MrKim: That's nice that Texas prisoners aren't doing any of the low-wage labor that I mentioned (which help reduce non-prisoners' job opportunities). I can assure you that around the country these things are being done in American prisons. You can call it "self-sufficient", but they are, in fact, removing jobs from the pool that non-prisoners can do, and lowering the bottom of what people can expect. Low paid, prisoner's can be "let go" from any job whenever the company wants... what free employee can match that?

As for scaring people, Look at the impact: People divided against each other, throwing hate and epithets at each other, the rich/corporations making more money from low-wage, "flexible" labor pools, ... and we have no chance to organize against that B.S. because of the divisiveness of the issue. This very post is representative of this situation (whether or not the poster meant it as such).

Essentially this is Class Warfare:
Using prisoners to lower the bottom end of worker expectations, using "illegals" to keep a working population vulnerable and willing to accept any (abusive) situation. Etc., etc.

The rich make bank, while the rest of us become more vulnerable, and see our real-value wages declining by the year.

Eh. Best of luck to all of you then.