The most creative entrepreneurs are in prison – ScheerPost

Written by John L. Orr / Prison Journalism Project

Where can you find California’s most creative professionals? They’re inside the state’s prisons.

We taught ourselves to be savvy traders, artists, stenographers, and even textile recyclers.

There was no other choice.

While economies overseas have reeled from the coronavirus and the ensuing inflation, the effects have been compounded in the country’s prisons, where workers have few options in the formal economy and wages have stagnated at appallingly low levels. .

Let’s take California, where I’m incarcerated, as an example. Workers earn a minimum wage of 8 cents an hour and a maximum of $1 an hour for jobs in the state correctional industry. This is not enough to buy food and other basic items that would help people behind bars live a little more dignity. So we have had to create our own jobs, and through ingenuity we have made our economies prosperous.

Thousands of incarcerated Californians have been out of work for up to two years due to COVID-19. This loss in pay was offset by stimulus checks, but only to a certain extent, and most incarcerated people had most of their checks forfeited as victim restitution.

On the outside, both employment and wages are recovering. In California, employment is back to pre-pandemic levels and wages are rising. But years of higher-than-normal inflation continue to reduce Californians’ purchasing power. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, food and beverage costs are 24% higher than they were before the pandemic. The same pressures affect life indoors, but even more intensely. Incarcerated people cannot shop or look for bargains.

During my more than 30 years incarcerated, I have been exposed to limited and substandard products in the prison canteen (prison’s version of an expensive “company store”) by my cellmates, co-workers, and friends. I’ve seen people spend almost all of their salaries and family savings. Many products are nearing or past their printed shelf life.

In 2022, I obtained the Mule Creek State Prison Canteen Price List, created in 2002, and compared the prices of 21 common items on the shelves of every prison commissary in California. As a result, the average item increased by 79% over 20 years.

During that time, wages have not changed. In fact, in my research, he hasn’t seen an increase since 1982, at least. A national study of prison wages by the Prison Policy Initiative in 2017 found that the average minimum wage in prisons had dropped from 93 cents a day in 2001 to 86 cents a day.

creative prison economy

Incarcerated people can’t make up lost wages with overtime, so they have to get creative. Innovative prisoners find ways to earn money by bartering, providing specialized services, upcycling, and even setting up in-cell convenience stores.

There are many talented artists in prison. Some skilled illustrators create beautiful portraits using colored pencils from family and personal photos. Etching, drawing, painting, or intricately beading sports team logos is one of his popular side jobs. Fees can be bartered for instant items such as a jar or two of coffee, canned meat, stamps, etc. In some cases, the buyer will shop and pay for the artist’s grocery list at the cafeteria on the next shopping day.

A rare but lucrative specialty is dissecting the elastic waistbands of old boxer shorts to make twine for everyday use. A guy on my team does this as a side hustle. Old boxer shorts contain over 40 yards of thin, durable fibers that strengthen the elastic waistband. Good sewing thread is produced from a single thread. Knit two threads together to repair shoes and vinyl mattress covers. The three strands make a clothesline strong enough to hold a wet blanket. This process takes about 2 hours, and the worker earns him 3-5 dollars. The people in my pod also make sturdy homemade needles that fit twine. Large needles made from beaten paper clips and staples are used to repair sneakers and mattresses. These cost $3 to $5 each.

Of course, every prison yard is a gambling mecca, from dominoes and card games to day room sports betting pools. The organizer makes a profit and there is always a winner. The loser will be motivated to learn other marketable skills, such as drawing or dissecting a boxer’s pants.

California prison yards do not have computers, but they do have the option of purchasing typewriters from an outside vendor four times a year. I think there are about 10 typewriters for every 200 prisoners in a prison. Owners can rent machines or type documents for others. Legal work, warrants, or business letters can cost anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 per typewritten page. This outdated technology requires expensive ribbons and print wheels (ranging from $7 for the ribbon to $30 for the print wheel). To save costs, the ribbon is cut, flipped, rewound and reused.

The enterprising among us take advantage of the frequent fluctuations in canteen inventory to create mini-convenience stores within our cells. People with money to spare stock up on valuable goods such as instant coffee, snack chips, pastries, and candy. If someone tries to buy coffee or sweets when the kiosk is out of stock, they end up paying loan shark-level fees. They will immediately refund you two of the “purchased” items once supplies are restored. These in-house 7-Elevens are booming. And why shouldn’t it? Exxon and BP are pricing similarly. This is simple supply and demand.

Prison yard laundry and clothing services can be unreliable and frustrating. Clothing shortages, lost laundry, and infrequent tailoring are common problems. The prison offers a weekly laundry service, but you don’t necessarily get back what you put in. So paying your hard-working neighbor $2-3 to wash her week’s worth of laundry is a sound investment. Talented seamstresses may also rework or repair state-issued and civilian clothing for a fee. Blue hemming the cuffs of her jeans is $2. Creating an additional pocket costs her $4.

Without a side job like this, you wouldn’t be able to afford the things you need to make your life a little more bearable, especially if wages remain so low.

Will I ever get a raise?

In a December 2022 meeting with incarcerated community leaders, Chief Deputy Warden Brian Holmes confirmed rumors that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is investigating a proposed pay increase for inmates. This could raise the minimum wage for all jobs from 8 cents an hour to 80 cents an hour. He reached out to the deputy director’s office for further comment but did not receive a response.

However, even if wage increases were implemented, they would not be enough to close the large gap with inflation.

More important changes could occur if proposed amendments to California’s constitution make it to voters’ ballots. The legislation for this purpose finally gained attention in September. The amendment stopped at whether incarcerated workers would be subject to the state minimum wage of $15 an hour (opponents argued the cost was too great).

The amendment would ban forced labor, which is currently legal and allows the government to force people to work as punishment for crimes. Involuntary servitude is recognized in the U.S. Constitution and most state constitutions. If the amendment passes the California Senate next year, it would be voted on in November 2024.

Meanwhile, the creative prison economy will continue to thrive.