Georgia Considers Replacing Firefighters With Free Prison Laborers

[workinclasszero]

Source: thinkprogress.org

Georgia Considers Replacing Firefighters With Free Prison Laborers

By Marie Diamond on Oct 11, 2011 at 11:10 am

Forcing prison inmates to work as unpaid laborers is not a new practice, but GOP-controlled states are increasing taking the idea to extremes as they face budget shortfalls and refuse to raise taxes. Under Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) anti-collective bargaining law, at least one Wisconsin county replaced some union workers with prison labor. Inmates are not paid for their work, but may receive time off of their sentences.

Now Camden County in Georgia is considering tasking prisoners to take on one of the most dangerous jobs there is: fighting fires. Using prisoners as firefighters is a cost-cutting measure that’s expected to save the county a bundle:

A select group of inmates may be exchanging their prison jumpsuits for firefighting gear in Camden County.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/10/11/340328/georgia-considers-replacing-firefighters-with-free-prison-laborers/

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Just another day in the life of Wall Street occupied America.

How's that tea party thingie workin for ya Georgia?

[Avalux]

1. This is going to sound really awful; I apologize in advance.....

they can put out the fire and rob the house at the same time.

[Poll_Blind]

4. Ha! Shades of Rome's Marcus Licinius Crassus somewhere in there.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_firefighting">History of Firefighting section at WikiPedia:

Marcus Licinius Crassus was born into a wealthy Roman family around the year 115 BC, and acquired an enormous fortune through (in the words of Plutarch) "fire and rapine." One of his most lucrative schemes took advantage of the fact that Rome had no fire department. Crassus filled this void by creating his own brigade—500 men strong—which rushed to burning buildings at the first cry of alarm. Upon arriving at the scene, however, the fire fighters did nothing while their employer bargained over the price of their services with the distressed property owner. If Crassus could not negotiate a satisfactory price, his men simply let the structure burn to the ground, after which he offered to purchase it for a fraction of its value.

PB

[Saving Hawaii]

14. It's a little more clever than that

By "negotiate a satisfactory price", Crassus actually paid the homeowners. He would pay a firesale price for every home on the block (if the people didn't take his offer their homes would burn down as the fire spread and nobody put it out). Through this clever trick he gradually came to own large parts of Rome.

[No Elephants]

12. Years ago, a firefighter told me that, if his house ever caught fire, he'd

stand guard with his gun, telling the firefighters to "keep one hand on the hose and the other in your pocket."

So, I guess robbing a house that's on fire is not unheard of, even without forced prison labor.

[seaglass]

16. Wow, I have a hard time grasping that this is prevalent at all. My husband is a FF and where I come

from FFs are not known as thieves. Must have been a really shitty department your FF acquaintance worked on.

[DainBramaged]

13. Exactly what I thought......

I guess being athletic and trained to put out fires is not a prerequisite in Georgia anymore, 'point the hose over here Bubba'..............

[daggahead]

2. What could possibly go wrong? n/t

[truebrit71]

3. Can prisoners be forced to do something that endangers their own lives...??

...I think either situation is despicable, using them to replace union-labour as in the WI case, or as firefighters in the GA case, but it goes a long way to explain the rapid growth of the prison-industrial complex in the USA...A massive, so far relatively un-tapped labour pool that costs the prison owners nothing, and allows the governments to lay off countless thousands of union workers...

Is it fascism YET???

[lunatica]

5. Are they all gonna be chained to each other by the ankles while working?

[northoftheborder]

6. Firefighters are trained to do their job. Who is going to pay to train prisoners when ....

.....there are already trained personnel. Doesn't make sense.

[defendandprotect]

7. kr

[nichomachus]

8. All the more reason to lock people up -- slave labor

[RC]

9. The Warden's house in on fire!

[kestrel91316]

10. CA has a prison firefighter program that helps with wildfires seasonally, IIRC.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2008/0711/p01s02-usgn.html

But budget cuts might end the program.
http://www.firefighternation.com/slideshow/california-inmate-firefighters-chopping-block

No one is forced into the program. They HOPE to be accepted into it. In GA, however, YMMV.

[Fuzz]

11. The mindset to consider this alone is scary enough.

[myrna minx]

15. What could possibly go wrong?

:eyes: