[bdcravens]

I'm a bit unclear on your perspective here. Are you saying teaching inmates is wrong because they've apparently lost their chance at success in life because of their "severe crimes"?

Regardless of that perspective, here's a truth: most inmates will be released at some point. As a matter of fact, alot of the inequality you reference is a result of those with criminal backgrounds and the socioeconomic conditions that got them those backgrounds. We have a rich set of statistics about what happens to people in that situation: desperation -> crime -> prison -> repeat. Personally I don't like that world. I want to feel safe in my world, and anything we can do to short-circuit that recidivism cycle makes us all safer.

The "but our jobs! but our pay!" refrain is a common one, but our industry has WAY too many job openings for this to be a legit worry (the very presence of the h1b visa proves this). As for salary, as those jobs get filled, whether by bootcamp grads, or journeymen, or trained individuals with a criminal record - it will push income down for some. Some incomes are a product of scarcity, and you only need to look at a supply/demand curve to know what will happen to prices. In the late 90s, you'd spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a basic website. Now you can get one for a few hundred.

[Braggadocious]

The entire point of prison is to remove them from society. Why are we spending more resources on prisoners than people who've never commited a crime?

[tasty_freeze]

> The entire point of prison is to remove them from society.

That is the immediate effect, for sure. But that isn't the issue.

Unless someone is convicted for life without parole, or a death penalty, then they likely will be released into the general population at some point.

Do you want them to have skills that might allow them to support themselves, or do you think a near term investment in education might be cheaper for society and more humane than releasing them with a situation where they have fewer opportunities to make a living?

[bdcravens]

Like it or not, most inmates will be released. Patterns of recidivism are well established. If they reoffend, we will spend more resources on those prisoners. (To say nothing of the costs on society when they do reoffend) It seem reasonable to not want to spend money on someone who has already messed up, but the practical reality is there's a real cost to not making those investments.

Put a different way, this is about those who haven't committed crimes: those affected by future crime, and those who haven't yet committed crime but statistically are likely to (think children of the chronically incarcerated)

[dzamie]

The point of prisons is to remove them from society until they can be sociable again. But I see your point, we should be putting more spending towards those who have never been convicted than we are now.

[robsinatra]

I'm unclear whether you're OK with spending other people's money but not your own. The fund supporting this initiative accepts donations. Have you donated? Have you volunteered? No, you haven't and you won't.

[bdcravens]

Why do you say that? I have supported educational efforts in prison, but not this specific one. I have personally hired at least 3 people who have been in prison.