In the US, the outsourcing of prison labour to private companies like Whole Foods, McDonalds and Target is obscene and should end.

The federal minimum wage in the US is 7.25$. Do you know how little inmates are being paid for their forced labour? 6$? 5$? 4$? Even 3$? They're being paid as little as 0.12$ an hour in some states. It's insane that companies are being allowed to get away with this.

Also, prisoners aren't even allowed to refuse. If they do, they're thrown in solitary. Do you know what they call people who are forced to work for next to nothing? Slaves. Corporations are being allowed to profit off of actual slave labour. They'd rather use slaves than hire free Americans that have the right to unionise just to cut on costs.

Worse yet, the outsourcing of prison labour leads to corporations have something to gain from increased crime rates, harsher sentences and an increased recidivism rate - more slaves for them to work. They also have a financial incentive to lobby for harsher sentences, oppose prison reforms and fight against rehabilitation.

All of this leads to a prison-industrial complex where the human rights of inmates are stripped just so corporations can make more money.