanks Scott for helping me stay in the middle class despite Obama and his insane policies
And now I bet you’re one of the “job creators” stuffing money in a Swiss bank.
Would it be possible for a “liberal” to lament the loss of those Public sector jobs, perhaps project out the effect of those dollars they are not spending and that sort of thing, certainly reduced services, closed pools etc are something we will all feel…without !!! that completely anti-rehabilitation, anti-humane lock-up-and-throw-away-the key attitude?
There’s a lotta people in for drugs, meth etc. Getting out and doing landscaping may not amount to a hill of crap for one guy, and might mean a REAL lot in the life of another.
In a just and rational society, we would need to have people who are capable of an honest look at a system like this, all the details and policies, getting real feedback from all persona involved in the program – Inmates, their “handlers”, community people and just average citizens. But no, all things, ideas, and people must be chewed up by the voracious and mindless partisan machine.
Yes, some inmates will be the “hopeless case” type, some will be scary scary people. Many will not be, especially now. Many will be kids from bad homes who never had a chance and then got their brains owned at a young age by some stupid chemical. O course by the time you make it to prison, you’re not just an angel with t a dirty face anymore. No one is more manipulative than an addict or a “kid” who has learned to survive by whatever means. It would take mature, grounded people to sort through all of this.
But this Scott Walker Has Put Human Garbage On The Streets meme is worthy of any Randian hardliner or for god’s sake….Nazi. The Filthy Jews are taking our jobs! The Dirty Mexicans are taking our jobs! The Inmate Scum are taking our jobs!
And I can hardly wait now till some headmaster in the echo chamber puts out the Word that “liberals” are going to parrot on about the unfair Lock ’em up society and the inhumanity of our large warehouse prisons. And the large numbers of people who need rehab not prison. So then we can all Me Too! run after that and feel all humane. Cuz we are Lib’ruls and are the Compassionate and mature ones.
Yeeha.
A partisan society is a non-functional, deluded society that evaluates ALL reality in terms of what damage it can do to the other side. just like in the most destructive divorce. No societal problems ever get solved or looked at in a mature way. Who will be able to judge how how schools should be run? what is the best balance between society at large and the prison population? There is no one. Our highest courts have rendered themselves useless, if MLK were a young preacher today no one (yes I mean this) would listen to him because he does not fling partisan mud.
and as a final lol, there were a bunch of angry white dudes back in the day when Affirmative Action brought in a bunch of “inferiors” to do “their” jobs. What’s progress? What’s unfair? Whatever the answers to those issues are, they will NEVER be found with this partisan mind-set. So, I hope the inmates enjoy the fresh air while they can, before the next knee-jerk partisan policy change that has NOTHING to do with rehabilitation and human rights slams their asses back where they “belong”.
Breathe deep fellas.
Annie….I’m not “anti-rehabilition,” but I do take issue with the use of inmates to help bust public employee unions.
As long as the inmates that being let out are the ones who have done victimless crimes such as prostitution or being caught with drugs, I don’t see so much of a problem with this. I have my complaints with Walker and Republicans, but this isn’t one of them. Ones with a history of pedophilia, rape, or violence should not be allowed.
I suppose what gets me about it more though — is the former prison inmates are being paid a lot less than the prison guards who had already a unbelievably harsh job.
Too funny Zach. That is a comically inaccurate headline. By the way, where did you stand on Doyle’s early release program?
Read for yourself HERE and HERE.