INFLATION, PRICE-FIXING, PRICE GOUGING IS A B**CH BEHIND BARS
By LuDale Randy Jones #190968, NLA Chapter 1013

First we address Michigan Department of Correction pay scale for prisoners.

Routine Work Assignment: Unskilled $.74 day rate; Semi-Skill $.94 daily rate and Skilled $1.24 daily rate.   FOOD SERVICE WORKER: Unskilled $.18 hourly rate; Semi-skilled $.94 hourly rate, and $1.24 hourly rate.   Advance Educated/Training Pay Scale: First $2.08 & Second $2.84 — School Pay $.59 a day.

Inmates in the State of Michigan are suffering from the outrages inflation, price-fixing and price gouging behind bars. Recently, MDOC informed its prisoners that prices would once again be raised between 3% to 20%. Prices are already 30% to 110% over priced on all store items, e.g., ramen 52 cent — a 46% raise from 2022.

The State of Michigan contracted Access/Keefe to provide prisoners commissary items. This contract have allowed Access to raised prices on commissary items every six month since 2020. Access and Access Securepak (Securepak allows family members and friends to send packages [pre-approved items] to prisoners.), is an “affiliate” of Keefe Group. Keefe Group describes itself as “the leading supplier of food product, personal care products, electronics, clothing, technology, telecommunications and software solutions correctional facilities across the nation.” https://www.keefegroup.com. Keefe is a billion dollar company, there is no pubic record to how much revenue is generated, because it is a privately held.

The State of Michigan decision to allow Keefe/Access Securepak to be the principal market holder in exchange for a share in the price-fixing and price gouging of that entity. The two profit by marking up commissary items. As stated, recently the markup was between 3%-20%. Revenue generated by the markups are suppose to be placed in Inmate Benefit Funds, however, these funds are most likely spent on operational expenses such as operating commissary.

The Covid pandemic provided Keefe and the State of Michigan the perfect opportunity to exploit prisoners and their family. We the prisoners have no recourse to fight these high prices, the federal court(s) have held, “prisoners have no constitutionally guaranteed rights to purchase commissary items at the same or lower price than charged at regular retail stores”. See Floyd v Emmet County Correctional Facility, 2006 US Dist LEXIS 32518. Canell v Dep’t of Corr., 2010 U.S. Dist LEXIS 38425 (inmates do not have a constitutionally protected right to be able to purchase items from the commissary at a particular price or to prevent the charging of exorbitant prices). Leaving most prisoners to abandon their effort for rehabilitation, and focus on survival.
“The Marshall Project requested commissary prices from all 50 state departments of correction to understand the scope of inflation behind bars. Twenty-six departments responded.” Michigan did not respond to the Marshall Project. Marshall found incarcerated people across the country are paying more now for staple items such as peanut butter, soap, coffee and toothpaste than they did a year ago. Priced increases for some items are higher in prison than on the outside. View
newside@themarshallproject.org. New Inside, August 2023 –Issue 14

The State of Michigan and MDOC are ignoring the burden that it is placing on inmates’ families and hindering the families ability to assist in purchasing these expensive commissary items. The burdens are shared, having direct affect on inmates’ psychological mood, and the environment of the prison system itself. Better stated by Mr. Price from New Jersey State Penitentiary, “With the prison ecosystem feeling the effects of society’s inflation, the poor get poorer and then the poor get desperate,” “… Illicit activity festers in destitute communities, and the prison population is the poorest of poor.” If you can think of it, yes, its happening!

I write about inflation, price-fixing and price gouging, because these entities affect personal integrity, respect for human dignity especially in a institution setting, personal and institutional responsibility and accountability. These entities hinder the goal of rehabilitation by rejecting the inherent dignity of each person the law deprives of freedom, civil rights or property.

Chapter 1013 urge the reader to view
newside@themarshallproject.org

Thank you, Sincerely