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How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

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Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#51

Post by jstarfish »

samirillian wrote: post #49
whatshisface wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another question might be, how isn't it? In every other area of society, if someone is very good at arranging things to achieve some widely valued goal, we think it's OK for them to get rich. If someone is the best jailer in the world would it not be reasonable to reward them? Operating a prison is a lot of work. The problem is that they are being rewarded for doing the wrong things, there's no problem with rewarding…

> best jailer in the world. I have a new life goal

You must not have ever played The Sims, if you're only now setting this goal ;)

Building dungeons and trapping villagers inside was one of the first things my daughters set out to do in Minecraft. You're facing some stiff competition.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#52

Post by mikeyouse »

markbnj wrote: post #48

I was surprised that the article did not mention the fact that Idaho prisoners recently gamed their jpay tablets to steal $225k https://qz.com/1343662/inmates-gamed-their-prison-issued-tab...

They didn't "steal $225k", they gamed the tablets and sent messages that would have normally cost them $225k in the magic beans that these awful leeches make them buy to communicate with their families.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#53

Post by gt_ »

jstarfish wrote: post #51
samirillian wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> best jailer in the world. I have a new life goal

You must not have ever played The Sims, if you're only now setting this goal ;) Building dungeons and trapping villagers inside was one of the first things my daughters set out to do in Minecraft. You're facing some stiff competition.

There is a game on Steam called ‘Prison Architect’. I don’t know much else about it but it appears to be a fitting name.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#54

Post by rectang »

pasbesoin wrote: post #38
wayanon wrote: post #9

How is it moral for people to get rich from imprisonment?

IIRC, one of the things more strongly correlated with rehabilitation is contact with family, friends, a personal support system. Such contact should be fostered, not hindered. Even if you believe in "punishment" rather than "rehabilitation", as the purpose of prison (a pretty cynical attitude, that you should examine more thoroughly including its many implications and ramifications), what do you expect these people t…

> what do you expect these people to do when they get out?

In the US: Continue to serve as villains and "others" whose suffering pleases a bloodthirsty segment of our population.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#55

Post by martinald »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #18
betterunix2 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem in the US is that there was a period of time, still somewhat ongoing, where politicians could score a few points by promising to be "tough on crime." George H. W. Bush once went on TV to say that if longer sentences and mandatory minimum sentences meant paying for more prisons, we would pay for more prisons. One of the worst things about tough on crime politics is the feedback loop it creates -- if your o…

This is easy to observe in judicial elections where said judges get tough prior to elections. But there's more to it than that. The US system doesn't rehabilitate prisoners well, so letting a person who was committing armed robbery (this isn't a small offense, it's terrorizing innocent people) at 17 out at 22 isn't much better than letting them out at 27. The chance of recidivism is high, and so letting them out earl…

I think the real problem in the US is the legal discrimination that goes on to people with criminal records. Records don't automatically get 'spent' like most other countries after a period of time so always need to be declared, which makes it hard to impossible to get a job.

You also lose student aid access, landlords can turn you away from housing legally because of it, etc.

So even if you 100% want to be a normal member of society, you will hit so many roadblocks it is very difficult to do so.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#56

Post by a1369209993 »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #27
Retric wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea is not a deterrent. The idea is if someone spends most of their life in prison they are not going to be able to commit crimes outside. Effective or not, the reasoning is fairly straightforward.

But you have to let them out at some point. The longer they’re in the more likely they’re going to be to commit crime when they do leave.

> But you have to let them out at some point.

The idea behind "tough on crime" is that actually, you don't: A nineteen-year-old mugged some people to pay for food/drugs/I'll-ask-my-caddie's-chauffeur-what-else-poor-people-spend-money-on? Great! We can use them as slave labor on and off for the rest of their life, and the less opprotunities for "off", the better.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#57

Post by chrisseaton »

swaggyBoatswain wrote: post #16
chrisseaton wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but with technology something like an ekiosk (essentially the same types you see at newer airports, olive garden, etc) What's an ekiosk? And Olive Garden is a fast food chain isn't it? What do these two things have to do with each other and with prisons? And why do you need ekiosk or fast food chains to solve this? You just need any two tablets and an internet connection.

Ekiosk is just a short term that people use IIRC, similar to "drones" and "quadcopters". Its just a tablet (using a samsung galaxy normally), that is encased and mounted physically. Similar to what you would see at bestbuy when window shopping but more robust. I've seen them in McDonalds and some innovation centers in specific Airports ( https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-future-of-airport-dining-i... ). These restaur…

So with all that talk of restaurants, Best Buy, ekiosks, innovation centres, airports, drones, window shopping, the actual idea is just 'let people call each other over the internet like the rest of society does'?

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#58

Post by imnotlost »

Here you are, after making some mistakes and behaving very badly, the State has full control of you.

They then limit how much you can communicate with normal people.

They are complicit in you being exploited financially.

They look the other way if you are physically or sexually abused.

When you've served your time no one will hire you and you're limited from interacting with society normally.

And we, society, think this is just great! Which ticker can I buy to get in on this action?

Dystopia is here, it's just not evenly distributed yet.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#59

Post by nojvek »

intralizee wrote: post #23

I find the social support systems in America awfully poor from my experience growing up in the US and observing what was provided or obtainable (depending on personal financial status). It's no surprise to see this first world country lacking compassion towards others who didn't find the variables to succeed. The capitalist mindset feeds from irrational behavior and lack of understand towards you are who you are from…

This x 1000. If Aliens were trying to find an example of advanced civilization and they saw how things operated in the US, they’d very much think we are a messy and non functioning civilization that would eventually wipe ourselves out.

The truth is we as a nation consider prisoners as a second glass citizen. Like humans with defects from a manufacturing plant that need to be contained in jails away from everything.

And we have a dark side of capitalism that optimizes for stock value without regard for human element. We are already in the world of AIs optimizing endlessly to increase a magic number without much regard to external consequences.

Re: How Companies Make Millions Charging Prisoners to Send an Email

#60

Post by 56chan4 »

wayanon wrote: post #9

How is it moral for people to get rich from imprisonment?

I could argue the technological panopticon is a prison for the enlightened. Likewise how is moral for charity CEO's, politicians or any other head of a hierarchical in structure enterprise moral? Is money even moral? It certain makes the exchange of goods and services easier within a domain, but does the constant need for inflation of the money supply make it simply a ponzi scheme by another name? Perhaps Bitcoins is the 21st digital gold it was designed to be, considering its finite supply on a finite planet, helps to the curb the excess of capitalisation because the markets dont always know best.
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