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Capitalist Punishment - Prison Blues Slavery is still legal in the United States. Section 1 of the 13th Amendment says, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” With the US prison population reaching 2 million people - the largest incarceration rate of any industrialized nation - prison/slave labor is often more profitable than outsourcing the work to developing countries. According to this article on Alternet.org, “many prisoners… earn about $60 for an entire month of nine-hour days.” For the tycoons who have invested in the prison industry, it has been like finding a pot of gold. They don’t have to worry about strikes or paying unemployment, health or worker’s comp insurance, vacation or comp time. All of their workers are full time, and never arrive late or are absent because of family problems; moreover, if prisone...