Re: “Inmates may step in as farmworkers,” Feb. 28 news story.
I don’t anticipate much incentive for comprehensive criminal justice reform if prisoners continue to be a source of virtually free labor. Let’s face it, this “pilot” program is not about providing inmates with job skills; it’s about increasing the profits for corporate America.
Replacing immigrant farm workers with “slave” labor is no answer to some of the most pressing issues facing Colorado: comprehensive immigration reform and curbing the ballooning prison population. Without the right to organize for humane and fair working conditions, prisoners are especially vulnerable to exploitation by corporations.
I challenge our policymakers to take the profits out of prisons and create true opportunities for rehabilitation.
Crystal Middlestadt, Denver
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Long ago, when former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton had the idea to put inmates to work on chain gangs, I thought that maybe the government wants to incarcerate more people in order to create a cheap labor force. It seems that this idea has been revived by state Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo, and endorsed by Department of Corrections director Ari Zavaras to provide cheap labor for farmers who find it harder to employ undocumented workers.
John Cleveland, Centennial
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Re: “Don’t bend jail bars for farm labor,” March 1 David Harsanyi column.
David Harsanyi doesn’t like the proposed bill using inmates for farm labor at a fraction of the cost of using illegal immigrants. Here’s a better proposal: Arrest, convict and jail the illegal immigrants, and then put them to work on the farms at a reduced cost. Then there’d be enough to do the other tasks Harsanyi mentioned, like alphabetizing his CD collection.
Jerry Witt, Wheat Ridge
Re: “Benefits of inmate farm labor,” March 1 editorial.
Slavery was abolished in the U.S. by the 13th Amendment. Nevertheless, The Denver Post appears to support the use of slave labor to fill a shortage of farmworkers in Colorado. Your editorial paints a rosy picture of reduced recidivism and increased job skills for inmates. However, inmates would perform backbreaking labor in hot, potentially dangerous conditions for a couple of dollars a day, at most.
Colorado’s agricultural sector depends upon immigrant labor. Rather than criminalize the hard-working farmworkers, we should recognize their efforts by supporting AgJOBS, which would create a stable, legal supply of labor for agriculture and provide temporary residency and a path to legalization for immigrant farmworkers. We should pay a living wage and offer benefits to the people who prepare and harvest our food.
David Strauss, Executive Director, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, Washington, D.C.
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Re: “Slow progress for state higher ed funds,” Feb. 19 editorial.
I was surprised to find how little higher education means to people, when all one ever hears is how much a degree is worth. It was encouraging to hear that state colleges are getting some funding from the state, but how do they expect us to compete if we are nowhere near the average? Being a college student myself, and a voter, I would not be completely opposed to a tax to help fund higher education. I have spent more than my fair share on tuition, and anything that might help students in the future is worth consideration.
Colorado State University President Larry Penley suggests a tax increase that would benefit K-12 as well as the colleges of Colorado. Our state ranks 27th in the nation for education in grades K-12; if a tax increase is what we need to raise that ranking, then maybe it should be mentioned. After all, what is learned in K-12 carries into a student’s college career, and if they aren’t successful there, why should they be successful later on, especially if they have to pay outrageous amounts just to fail?
Andrea Rocksted, Denver
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