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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

#361

Post by mcbits »

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…

> How many kids looking forward to $130k/yr jobs would choose to join a gang instead?

I agree with the your overall comment, but this part is setting up unrealistic expectations. You should be asking "How many kids looking forward to $30k/yr jobs ..."

Median salary across the US is about $30k, or up to $50-70k (with corresponding cost of living) in a few rich cities. Anything above that is a good-paying job for most of the population, criminal record or not.

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

#362

Post by cestith »

Danihan wrote: post #291

>Attitudes are changing quickly Are they now? Tell me, which political party is planning on decriminalizing drug offenses?

The Libertarian Party is. The Democratic Party has very limited plans in that direction, but they are working toward cannabis reform.

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

#363

Post by purple-again »

ileze wrote: post #330

Sadly, 'round these parts you'll get more tolerance for your status as a felon, then for that of having religious beliefs.

Even the most zealous of us atheists appreciates the good that religion can do in someone's life. This is a perfect example of a situation where he is unlikely to receive any flak for his beliefs.

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

#364

Post by [deleted] »

Mz wrote: post #341
will_brown wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on anything I stated how do you conclude I "think all criminals are violent scum"? I'm an attorney, have defended people accused of crimes, and I too have a criminal record, so please check your bias. What I wrote is about a hypocritical practice that hiring managers engage in (rejection out right) when the reality is other employees they have hired and even themselves have engaged in the same acts, they just d…

I don't have any bias to check. I am basing my conclusions on your remarks. Perhaps those conclusions are inaccurate. But it is your framing that seems to come from an assumption of guilt. This is neither accurate, nor effective marketing. For some years, I was close to someone who spent three years in prison for their political activism and was questioned under torture. For this reason, I am keenly aware that whenev…

[deleted]

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

#365

Post by the_common_man »

Scirra_Tom wrote: post #350

1/3 adults with a criminal record in a developed country seems absolutely insane to me. Edit: Well I need to get off my horse because it seems to be similar here in the UK as well: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2002/apr/14/workandcareers...

I was surprised by this statistic as well. If guess the prisons are very large...

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

#366

Post by curun1r »

RBBronson123 wrote: post #35
nulagrithom wrote: post #32

I went through an IT technical degree at a community college. Three of my classmates were timing their graduation to the year their felony fell off background checks. These guys spent 5 years grinding it out at whatever shit job would hire them just to spend 2 more in school + working with the hope of getting a simple rack & stack job, all because of some mistake they made in their late teens/early twenties. It was t…

Thank you for sharing that. It's a common story. Attitudes are changing quickly, so I hold out hope. I very much appreciate your support.

I want to believe that attitudes are changing and I do believe that more and more people are behind efforts to make it easier for people with a criminal history to find jobs. But I still think that most people are quite NIMBY about it. They'd love for it to be much easier for them to find jobs, but they're still uncomfortable being the ones actually working with them.

Don't get me wrong...I think what you're doing is great, but I think "ban the box" laws that allow criminal histories to be hidden from prospective employers are the thing that's really going to make a difference. Because hiring managers can always find fault with a candidate, either consciously or subconsciously, and playing it safe with hiring decisions is often in their personal interests, even if it's not the right thing to do.

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

#367

Post by Clubber »

newsreader wrote: post #290
chris_wot wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry to hear of the issues you had getting employment. Must have been awful getting a job, hell when I left my last company with few references it was hard enough... I can only imagine how tough it must have been getting out of jail!

It was very tough getting my first job. I been with my current employer for more than 10 years, and will probably retire from here. Many people don't believe that people change. I know for sure that people change -- unfortunately not always for the better.

From what I understand, it has a lot to do with age. People just outgrow being wild. The prison system is full of 60 year olds who committed crimes in their teens and 20s who are no longer a threat, yet they remain.

I'd say once a man hits 40 or so, they have better shit to do with their lives.

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

#368

Post by j79 »

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.

The majority of images (and there are not many) seem to be black. The hero images, the About pages, all young black people. The only white person is the CEO (which show up predominately on the blog and about the team)

As others have mentioned, our prisons are not predominately filled with people of color (although, I'm sure many people would believe that to be). A bit more diversity would definitely be nice ;)

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

#369

Post by pchristensen »

HillaryBriss wrote: post #225
cletus wrote: post #139

I'm super-excited to see this. I really hope it works out. Thanks for doing it. Honestly I find how this country treats those with a felony record absolutely disgusting. The "Are you a convicted felon?" is a scarlet letter that never seems to disappear. While this might've originally been well-intentioned, IMHO it perpetuates criminality as I suspect what other choices do a lot of former felons have? There was (is?)…

yeah, Wahlberg's crime is an interesting case -- the kind of violent crime most people think merits a severe punishment. and yet, he's a wealthy movie star today. American justice, folks. oddly enough, it happened in Massachusetts of all places, a state i expect to take this sort of hateful crime more seriously. maybe it would nowadays. that particular violent attack happened a while back. regarding licensing: the ru…

Boston. Ah Boston. For an entertaining account of some of Boston's history of racial conflict, I recommend the 2-part Dollop podcast about the bussing conflict:

http://thedollop.libsyn.com/228-boston-busing-1974

http://thedollop.libsyn.com/229-boston-busing-1975

It sounds more like a bad disaster movie than recent American history.

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

#370

Post by altstar »

mathattack wrote: post #306

I went on to build a large financial services firm, but despite having paid everyone back, I ended up with a 2 year Federal prison sentence. Ummm.... This sounds like a huge rationalization. "I'm sorry for breaking in and robbing your house. Despite giving the money back, I ended up going to jail."

Read the next sentence:

I was guilty.

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