• 133arc585@lemmy.ml
      ·
      1 year ago

      They do chain them up and work them, they just don't pick cotton anymore, they build military equipment, staff call centers, and build furniture, producing products worth $11B a year with no pay[1].


      1. Before someone says "but they do get paid!", no, they do not. Not only is the minimum wage ($7.25) already unliveable, they make only about 13 to 52 cents an hour. Some states literally don't pay them at all. And those that do: that's not pay, that's legal loophole games. And that 13 cents an hour? Most of it goes to "taxes, room and board expenses, and court costs". That's right, they have to pay to be slaves. ↩︎

      • ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        They aren't given enough calories to survive. The 13 cents an hour is almost all used on Ramen noodles from the commissary in order to avoid starvation and death.

        I’m not joking about this if anyone thinks so. Ramen noodles are an active currency and vital food source in US prisons ever since Cigarettes were banned.