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I heard a riveting interview on the PBD Podcast of Roger Reeves, who was a pilot smuggler for Escobar. His idea for prison reform is that we turn the prisons into a type of trade school. Not for lifers, but for those serving 5-10-15 years. The idea is that they get sent in to serve 10 years, but study a trade like plumbing, welding, carpentry, etc. Then upon release, they have a valuable skill with which to build a new life. I have a feeling the way the prison system is set up now it is probably making certain people tons of money just like the pharmaceutical industry. Nevertheless, I think it's an idea that should be seriously explored.
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I suppose you could run a strong triage program to pre-select only strong candidates for your trade program, but the left wouldn't like the selectees. They wouldn't like the demographics and the requirement that they know how to read and do basic math. Like all government programs, the point of the program isn't to get people to succeed to the best of their ability, it's to pretend that everyone can be a doctor or an astronaut.
The trade program would be great, if it started in middle school, with reading and basic math used to plan for material requirements, the ability to follow written directions and then the ability to do plumbing, electrical wiring, tile work and cabinetry and detailed woodwork, like door and window framing. Even painting requires math and the ability to do quality fine work. Our Costa Rican counter top guys are using computerized cutting for their quartz countertops and the Russian cabinet guy is also using computerized wood saws.
One of our old neighbors was an electrical engineer for one of the Portland chip makers. He was smart and yet dumber than a bag of hammers and literally one of the ugliest men I have ever seen. He was his wife's second husband. She once would have been moderately attractive but the extra 50 pounds and a tough life left her with the choice of getting married to a paycheck and then hanging at home and smoking cigarettes and drinking chardonnay or else? She had a 20 year old son from her previous marriage who got his girlfriend pregnant and had twins. He hardly ever saw them. No way he could pay child support unless his step dad did it. He didn't work and just hung out at their house and did absolutely nothing. So, Safeway went on strike and they were hiring anything that moved to replace the strikers. He got a job stocking groceries. He had a party at their house after day one to celebrate. Called in sick for day two and got fired. I think to "redeem" that kid, would have taken a whip and constant supervision. The likelihood of him turning into a self-starter would have been nil.
You lock violent felons up. You lock repeat offenders up. Crimes start small and grow with criminals. Three strikes laws were hugely successful so democrats repealed them. Leniency in early crimes doesn't help it hurts. If you pay people more than minimum wage with welfare, section 8 etc. they have zero incentive to work and support themselves, children and family. I've dealt with many bad families from top to bottom. Quite common really. They cost more outside than inside jail.
JFC he was a moron
Besides, dims like cheap prison labor for their benefactors.
Really only military schools can fix it
Out of wedlock births is the engine that drives nearly all of our social problems.