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Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

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Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#21

Post by rayiner »

innguest wrote: post #17
rayiner wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There isn't "one company." Different departments of corrections have contracted to hire companies to handle deposits, just as your business might contract with a company to outsource some service. More generally, I'm not saying that the free market doesn't work. I do think market solutions are merely tools to be used in appropriate situations. And when the potential for abuse is high, as with prisons and other tradit…

> There isn't "one company." Ok, so lest we shift the conversation - as right now we're talking about the specific prison and the specific banking corporation that this prison is using as described in the full article - please tell me who is the competitor to JPay. Don't give me "different departments of corrections" blah blah blah. I'm arguing the system as explained in the article is broken specifically because JPa…

Is your assertion that there is no free market just because any given prison only contracts with one payment service? Is there no free market in cleaning services because my building only contracts with one provider? Is it only a free market if every individual transaction is put up for bidding?

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#22

Post by waterlesscloud »

rayiner wrote: post #21
innguest wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There isn't "one company." Ok, so lest we shift the conversation - as right now we're talking about the specific prison and the specific banking corporation that this prison is using as described in the full article - please tell me who is the competitor to JPay. Don't give me "different departments of corrections" blah blah blah. I'm arguing the system as explained in the article is broken specifically because JPa…

Is your assertion that there is no free market just because any given prison only contracts with one payment service? Is there no free market in cleaning services because my building only contracts with one provider? Is it only a free market if every individual transaction is put up for bidding?

Who makes the decision to contract with that one payment serivce? Is it the government? If so, is it the government that's making the bad decisions or the payment service?

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#23

Post by tehwebguy »

jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

Would be cool to try using a different credit card and charging it back every time. They will pay $15 - $25 per dispute.

Also would probably be fraud, and potentially impact the inmate.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#24

Post by bcoates »

jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

A good place to start is to refuse to cooperate with evil. The justice system depends on the active and passive cooperation of the general public.

Do not call the police. If the police wish to speak with you, on any matter, politely decline. If a known police or corrections employee tries to do business with you or at a place you work, inform them that their kind are not welcome here.

Don't underestimate the extent to which people are driven by the need to be welcomed and accepted by society. Shunning is a powerful tool of social control.

If you're more the "positive" type, consider encouraging your company to drop its official or unofficial policy against hiring felons (I'm making a reasonably safe assumption here). There are subsidies, tax credits, and insurance programs that might help your case, but it's easier to just not bother. Be the troublemaker that makes it easier to do the right thing.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#25

Post by discardorama »

I don't understand. Why can't the state let a bank put a bloody ATM (or several) in a common area, and let the inmates use debit cards?

My blood pressure was shooting up as I read that article. I don't mind people charging a fee for providing better service. But in this case, this human leech is just spreading more misery. Why must these people abuse others this way? I hope, when he is on his deathbed, this fucker suffers the most unimaginable amount of pain for a long time.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#26

Post by vacri »

jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

Start out by talking to your local representative. Raise the issue with them and keep at it. Encourage others to talk to your rep or the reps in their area.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#27

Post by S4M »

innguest wrote: post #12
rayiner wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit. As noted in the article, everything was fine (pay $1.50 for a money order and $0.50 for postage) until people pushed to get private contractors involved. You can say "government created the problem" but that's totally obtuse. Should people who commit armed robbery (like the man in the article) not be in jail? If they should be, someone has to take care of their logistical needs. The drumbeat since Reagan ha…

You're being myopic on purpose. > The drumbeat since Reagan has been that private companies Companies! Plural! The free market cannot exist when there is One True Company that the government let operate and Oh! See! The One True Company is charging too much so clearly free markets don't work. Please.

The problem I see here is that the inmates and their families don't have a word to say in what company is managing the prison logistics.

The ones who decide are the prisons themselves, so they don't care if the inmates and their families get even more milked, all they are incentivized to care is their commissions (so JPay and consorts are encouraged to milk even more the inmates to please the authorities).

So it's an example where the free market doesn't work.

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#28

Post by ajb »

GFK_of_xmaspast wrote: post #16
jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

Pretty much "diddly squat".

A genuine question: What do you think is utility of this reply? Have you thought about what effect this and similar comments might have (in aggregate) on the political process?

Re: Prison Bankers Who Profit from the Inmates

#29

Post by Chronic29 »

bcoates wrote: post #24
jMyles wrote: post #4

The only question that rings to me anymore about these stories: What can I do? What code can I write? What broker can I call? What form can I sign? How can I register my civic will so as to undo this blight? For me, this is the most embarrassing thing about being a United States citizen.

A good place to start is to refuse to cooperate with evil. The justice system depends on the active and passive cooperation of the general public. Do not call the police. If the police wish to speak with you, on any matter, politely decline. If a known police or corrections employee tries to do business with you or at a place you work, inform them that their kind are not welcome here. Don't underestimate the extent t…

And quite many people are self-motivated/satisfaction and do not need extrinsic motivation. Even if they are shunned they will still continue to behave as the normally would have.
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