Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/19/fcc-votes-to-end-prison-phone-rate-robbery.html
…
14 Likes
All I can say is that the US desperately needs to separate the profit motive from incarceration.
35 Likes
And healthcare. And infrastructure. And politics. And the justice system.
35 Likes
Can we throw in education/job training too while we’re at it?
19 Likes
This is good news. But something about the numbers in this post doesn’t seem to make sense. This post says:
- The companies are currently allowed to charge 14 dollars per minute.
- The new rules will “more than halve” the per-minute rate caps.
- The table of new caps lists rates from 6 cents per minute to 25 cents per minute
That would be a decrease of 99.57% to 98.21%. That is way more than half.
The only thing linked to in this post is this press release. The press release doesn’t seem to mention the 14 dollars per minute amount anywhere. Where did that number come from?
10 Likes
They really need to reexamine that dodgy interpretation of the 13th amendment.
AMENDMENT XIII
Section 1.
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.
Were they really equating all incarceration with slavery, or were they saying that slavery and involuntary servitude remain as possible punishments (like execution) that someone can be sentenced to by a court of law?
Is there anywhere else in the US constitution or law that supports that first interpretation?
6 Likes
The statement available on the FCC’s site mentions the $14 figure.
2 Likes
Yes it does. But that is from October 2015? I’m even more confused now.
2 Likes
Trump Administration will def. work to weaken both the 13th and 14th amendments.
2 Likes
Soon to be overturned by SCOTUS as departmental overreach.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
