r/USNEWS • u/lurker_bee • 4d ago

In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs and other states are taking notice

https://www.mainepublic.org/2025-08-29/in-maine-prisoners-are-thriving-in-remote-jobs-and-other-states-are-taking-notice
165 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

10

u/OldRaj 4d ago

Warden Norton had his hands out and those envelopes kept arriving.

15

u/InfoBarf 4d ago

Did you read the story? A guy in prison was able to study coding, 15-17 hours a day, because he was interested, he contributed code to a public codebase, and was recruited by an employer who saw his code and wanted him in particular.

When socialists talk about how people would still contribute to society if they didn't have to work, this is exactly what they are talking about. People shouldn't have to go to prison to have that choice.

3

u/_WeSellBlankets_ 4d ago

When socialists talk about how people would still contribute to society if they didn't have to work, this is exactly what they are talking about.

This is not what they're talking about. They're talking about people that have their basic needs met and the freedom to do whatever they want and they would still hypothetically choose to contribute. This person doesn't have the freedom to do whatever they want, nor the guarantee that their basic needs will be met once released.

2

u/InfoBarf 4d ago

dude followed his passion because he was passionate about it, and got noticed, even if he wasn't offered a job, he still did good work totally for free. That's what I was talking about.

1

u/_WeSellBlankets_ 4d ago

He wasn't doing it to chase his passion. He did it with the intent to turn his life around. That same motivation is absent in the socialist scenario. The free work wasn't for the fun of it, it was part of the learning process with the end goal being that it provided a better future for him.

2

u/Any_Chocolate_5278 3d ago

Socialism also values education, or the "learning process", more so than capitalism

1

u/seyfert3 3d ago

So they’re talking about literal edge cases?

1

u/TehMephs 4d ago

Oh wow — good to know if I ever end up in prison I can get commissary off my experience

0

u/Still-Highway6876 3d ago

And not be a bad person going forward? That’s a good ROI.

Grow the fuck up.

-1

u/CivilMath812 4d ago

Yeah, and even better, the guy is probably being paid like, $5 a day. So much cheaper than a normal worker (sarcasm)

1

u/InfoBarf 4d ago

Hes not. Hes making a normal wage. Read the article.

7

u/InfoBarf 4d ago

This is actually really hopeful, having read the article, but, I feel like extending some aspects of this to the general public would solve so many issues. We should have affordable housing that only costs 10% of your wages for food and board for example. I bet if we offered that to the general public we wouldn't even need as many prisons. The people outlined in this story work hard, and they should have opportunities, and it goes to show that if everyone had room and board, they could reach for a better life, instead of struggling to make ends meet with rents that are greater than half their income as some people have to pay

5

u/Thatsthepoint2 4d ago

US prisons are designed to keep owners paid a passive income while creating low paying jobs for the poor. The people stuck in them are mostly victims of circumstance, so to acknowledge their value to society is a slippery slope. Let them garden and build furniture while the people on the outside are imprisoned in debt and can’t quit their remote jobs. 🤷🏻‍♂️

2

u/No_Advice3660 4d ago

That’s slavery

3

u/InfoBarf 4d ago

This guy made a real wage, the only reduction is his pay is taxes and room and board cost of 10%.

Read the article

2

u/Stiv_b 4d ago

There is no way that beyond an initial few individuals, a prisoner can command competitive wages. This model seems great on the surface but in the end, if you can hire software engineers on the cheap from prison, we will have more software engineers in prison.

2

u/No_Advice3660 3d ago

Following the abolition of chattel slavery in 1865, former slaveholders and other white employers developed the system of debt peonage to entrap African Americans and poor whites in forced labor. This system used debt and unjust laws to recreate a state of involuntary servitude that was difficult or impossible to escape.

1

u/TheNorsemen777 4d ago

No.

Thats prison

4

u/Ok-Rich-406 4d ago

This is one of the tipping points of society right here.

0

u/Acceptable-Rub-69 4d ago

Great now when I battle through 30 minutes of AI prompts I can get connected with a "customer service representative" that is literally an incarcerated criminal. Can't imagine how invested they'll be in helping me get a refund.

3

u/gmpsconsulting 4d ago

...you think the person who hates the status quo and established rules so much they have quite literally been incarcerated for going against them is going to deny your refund?

1

u/Acceptable-Rub-69 4d ago

Maybe prison workforce isnt as progressive as you think

2

u/gmpsconsulting 4d ago

I didn't say it was progressive. I said they are far more likely to support their fellow human than they are the nameless entity you're trying to get a refund from. It's the subject of many a famous quote that the worst people in any prison are the staff not the inmates.

1

u/Acceptable-Rub-69 4d ago

Right. Murderers, rapists, and thieves are very invested in the well being of their fellow man. Do you know what a prison is?

3

u/gmpsconsulting 4d ago

Apparently a lot better than you... Murder and rape are two of the least common populations in prison and yeah I'm pretty sure thieves are pretty invested in not caring if you deserve a refund or not.

1

u/Acceptable-Rub-69 4d ago

Not even worth arguing if you think prisoners arent by definition the antithesis of the people that belong in a constructive society. Hope you get what you wish for.

3

u/gmpsconsulting 4d ago

You're complaining the society you're dealing with is not constructive and complaining that the people who don't fit into your not constructive society are not suitable for constructive society. See the problem?

1

u/Acceptable-Rub-69 4d ago

"Im pretty sure thieves are not invested in caring whether you get a refund or not".

Thats actually my point.

2

u/gmpsconsulting 4d ago

If you think that's your point you've mistaken the statement. Thieves primarily target companies so have no reason to care whether you're due a refund or not so will simply give you a refund. You're implying their lack of investment results in a negative for you as opposed to a positive.

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0

u/GargoyleHoe 4d ago

The current customer service people are already enslaved at work tbh

0

u/linkenski 4d ago

Inb4 someone being furious because criminals are "scum" and shouldn't be allowed to have privileges etc.