Posted on 06/15/2011 4:19:25 PM PDT by arderkrag
On Tuesday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal released the results of a survey that he had requested from the state agriculture commissioner on farm labor shortages in Georgia. The survey found that there are approximately 11,080 unfilled farm jobs in the state.
In response to the report, Deal suggested that people who are on criminal probation could fill the job openings: “There are 100,000 probationers statewide, 8,000 of which are in the Southwest region of the state and 25 percent of which are unemployed.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, although probationers in Georgia are required to find employment if possible, state officials cannot compel them to take one particular job over another.
The director of the American Probation and Parole Association told Bloomberg that the temporary nature of agricultural work makes it unsuitable for people on criminal probation who need to rebuild their lives in a more permanent job. He compared Deal’s suggestion to the “work farms” of the past, when convicts could be sentenced to hard labor in the fields.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonindependent.com ...
Warden Burl Cain in Louisiana has the Angola facility almost self sufficient. The inmates raise cattle and crops, with much of the production processed and consumed there, but surplus is sold to pay for what must be purchased.
This is all on the facility as Angola has Louisiana’s hard cases, but the principle works.
Very, very good point.
Prison Labor: It's More than Breaking Rocks (how about letting prisoners pick our lettuce)
Hmmmm....in the 1940’s-50’s my husband’s grandfather would go to the closest major city and hire guys to pick apples....needless to say, it didn’t work out too well...he’d find them drunk in the orchard.....in the early 60’s...he found people who would work...Mexicans....who would come just for the season and then leave. The problem now is...they don’t leave....
I suppose if they handle it like they do prison road/project crews (CHAIN GANGS), with someone standing over them for the whole time, it MIGHT work...but, me thinks pretty soon there might be some pretty HUNGRY people willing to do a little more work...we’ll see. And, like someone else said...having convicts hanging out on a 100 acre orchard doesn’t probably make sense...too easy to “get lost and cause trouble.”
“The director of the American Probation and Parole Association told Bloomberg that the temporary nature of agricultural work makes it unsuitable for people on criminal probation who need to rebuild their lives in a more permanent job”
They have trouble getting jobs at all so not a bad idea.
Think it’s a great idea as well.
ACLU and the professional grievence & racism mongers won’t like it at all.
Anytime a “minority” would be involved, they would yelling that it’s slavery time.
With the right motivation and an attitude ajustment, they’ll be picking as fast as any illegal.
...there are approximately 11,080 unfilled farm jobs in the state... "There are 100,000 probationers statewide, 8,000 of which are in the Southwest region of the state and 25 percent of which are unemployed."
“That said, IMHO, the solution for farm work is short-term visas - lots of them - for people from the continental Americas.”
Fix the tax code. Right now it costs more to hire legally than it does to hire illegally. The tax code needs to lift the burdens that it places on employers.
Everything else is just a stopgap that doesn’t deal with the real problem. Sure, it’s a way of getting the labour, but it doesn’t fix the underlying issues.
Fr’nstance in my work, it’s often cheaper for an employer to contract me out project wise for projects anywhere in the US and Canada. All it takes for them is to send me the project and I send the completed project back to them for a fee. The employer then writes me a check and we go from there.
Why am I getting good business? Because I’m good at what I do, but the employer isn’t on the hook for me beyond the value of the contract.
The problem is government regulations. Fix them and employers will hire.
We need to start making the fines for hiring illegals greater than the money they save by doing so.
I know farmers who stopped hiring blacks and started hiring Mexicans about 10 years ago. They’ll tell you they work a lot harder.
Watched a very funny movie last night called LIFE. Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence.
“You mess with me there’s gonna’ be consequences and repurcussions.” - Ray Gibson
They don’t want to work. Too many freebies.
Back in the days when Muslim names didn’t raise any eyebrows. I think it was in the late 80s but I can’t find anything online.
I remember reading that defendant’s name before... I think it’s a hyphenated surname.
Um, not.
Though I don't support illegal-immigrant labor, the Confederacy was illustration enough that forced labor was not a good economic model. Now, all that said, having prisoners perform actual work may be worthwhile; just don't expect it to replace what we call the "free" market for good reason.
I do too.
The ag dept rep said on the news these cons will be paid $12 to $15 per hour.
I find it incredulous in this economy the farmers in S Ga can’t get all the labor they need for those kind of wages.
Remote controlled electrified undies?
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