Expansion of Federal Prison Industries
FPI is a self-funded entity, not requiring tax-payer dollars. Right now, the criticism is that it competes with domestic jobs. Congress has already recognized that if FPI were to produce only goods that aren't made in the USA, it could bring those industries and jobs back to America. I would like to expand on that idea. Current fears are that if the FPI would become very successful, it would become a profiting industry, ...more »
FPI is a self-funded entity, not requiring tax-payer dollars. Right now, the criticism is that it competes with domestic jobs. Congress has already recognized that if FPI were to produce only goods that aren't made in the USA, it could bring those industries and jobs back to America. I would like to expand on that idea. Current fears are that if the FPI would become very successful, it would become a profiting industry, and require more "workers", which would cause an increased need for inmates to be incarcerated. So to counter that, mandate that program to be entirely voluntary for inmates. Statistics show that inmates actively learning or practicing a valuable trade are less violent, and are less likely to commit crimes when released. This could indirectly contribute to inmate good-time credit, reducing over-crowding in federal prisons. The goods could then be sold in the USA cheaper than if bought overseas, and would return industry sectors that have been lost overseas. Those goods would use raw materials bought in the US, further contributing to economic growth domestically. Finally, any American corporation using other countries for cheaper labor would move back to the US to counter the cheaper goods being produced domestically, bringing additional job opportunities with them. Once the corporation relocates back in the US, FPI would switch to a different product to avoid competing with those American companies.
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