The prisoners fighting wildfires in California

[Ideologue]

I was talking about prisoners being used for for-profit labor, yes, not general facility maintenance and chores.  I'm unsure of the breakdown, though I get the feeling there's a lot more of the former than the latter, although "any" is too much.

[mongers]

I'm not saying it's good but the pay isn't $2 a day:

Inmate firefighters earn $2 a day, plus $1 an hour when they are out on a fire - which compares to a going rate of about 10-35 cents an hour for a normal paid job in prison.

It can also accelerate a prisoner's release. While most California inmates are entitled to "day for day" credits for good behaviour, firefighters earn two days off their sentence every day they are on a fire.

Bit by bit these benefits add up, says 27-year-old inmate firefighter Bryan Earnhart.

"I've got about six months knocked off my sentence. The pay might not sound much, but [as] the last fire went on, we made about $800," he says.

I also like that some of prisoners feel they're making a contribution towards society.