That's done in some places actually and I think it's terrible. We pay taxes to run these things, they don't need to steal more money from people they throw into jail. I think it's a bit ridiculous to charge people rent for being in prison.
I'm baffled here. How is it stealing if we are simply charging them the cost of their incarceration while they are there? Please, explain this to me, perhaps at a level my 5 year old can understand because at 40 I don't get it. What I do get is this:
1. I purchased a home in 2004
2. I took out a loan from a bank to purchase that home.
3. I must make my loan payments each month or the bank will foreclose on the home and eventually sell it to someone else.
4. When the roof leaks I must fix it or pay someone to fix it.
5. When the furnace goes out it's on me.
6. I must pay the utility companies if I want utilities in my home.
7. I must purchase appliances and furniture if I want those things in my home.
8. I must purchase food if I want to cook in my home or go out to eat or hunt and plant a garden or somehow come up with food.
So, now your saying, if I go out and hold a gun up to some guys head and take his money, rape his wife, kill his dog, burn his house, drink his liquor and diddle his cat that I won't have to pay for those things for as long as the judge thinks I should be in jail and that I should receive all those things and expect them as being obligatory simply because I have committed however any crimes it took to get my own self locked up?
Let's review a lesson all of my children know:
1. Every action has an equal & opposite reaction. Yes, physics applies to raising my children.
2. If you commit a wrongful act then you will punish yourself. It is not me grounding them, it is not me placing them in the corner, it is not me smacking their behinds, it is them. I am only the tool that is delivering the punishment.
3. This is called accepting personal responsibility for your actions.
Now, if my kids are grounded does that get them out of their chores or pulling their "fair weight" around the house? Nope, they still gotta do it.
So, why then when someone commits a wrongful act against the general public do we reward them with tons of free stuff and no obligation whatsoever to pay for anything? This is your argument.
I had a guy back in 2002 break into our home (my oldest daughter was 8 months old at the time) while we were home. These guys basically committed a home invasion in all senses of the crime. When we did our research and discovered they owned 2 homes, 1 paid in full and the other over 1/2 way to paid off we went after their arses. Why? Because they deserved it.
The judge sentenced them to prison for burglary and home invasion. We followed up with a nice little civil suit and cleaned them out of the houses. Do I care that the one guy was married and his wife was homeless when we got done with them? Nope, because he should of thought about that when he broke into my house without caring about my family. In the end, I am not the one who made her homeless, he is, through his own actions. I was simply the tool used to carry out the final steps necessary to make it happen.
If people don't want to be resonsible for the cost of incarcerating their spouses then get a divorce.
Personally, I think this idea should go further. We should also make them pay when they get out, if they can't afford it then they have to get a job and make payments with interest until it is paid off.
When you commit a crime I am not making a contract with you that gives you the right to have everything for free. I am not agreeing to loan you the money to live a life that is free of having to pay bills. These guys can work in prison, make it a requirement. Seize their pay until the entire bill is paid off.
