The safety of the public and the rights of victims demand a ``NO'' vote on Proposition 194. Public safety suffers when inmates leaving prison cannot plan on a stable source of minimal income until they find a job. Victims' rights suffer when inmates are not sufficiently reintegrated into society to pay full restitution. By preventing certain inmates from obtaining unemployment insurance, this measure would impair both public safety and the rights of victims of crime.
The law provides unemployment insurance for working prisoners because they often have great difficulty finding employment immediately upon release. Unemployment is a special problem for inmates released during an economic downturn when there is likely to be a weak job market. Without financial resources to fall back on, ex-prisoners would be more likely to return to crime to support themselves.
Unemployment insurance for an inmate who works for a private employer in a joint venture with the prison DOES NOT COST TAXPAYERS ONE CENT. It is paid for by the regular contributions of the employed prisoner and the private employer.
It is shortsighted simply to focus on the in-prison aspects of the Joint Venture Program, and to change it to impair the ability of discharged inmates to maintain themselves and pay restitution to the victims of their crimes while they are trying to find work.
While some might like you to believe that the existing law treats Joint Venture employers unfairly, remember that they receive below-market rents, a 10% tax credit, and are not required to pay health and dental benefits for inmate labor.
Enormous amounts of energy and talent are currently going to waste in prisons, but government and victims need not come out on the short end of negotiations over how much money Joint Venture companies make from the work of prisoners. Instead, prison inmates who work in Joint Venture Programs should have the same chances as other working people to put those skills to work after they leave the institution.
Let's not impair programs which enable released prisoners to restore themselves as productive members of society and which reduce the likelihood that they will commit future crimes.
Vote ``NO'' on Proposition 194.
STEPHEN C. BIRDLEBOUGH
Member, Friends Committee on Legislation