Sunday, January 03, 2010

Crime pays in Washington

Prisoners used to shovel snow-bound US capital

A long held axiom, is that crime doesn't pay. I guess that thinking hasn't been revisited in Washington DC lately. (if ever).

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US capital paid prison inmates to shovel sidewalks, crosswalks and bus stops after the biggest December blizzard in the city's history, the Department of Corrections said Thursday.

Two work crews comprising some 20 prisoners convicted of minor offenses were deployed around the city December 18 and 19, along with two prison guards to watch over them, DOC spokesman Michon Parker told AFP.

Each inmate was paid 7.50 dollars per hour for their work, he added.


Not too shabby if you can get the work apparently. Minimum wage for being an inmate? Anyone else have a problem getting their head wrapped around paying criminals to perform public works? Especially seeing as they are CRIMINALS. Which by default should mean that they have a debt to repay to society. Not that society should owe them either any debt or wage for their trespasses.

But so go the ways of Washington, as they have historically never passed up an opportunity to spend the people's money. And in all fairness, I suspect that the elected officials both in City government and in the federal government of Washington, share a certain kinship with the common criminal and common thief.

Therefore, they are only looking after their own and rewarding them accordingly for a life less spent on the right end of social reward for so long.

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