New York

It sounds good that prisoners would have private jobs with higher pay than 16 cents an hour, but the reality would be exploitation of prisoners and a lowering of wages in general paid by private companies to all their employees, both in and out of prison. Why pay a decent wage to their employees in the general population when they can pay prisoners lower wages and profit off of prisoners from not having to provide benefits?

If Hochul really wants to try this, set a decent pay standard that companies have to pay, including health benefits that prisons have to acknowledge, plus skills assessments, job training, and being an actual employee of the private company.

Her plan sounds like a bad idea in general, but also will not help her in an election year.