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Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

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Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#191

Post by hwoolery »

RBBronson123 wrote: post #122
hwoolery wrote: post #19

I love the idea, and I really want your company to succeed. I don't really consider myself very easily offended or PC, but I thought it seemed a little stereotypical that the first two images in the hero were black people. I think that should be changed as quickly as possible if you don't want to get any backlash. My two cents : )

I appreciate this observation, but our prisons are predominately filled with people of color.

Really? From what I understand, the number of black inmates in prison is roughly equal to the number of white inmates (about 40%/40%). There is a large disparity in terms of the incarceration rate of people of color, but your above statement is not true.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#192

Post by banned1 »

RBBronson123 wrote: post #122
hwoolery wrote: post #19

I love the idea, and I really want your company to succeed. I don't really consider myself very easily offended or PC, but I thought it seemed a little stereotypical that the first two images in the hero were black people. I think that should be changed as quickly as possible if you don't want to get any backlash. My two cents : )

I appreciate this observation, but our prisons are predominately filled with people of color.

hmmm, is this correct? It seems the real proportion is 39/40/19 among Whites/Blacks/Hispanics.

https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/rates.html

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#193

Post by pm90 »

triangleman wrote: post #142

In a past job I was responsible for hiring a few warehouse workers, and in one case I was actually relieved to find that the applicant was on probation for a drug charge, and was required to submit to weekly urine tests. Basically the state was paying to guarantee that this worker was staying clean, and so I was pretty confident about hiring him. I wonder if other employers would be interested in that kind of info as…

Great point. I think the problem is that employers often use boilerplate conditions, and requirements are more stringent than the job would require.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#194

Post by TallGuyShort »

always_learning wrote: post #71

Minor things like small drug offences etc. fine but major crimes? No.

So are you of the opinion that people who commit major crimes should just be unemployed for life, and no effort should be made to cater to their job search? You don't realize that's a recipe for virtually guaranteed repeat offenders?

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#195

Post by adnam »

bovermyer wrote: post #163
adnam wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's always so exciting to have my knowledge of Psychology called into question by a "DevOps engineer" in Minneapolis.

See! You can read! Go find that library.

Heh, you changed it to "Digital Manager of Operations ". Much classier ;-)

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#196

Post by jjnoakes »

aero142 wrote: post #174
jjnoakes wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that true? I don't know much about macroeconomics but it seems to me that even though these folks aren't earning at their full potential, the jobs are being done by someone. In other words, if these folks were earning more, someone else wouldn't be doing that job, so the overall earning that the set number of jobs would support wouldn't change one way or the other from the tax revenue point of view. (Not advocatin…

This is fixed pie thinking and it's not a good way to look at the economy and jobs. If this large block of people were earning more, they would be spending more. That means more restaurant jobs, home builders, baby sitters, etc. It's not a perfect one to one that jobs will increase with spending, but it's closer to that than the fixed number of jobs view you are putting out.

> If this large block of people were earning more, they would be spending more

Nothing I said disputed that.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#197

Post by Mz »

pm90 wrote: post #184
w8rbt wrote: post #143

State and federal governments do not get as much tax revenue either because these people are not earning at their full potential. So basically, it hurts everyone involved as well as society as a whole.

So I have mixed feelings about this situation. On the one hand, if the sentences were for drug possession, yes, I think its really shitty to incarcerate people for that. But if their felony was due to burglary or something more serious/violent, I do think they deserve the punishment. I also agree that once the sentence has been served, people should not be punished any further, except where the occupation requires a…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/...

The US has about 4.4 percent of the global population and about 22 percent of the global prison population. So either we are seriously fucking up as a country and incapable of producing decent human beings, or our entire justice system is broken.

Something needs to be done differently at the systemic level that doesn't involved holding every individual fucked over by the U.S. personally accountable for being crushed under the wheels of the goddamn system.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#198

Post by jjnoakes »

xenadu02 wrote: post #181
jjnoakes wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that true? I don't know much about macroeconomics but it seems to me that even though these folks aren't earning at their full potential, the jobs are being done by someone. In other words, if these folks were earning more, someone else wouldn't be doing that job, so the overall earning that the set number of jobs would support wouldn't change one way or the other from the tax revenue point of view. (Not advocatin…

Economics isn't a zero-sum game. People with better jobs spend more money to buy more products, including a lot of the products startups would very much like to sell. An ex-con working minimum wage isn't ordering Muchery, using Instacart, or taking Lyft rides. An ex-con working in frontend development very well might use those services. This generates economic activity across the entire chain, enriching everyone alon…

> Economics isn't a zero-sum game. People with better jobs spend more money to buy more products

Nothing I said suggested otherwise.

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#199

Post by TallGuyShort »

>> We expect additional revenue to come from municipalities, who spend tens of billions of dollars annually, when someone is rearrested.

I'm curious - while I agree that it also benefits the municipalities to help former criminals reintegrate into productive society, through what channel do you see expect this revenue to come? I know some tax breaks exist for hiring ex-cons, but dishing out funds to a service like this would be entirely new, right?

Re: Launch HN: 70MillionJobs (YC S17) – Job board for people with criminal records

#200

Post by blablabla123 »

pm90 wrote: post #184
w8rbt wrote: post #143

State and federal governments do not get as much tax revenue either because these people are not earning at their full potential. So basically, it hurts everyone involved as well as society as a whole.

So I have mixed feelings about this situation. On the one hand, if the sentences were for drug possession, yes, I think its really shitty to incarcerate people for that. But if their felony was due to burglary or something more serious/violent, I do think they deserve the punishment. I also agree that once the sentence has been served, people should not be punished any further, except where the occupation requires a…

Yeah same here. On the one hand people deserve a second chance and it just happens that someone can get sucked into a stupid situation.

On the other hand when someone boldly ignored certain moral rules, will the person continue to do so? I think it's pretty serious when someone else had to suffer because of that.

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