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by billy99k 256 days ago
"Prisoners for slave labour in the US, and is routinely discussed in US legal reddit and the like: It's normalised in the states which depend on this kind of labour to get some things like road construction/maintenance done. Historically it was field work as well. I am unsure if this continues."

While it is used in some US industries, it's not nearly as pervasive as it is in China. I also think it's a much different situation in the US. In the US, it might be someone in prison for life getting a lower wage to pick up garbage on the road (as opposed to being locked in a cage all day).

In China, it's the way of life for many people in many provinces. The article you linked to is a good example of this.

I wasn't just talking about slave labor, though. It's regular labor with no regulations and long hours, which leads to children working and other horrific conditions.

It's pretty easy to get ahead, when you don't have to follow the same rules as the countries you are competing against. The irony also isn't lost on me that Republicans have wanted to get rid of regulations for years and many in the tech industry support China without hesitation.

"even if you stand very little chance of a just outcome as a foreigner."

This was my point.

2 comments

> it's not nearly as pervasive as it is in China.

Do you have an empirical source that can back this up, or is this just guesswork?