OT: Prison labor/Ain't life complex

[J Patrick Draine]

Well I know we were all hoping to put this off topic to bed, but 
today's Boston Globe has a feature story on "Captive Commerce." No, 
they're not writing about laogai in China, but the Billerica House of 
Correction (and other prisons across the state).  Mattresses, 
pillows, and laundry bags are being stitched by convicts just a few 
miles from me, for which the inmates get paid $3.75 a day.And over in 
Framingham they're making US flags (tiny ones up to 10 by 12 -foot 
ones).

No, they're not "prisoners of conscience." It's a low security "House 
of Correction," so they're in for driving while drunk (for the 
zillionth time), possession of controlled substances, burglary, and 
other anti-social behavior.

Even so, that "Proudly Made in America" label may not always mean 
somebody out in suburbia is enjoying a "good job at a good wage" as a 
result.

In the meanwhile, let's all of us behave, and enjoy the good wages 
and good works which our trade allows.

Patrick Draine
Billerica, MA