One key element in reducing recidivism by imprisoned criminals is maintaining contact between them and their families on the outside. It makes sense and it's been demonstrated in studies.
Which makes price gouging by phone concessionaires at jails and prisons not only ethically suspect, but societally damaging.
Fortunately, it looks like the FCC is going to crack down on the practice — though that has some smaller jails worried.
'Jails and prisons around the country have in recent years become financially reliant on revenue received from prison phone companies, which pay millions of dollars in concession fees, called commissions, to win exclusive contracts. High concession fees drive up the cost of phone calls because the companies say they must try to recover their investment.'
Another demonstration of how privatizing prisons or prison functions, not to mention scrimping on budgets so that jails are "financially reliant" on concession fees for phones, fergoshsakes, is not the way to run a public service.
Prison phone companies charging “endless” fees to families of inmates
FCC says it will put a stop to price gouging.
Charging you more of what they know you don't have…..
poverty tax
Well, when your model is the capitalistic philosophy of transferring money from the public coffers and the poor, anything that has the possibility of interrupting that concept is a bad thing.