“According to a source, who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution, people incarcerated at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center, a minimum-security women’s prison with a capacity of more than 900, were making calls to CA on behalf of Bloomberg.” https://t.co/oejlXZMxTa
— Melissa Gira Grant (@melissagira) December 24, 2019
Mike Bloomberg is worth $56 billion. Need to see all of that? $56,000,000,000.00. I added the cents but I’m sure it’s rounded. Point is, you don’t get to the ten billions column by hiring the most expensive people. Most big shots will outsource overseas to lower labor costs; Mike Bloomberg went to a minimum-security women’s prison, right here in America, and created jobs. He may have even tunneled in without telling anyone, like Gerard Butler in Law-Abiding Citizen. Sounds like a patriot to me.
Of course, fans of the show Prison Break were outraged. Some compared it to “slave labor,” for many inmates are only paid a few cents an hour for prison jobs.
https://twitter.com/s_m_i/status/1209518303233875969
The Intercept– John Scallan, a ProCom co-founder, said his company pays the Oklahoma minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, which then pays the incarcerated people working in the call centers. The Department of Corrections website lists the maximum monthly wage for the incarcerated at $20 dollars a month, but another policy document says there is a maximum pay of $27.09 per month.
When asked if their total monthly earnings are capped at these levels, Scallan said incarcerated people who work for ProCom make far higher wages. “I can tell you unequivocally that is not us,” Scallan said. “Some of them are making that much every day.”
Admittedly, $27.09/month isn’t great unless you’re talking Aspen lift tickets. Especially during peak weekends ugh they really get you! Tack on lunch and aprés and you’re probably better off skiing at Breckenridge or Keystone if you’re trying to make your prison earnings last.
But let’s consider the other “jobs” for which inmates are paid similar rates. Some prisoners make license plates or sew uniforms; others work in the laundry room or the cafeteria. If I’m spooning out lunch to guys who will shiv me through the gullet if they find a hair in their mashed potatoes, I’d be thrilled to swap over to canvassing Orange County for Bloomberg 2020. Sit me down with a headset and unsalted almonds and we’ll have the guy leading the polls before the traffic gets heavy.