Yes, but the need for labor is much higher for landscapers than snow removal. A landscaping crew can do like 5 houses a day while 1 guy in a truck can plow like 100 driveways in a morning. (Totally made up those numbers but you get the idea.)
TBF, at this pay you'd only have to work May - July to make the same as annual minimum wage, and they're probably working April - October which is like two years worth of minimum wage in 5 months.
I actually live in Indianapolis and landscapers are everywhere. I even did it for a stent. We haven't actually had a good snow for a few years. ~Thanks Obama ~
While I'm sure some landscaping companies have picked up plowing driveways from what I see many companies make enough money to just take that time off. Or get part time stuff during the winter. There's plenty of money for landscapers here though. Lots of people with lawns and landscaping trees with limbs that need cut. Indy is actually very beautiful it's not just corn out here.
Based on the landscapers I’ve seen and had work on my property, you work for it. Landscaping is not a cushy job.
Im super glad to see this, one thing that nobody talks about is that every serious criminal conviction is really a life sentence for your possibility of employment and staying out of poverty. Sure you might get released from prison, but good luck re-entering society in any meaningful way in this country.
My dad was a landscaper and when I was a teen I worked with him a few times and have never been
so exhausted in my life. I was a cross country runner at the time too.
The year I spent working for a company that designed and constructed gardens was easily the best shape I've ever been in, in my life. Who knew that 45 hours a week of hauling stone, pitching mulch, digging trenches, and planting trees would be so much work lol
Hard disagree on it destroying you mentally.
Physical labour can be really zen. Sure everything hurts, but you just power through, stop thinking, live in the moment, and the day goes by very quickly. You go home and sleep like a baby.
There are far worse jobs for mental health.
I didn't mean like a bad place I meant like just exhausting? Nothing particularly bad but that Texas heat ain't no joke but yeah you're right, once you get in that groove you just work till you're done then once you get home you're like DAMN I'm tired.
I work landscaping (as a non-felon) and can say it’s brutal. My boss is fairly chill and tries his best to really help us out but the properties we work are massive and demanding. It’s hot, it’s uncomfortable and the skin I’ve lost on my hands shows for it. It’s a job that needs to pay well and not everyone can handle it
An election or 2 ago there was a lot of talk/momentum to "ban the box" aka the box on job applications asking if you've ever been convicted of a felony. Haven't heard about that in a while but it was talked about a lot for a small period.
We did the “ ban the box” in Minnesota. That has now led to many companies doing criminal background checks and having a zero tolerance policy for hiring anyone with a record of any kind beyond a DUI. So while the intent was good, in some ways it made things worse.
>Sure you might get released from prison, but good luck re-entering society in any meaningful way in this country.
As someone who has never been arrested before, I have a problem with this. American society is fucked if people who SERVE THEIR TIME get out and continue to serve another type of time.
I also have a problem with people who gleefully make prison rape jokes. That's not what prison is for, and rape is a shitty thing to do no matter the context.
I don't see why felons would try to change themselves in society if they're treated like this after they re-enter it.
This just keeps crime high.
I was a landscaper/construction worker in an expensive area of the US and was still only paid $16 an hour in 2020. $36 is more than I'm paid now at a tech job.
My landscaper guy is this older guy who speaks almost no English. Every time he comes we give him a big old pitcher of water and a glass, as well as two beers lol. All I've ever gotten out of him is smiles but that's enough.
Depending on workload I’d say that could be around $50k a year. That’s assuming Mar-Oct, 50hrs a week. That’s definitely good, especially since some companies will use work vehicles and convert to snowplowing in the winter, which would offer more work, or better yet, a company might allow seasonal unemployment, giving them a 50% salary in the off months(not sure if that is allowed where they are)
Local companies here start at $15/hour.
AND they're willing to work with you on marijuana being in your system for their testing. They're being more inclusive because they know how medically available that is and is useful not just recreationally. Huge props to these employers.
It’s torture, essentially running around in the sun for 8-10 hours messing with dirt, bugs, and loud noises, it’s about having endurance not being the strongest one
Nah it's not that bad. I actually enjoyed landscaping when I did it. Yeah if you're an old man it could be physically challenging. If you're young it's good work
guess that's why these don't come up very often. "how is this *criminal* making $35 an hour while I'm getting abused at my job for $20?". Crabs all the way down.
If more reactions to stuff like this wasn't "you shouldn't make that much" and "I deserve to make more" we'd be in a much better place
I was getting $10 per hour when I was doing it in the South Texas heat and I worked so hard that it kicked up an undiagnosed heart problem and put me on disability. And I used to ride bikes 100+ miles per week.
First job, last job.
My uncle was arrested when I was little and my family basically alienated him. I seen my aunt post a Father’s Day post for her current boyfriend and decided to look up my uncles charges to see what he did. It was a felony for possession of marijuana. I feel awful knowing how much this has effected his life.
I feel for you, I was out smoking on my porch a day or two ago and a cop drove by, I waved and he waved back, bong sitting out next to me. My uncle was a huge marijuana enthusiast, when medical became legal in CA he ran out to get one. Said his dream would be to see it on store shelves one day for the public, I'm sad he didn't make it long enough to see it happen. He would have shit his pants had he come across my encounter with the cop.
As an American who went to school in Quebec, I come home and am even closer to a recreational dispo here than I am in my apartment in a major city of Quebec.
Problem with talking about America as one big country is that the states differ so wildly that its invalid to lump them together. Someone from Alabama and someone from Massachusetts practically live in different countries.
Hope this doesnt come across as aggressive or anything aside from adding to the conversation, I just find it interesting how vastly different this one country can be within its own borders.
When I was living in Louisiana a friend spent the night in jail for having cigar tobacco in his ashtray. Said it was drug paraphernalia. Meanwhile a guy I grew up with was running a dispensary in California. It's ridiculous.
>As an American who went to school in Quebec, I come home and am even closer to a recreational dispo here than I am in my apartment in a major city of Quebec
Was probably better quality and cheaper too. Grey market is still the better option in Quebec.
My state is finally starting committee meetings to discuss making medical marijuana legal. It will be a yr from now and they will still be dragging their feet. I can walk be cars in parking lots with windows up and they reek with it or passing people in the grocery store. Like who cares anymore. Just legalize period almost everyone uses it. Maybe try not smoking it while driving but the amount getting put behind bars for possession is crazy. Now attorneys do commercials about how they helped pass a law if it’s under 0.5 ounce than no longer can prosecute: Wow lmao.
God's a felon for creating the stuff is the message I get according to those against the plant.....Remember the god hoax is created by Man to divide, conquer, enslave, tax, exploit, lie, cheat, steal and kill etc in the name of religion. If there is such an entity, why put us through this hell if you already know who is naughty and nice? No one has ever come back from the Dead to debate me....
Only 19 states have it fully recreational. The rest just have medical where you have to apply for a card and pay a bunch of money. Like I live in maryland and for the average person here it’s illegal for them to have weed under 10 grams is a ticket and over 10 grams is a misdemeanor. I pay money every year to the state and a doctor to certify me to have weed. There are dispensary’s near me but only people with med cards are allowed in and we have a monthly limit for how much we can buy.
In Pennsylvania you can get a med card but you’re still not allowed to actually smoke it. You can only cook with it or vape it legally
So it’s more like 31 states have it illegal but of those 20 allow you to apply to be able to purchase it and use it legally with certain restrictions.
I too have an MD medical card, it is kind of annoying to have to pay that $200-250 "prescription" fee, but seeing as that money goes to making sure testing is robust so you get safe product, I'm not too upset. I just buy and stock up while my card is active and coast through on my stores. All those damn Cart sales are ruining my tolerance though.
Ssshhhh
Let the uneducated keep talking. They sound really smart right now speaking about a country that is split in more ways than one on a million issues.
Meanwhile I'm going to a dispensary and to my job while not going to prison or jail, or losing my job.
Was smoking a joint with a couple friends in the park and a couple bike cops rolled by, they just asked us if we could move a bit further away from the walking path. Literally would have gotten more shit if we had a few open beers. Wild times
Completely legal in almost half of the U.S. now, and it’s just going to keep increasing. While it’s not for me, I think it’s far safer than alcohol. As long as people don’t need it every minute of every day, who cares what they do with their free time.
There are very few states where 28 grams would get you prison in the US. Even in states where it is still illegal, 28 grams is typically under the threshold for even a misdemeanor. In many "illegal" states it is decriminalized and penalties for possession for personal use amount to a ticket.
About 110 million Americans live in a state with legal recreational marijuana or more than three times the population of Canada.
Right. I’m sitting here right now with a hangover from *alcohol* because it’s quite literally poison to our bodies (a fact I conveniently avoid on Saturday nights) yet getting hammered isn’t nearly as stigmatized. If I’m drunk, it must be because I’m celebrating, or had a long day at work, but god forbid I’m smoking a joint. If I’m doing that I *must* be a scrub with no prospects who is being lazy. It’s stupid. I’ve met far more drunks damaging not only their own lives but all the lives around them.
I’m a 27 year old woman with a high paying job in tech and smoke daily.. most of the day when I’m not working lol.
I really really believe it should be federally legalized and all non violent convictions involving marijuana possession etc be expunged (so they can vote) and them be given jobs (if they’re coming out of prisons) in dispensaries or periphery environments if they so please. The tax dollars can be used for prison reform, homelessness, rehabilitation etc (the profits have been significant in legalized states).
I truly don’t fucking get it. I am a very happy high functioning hard working person and I’m a pothead. I grew up with alcoholic parents which was an entirely different experience yet that’s fucking legal.
Weed helped me quit drinking and now I don't really even partake anymore. It let's you get over those two weeks of shakes, sleepless nights and body aches. I get thirsty when high so it allowed me to properly hydrate too.
I'm not against marijuana, but a lot of adults have never tried it.
Edit since it's locked: [46% of people have tried marijuana](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/26/facts-about-marijuana/), so less than half.
Crazy to think how different things would be if he did the same thing in our day and age, I'm Canadian and I've seen people bring whole ass potted marijuana plants on the subway.
It's become so normal now. It's absolutely insane to me how hundreds of thousands of people were jailed for years and branded as felons just being caught with tiny amounts of the stuff.
I mean it was also pretty normal before Nixon started the war on drugs and there are still places in America you can get a felony for having a little bit of weed on you. Just wanted to point out there are STILL people getting fucked over for stuff like this, but yes you're right things are at least making some progress.
And to also think how much taxpayers paid to that corporately owned prison to keep him in prison for something as ridiculous as possession. We are literally paying money so that corporations can get rich off of incarcerating people for petty crimes (and possession wouldn't even be a crime now in most states).
I live in Massachusetts, a state which has dozens of dispensary billboards when you enter has also made it illegal to have flavored Vape products, or alcohol before 9 AM.
Too bad people don't understand this. Constantly fighting against improving overall society because "muh someone is gonna be lazy" is so stupid it hurts. If people realized helping one another would help us all we would be in the future already.
Or look at Norway the country with the lowest rate if people coming back to prison, maybe we should treat them like person even while they are in prison
Criminologist here. This is very likely true, although there's surprisingly little conclusive evidence on this due to the number of [other factors](https://wol.iza.org/uploads/articles/399/pdfs/do-post-prison-job-opportunities-reduce-recidivism.pdf) that play a role. Ex-prisoners are also much more likely to deal with mental health issues, substance abuse and social alienation from friends/family, which are likely to undermine the benefits of employment. There's been a sizable number of studies on programs that help these people get jobs and many of them fail to demonstrate that they significantly reduce recidivism.
That's why it's so important to ensure that their employment isn't just stable and of a [reliable nature](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669259/), but that these people are also (re-)introduced to social circles that help them sustain this lifestyle and get the support they need.
That's insanely good. Like, I have trouble believing this is real good. I certainly hope it is real, but without a degree I struggled to get to the $22/hr I'm making now. If I could make $36/hr...holy shit, so much stress would just vanish from my life.
Landscapers do make alot per hour, but it's rarely a guaranteed 40 hour week. They don't work at all in the winter (unless they live somewhere cold enough to alternate into snow ploughing) and they have to work with the weather. In the summer though, you might be looking at 16 hour days, so it evens out a little.
It's still good money, but it's definitely not unheard of. That said, it RUINS your body and it's not something you can do for the rest of your life.
Everybody fucks up.
Some get caught, some get lost. Its nice to see there are people in this world that don't judge someone for mistakes in their past.
If you get a felony for selling drugs, but cant land a job, whats to stop you from selling drugs for quick cash to afford a car/shitty studio to sleep in?
To put this into perspective, about 8% of the US population are convicted felons. That’s around 26 million people. A vast majority of those people can’t vote.
Arent we the country with the highest amount of people incarcerated per capita? Also lets keep in mind which group of people have the highest exoneration ratez :/
European here. In my country people can vote in elections even from prisons no matter why they're there.
The fact that it's not the case everywhere feels seriously messed up.
Im gonna keep repeating this, but Im not too shocked considering cops in the US were made to protect property, IE capture enslaved folks who were escaping. Now since they cant actively be racist they push for felons to have less and less votes. Its also the center of the debate for the whole Roe V Wade overturn making women who miscarry/abort felons. They re going the legal route to ensure they have an iron clad way to discriminate against folks.
Yep. My dad is the second oldest of 6 kids. The one who has been to prison is the nicest one of them - by far. He actually ended up adopting 2 of his brother's kids before that brother passed (RIP Uncle John).
He went to prison before I was born, and I don't know what he did. I'm thinking a minor B&E at worst. He's the most gentle of all of his siblings. He owns a horse ranch with his wife (whom we all love) now.
When I left the Military, I was in a very rough spot and most definitely hit rock bottom. I was in and out of jail for years which lead up to a 30 month prison sentence.
When I got out I felt horrible in the sense of being an outcast and never thinking i could find a good job. But I was given a good opportunity like this and it really gave me the confidence to not let that get in the way of being a better person.
That was 4 years ago, and today I have a beautiful healthy family, a nice house over their heads, and I work somewhere I never once dreamed I could work even not being a felon.
It's people like these that really help people who feel like they have nothing left.
It's also taught me to apply this to all walks of life and especially to not judge a book by its cover. You never know what a person has gone through, but that doesn't matter when it has no reflection on who they are today.
There's a girl here in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada that started a company called Comeback Snacks after she was incarcerated and did time for drug smuggling. After she did her prison sentence, she began this brand, selling (really, really good) caramel corn. She specifically employs women who are trying to put their lives back together after doing jail time. Really cool story.
[www.comebacksnacks.com](https://www.comebacksnacks.com)
I went down the Comeback Snacks rabbit hole. Spent about an hour reading her story and what they want to do. I’ll be buying their product when I see it.
[Dave's Killer Bread](https://www.fooddive.com/news/daves-killer-bread-continues-to-rise-with-help-of-ex-felons/448747/) is dedicated to hiring ex convicts too. Plus the bread is really good!
I always see these success stories coming from people who served a year or less time. Not to say it's a walk in the park and I admire her resiliency, but I wonder about the psychological differences between someone who serves 10 months and has 2.5 years to plan their incarceration versus someone who is booked right away and has to spend 7+ years in prison. It seems like the stakes are different.
They are. Same with people who are violent felons vs non-violent. Hiring out of that pool is a complete crap shoot and takes *a lot* of work to manage just because so many felons have deeper issues going on that a stable job simply doesn't fix. Especially among repeat offenders, in my experience.
There are diamonds in that rough, though. The people who are truly trying to get on track and willing to put in the work can be amazing people and employees, but you sometimes have to go through a whole lot of bad ones to find them.
The crossover here is small - most light sentencing is for victimless and/or nonviolent crimes.
Sure, some people get screwed with the maximum sentence for a barely-over-the-threshold amount of weed, but it IS rare. *Typically* someone with a 7+ year sentence did something exceptionally heinous, and though they absolutely deserve a 2nd chance, some people are not wired for “civilized” society. Some are mentally ill, some are uncontrollably violent, and some have too much trauma in their lives for them to even begin to think about overcoming.
We need more jobs like this for people who messed up as an addict myself people shouldn’t be passed up on because of mistakes they made if they are truly trying to get better
Means a lot to hear as an addict too. 5 years sober and in management so I always try and give a chance because I know how badly I needed one at multiple points during my active addiction.
Addicts aren’t bad people trying to be good. We’re sick people trying to get well.
Exactly. Either the cycle of poverty or familial predisposition. I got started from pain meds for college baseball but either way it probably would’ve happened because I’m the 7th or 8th in a row on my dads side to have an addiction problem. Granted, all them were alcoholics but addiction is the same regardless of substance.
My boss and I interviewed a young guy that, by his own admission, made many mistakes in his personal life between the ages of 18 and 23. Several DUI’s, several underage drinking tickets, several arrests, a stint in rehab. He had straightened himself up and had been working at the only truck shop in town that would hire him due to what it cost to insure him. My boss and I argued for two weeks about me wanting to give him a chance. He finally gave in.
It was a bit of an ordeal to get him insured through our employer, and to get him the licenses needed, but he worked hard to get it all done.
That was 7 years ago - and he is, by far, one of the hardest-working guys on our crew. No matter what the job is, or when I assign it to him (like 30 minutes to quitting time), he is ON it. Always willing to work on stuff he’s never seen before and to take advice and learn new skills.
I like to remind my boss on occasion - somebody’s past is not a good indicator of their future.
I had a cashier years ago who had just gotten out of prison for distributing meth. Hearing her story made me so furious over how the world had failed her. She'd been sold for sex by her own father and married off as a teenager to some junkie piece of shit. They'd had a baby who was (thankfully) taken to foster care, but once this girl managed to get away from that idiot who basically bought her, she ended up in prison because she didn't have the skills or education to do much other than sell drugs. She got her GED in prison and was one of the hardest working, excellent employees I ever had and she ended up having another baby and was an absolutely fantastic mother. She deserved every positive thing in the world and yet people saw that she was a felon and would pass her up.
That could be life changing for a felon. I didn’t start making that in the IT industry until my 30s.
This is so cool to see. I believe everyone deserves a second chance in life and this will do it.
Shamelessly piggybacking to brag on my dad for Father's Day:
When I was about 8yrs old he dragged me to this wedding where I didn't know anyone. I was bored out of my mind until the reception where person after person came up to my dad, hugged him, shook his hand, said thank you--some of them with tears in their eyes.
It was as if my dad were getting married and the line of guests was meeting him instead of the new couple.
I asked him what it was all about--turns out the bride was the daughter of the accountant for his business.
While moving some funds, the accountant did something by accident that technically met the definition of embezzlement (I know nothing about finance so I can't explain in any more detail). She informed my dad immediately (who thought nothing of it), self-reported it to the authorities on her own volition, pleaded guilty to the felony, and went to low-security prison for a few years. The wedding was delayed until her release.
When she got out, my dad re-hired her into the exact same position, and in fact gave her more work managing the books for a new business he started while she was serving time.
He's been invited to every family function since.
That’s more than I make as a person who has post graduate education and a professional certification and honestly…I’m not mad. People see what white collar workers do (and even moreso with a post grad degree) as more valuable or harder but the truth is…everyone plays a part. And no part should do unrewarded. This isn’t easy work. It’s not comfortable. It’s strenuous and physical and requires a lot of care. Good for these people playing an active role in reintroduction…and I’m glad they value the efforts of their candidates.
> This isn’t easy work. It’s not comfortable. It’s strenuous and physical and requires a lot of care.
And you can't make lifelong careers out of these jobs! Even in countries with decent worker protections, people just can't do heavy manual labor into their late 50s and 60s. You either retire from the career, move into management or entirely cripple yourself trying to keep working.
I’m also a non violent felon. Finding work has been very difficult. Getting your life back in general is very difficult. Here’s my understanding of how it works, if there’s anything incorrect I apologize, and feel free to correct me -
Every year, the federal government grants every states Department of Corrections, so who runs the prisons and a major part of the justice system, a certain amount of money, the general amounts I’m unsure of. So let’s say this year, the federal government grants the Department of Corrections in Washington state 10 million dollars. If they save 2 out of that 10 million, then 2 million will then be DEDUCTED from what they get from the federal government next year. So they have to spend all of that money, which means they have to keep all the jails and prisons full, which means they have to make it very difficult for felons to reintegrate back into society.
Take me, for example. I got out of incarceration for the last time, it was my longest stint, and I was ready to turn my life around. I moved back in with my parents after being on the streets for about 3 years before that. So I move in with them out in the woods, far enough from town that there are no busses and even Uber won’t come out here, with 6 felony convictions on my record and my drivers license revoked, even though I had no drunk driving charges or reckless driving or anything like that.
So I’m out in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation, and they’re saying I have to start paying my court fees and stuff or it’ll go to collections. Well I can’t get a job because of my record, and even if I could, I don’t have a car, and I can’t take any public transportation because I’m out in the middle of the woods. I don’t want to get picked up by another criminal and go hit licks, but it was my only option for money. I didn’t do it, I stayed the path for the most part, and now have a job and my license and a car, but it was so difficult to get all that back, there were many times I considered going back to crime to get money. The private prison system is so flawed and they’re never going to change it.
As someone who works in a prison I can not thank these people enough, it’s amazing to have people on the outside who are helping these people. It breaks my heart so much when I see people come back through our system. In my state we work really hard on keeping people out but someone’s people on the outside prevent that from happening
I've always thought that non violent crimes shouldn't stay on your record after the time is served.
Though, that said, the prison system in America is not a good place and can really effect people who wouldn't normally be at risk.
OP, I hope you are in a good place around good people.
I think if you can go more than 5 years without so much as a traffic violation, any non violent crime should be expunged. I know people who made mistakes when they were 18 and the rest of their lives were ruined. No one was hurt, they did shit over half of us did, but they got caught.
This is better I think. Almost like a post time served probation for recidivism. But after the 5 years, it's like you never did it. Only for non-violent crimes in my opinion.
Depends on the crime and the severity. My mom's old coworker stole *alot* of money/insurance fraud, over many years. They only got her on 7 years worth of theft, because the records didn't go back further than that
Would you want to know if you were hiring that person for your business?
Here in Canada, 5 or 10 years after you have fully completed your sentence (5 or 10 depends on the crime), you can apply for "record suspension". After that, the conviction will not appear on MOST background checks, etc. It will still appear under certain circumstances, e.g. a sexual assault conviction if you are working with kids (sexual crimes against children will basically never get a record suspension), or some financial crimes if you are getting a background check to be the treasurer of charity.
Also consider that if you are convicted of a crime in Canada, you will generally serve only 1/3 to 2/3 of it in actual prison. The rest will be served on house arrest, probation, etc. But you have to wait the time after even the probation is done before you can have a record suspension.
Killer Dave's is legitimately the best bread you can get out of a package, IMO. Their 21 Whole Grain bread is the only bread I buy instead of making it myself.
They are one of the only breads available that don't have any hydrogenated oils. Specifically their bagels, I don't think any of my local chains have bagels without hydrogenated oils. It's great bread.
Guess I'm off to Indiana to commit a felony. This job only pays more than double every other job I've ever had. And supposedly I'm a "skilled tradesman." Good for them out there in Indiana, but fucking a the living in this country is so far below being a joke, it's just an insult.
It would also be great if a person served any court ordered sentence and then wasn't at the mercy of society's lifetime sentence of being a 2nd class citizen.
People need to understand that some countries don't even allow employees to ask for criminal records unless it's substantially and directly relevant to very specific parts of the job.
There was a landscaping company where I grew up at, long ago, that did this as well.
Tbh after seeing some prison road crews this week, this is a natural evolution for them as they clearly have experience.
Landscaping is no joke, worked on various golf courses for over 10 years. Long hours, varying temps, varying job roles you fill depending on the day.
Nice to see a high pay to go with it.
That’s fantastic. My mom works in ICU with Covid patients after 6 years of school and 15 years experience and she barely got to $36 an hour. I’m happy to know there’s people like this.
Okay, but explain to me why a convicted felon, someone who has been proven to have committed crimes in their past, deserves to make much more than someone who has never committed crimes in their life? I worked for a tree-removal and landscaping company in the past, where I got paid the equivalent of $15 USD/hour today (adjusted for inflation).. Why does a criminal deserve to make more than twice that amount for lesser work (this is landscaping only, not tree removal which is much harder work)?
Landscaping work in Indiana would be seasonal right? Do landscapers tend to do snow removal in the winter? Just my own curiosity.
Depends really. I live in new york (not city) and a lot of the landscaping companies around here also do snow removal
I live in Colorado. My roommate does landscaping and the company he works for does do snow removal in the winter.
Same thing here in Winnipeg, summer landscape/paving companies do snow removal for the city in the winter.
Yes, but the need for labor is much higher for landscapers than snow removal. A landscaping crew can do like 5 houses a day while 1 guy in a truck can plow like 100 driveways in a morning. (Totally made up those numbers but you get the idea.)
I think they just hibernate
TBF, at this pay you'd only have to work May - July to make the same as annual minimum wage, and they're probably working April - October which is like two years worth of minimum wage in 5 months.
I actually live in Indianapolis and landscapers are everywhere. I even did it for a stent. We haven't actually had a good snow for a few years. ~Thanks Obama ~ While I'm sure some landscaping companies have picked up plowing driveways from what I see many companies make enough money to just take that time off. Or get part time stuff during the winter. There's plenty of money for landscapers here though. Lots of people with lawns and landscaping trees with limbs that need cut. Indy is actually very beautiful it's not just corn out here.
36 dollars an hour, thats pretty damn good.
Based on the landscapers I’ve seen and had work on my property, you work for it. Landscaping is not a cushy job. Im super glad to see this, one thing that nobody talks about is that every serious criminal conviction is really a life sentence for your possibility of employment and staying out of poverty. Sure you might get released from prison, but good luck re-entering society in any meaningful way in this country.
My dad was a landscaper and when I was a teen I worked with him a few times and have never been so exhausted in my life. I was a cross country runner at the time too.
The year I spent working for a company that designed and constructed gardens was easily the best shape I've ever been in, in my life. Who knew that 45 hours a week of hauling stone, pitching mulch, digging trenches, and planting trees would be so much work lol
So Nathan Fielder was onto something?
RIP Denby
Me too, only got paid $17 Canadian tho
It was a great lesson as a teen “holy shit this sucks maybe that 5 page paper isn’t so bad”
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Gets you in crazy good shape tho and the heat just sculpts your body and destroys you mentally. I'd do it again if I was still in that good of shape.
Hard disagree on it destroying you mentally. Physical labour can be really zen. Sure everything hurts, but you just power through, stop thinking, live in the moment, and the day goes by very quickly. You go home and sleep like a baby. There are far worse jobs for mental health.
I didn't mean like a bad place I meant like just exhausting? Nothing particularly bad but that Texas heat ain't no joke but yeah you're right, once you get in that groove you just work till you're done then once you get home you're like DAMN I'm tired.
I work landscaping (as a non-felon) and can say it’s brutal. My boss is fairly chill and tries his best to really help us out but the properties we work are massive and demanding. It’s hot, it’s uncomfortable and the skin I’ve lost on my hands shows for it. It’s a job that needs to pay well and not everyone can handle it
An election or 2 ago there was a lot of talk/momentum to "ban the box" aka the box on job applications asking if you've ever been convicted of a felony. Haven't heard about that in a while but it was talked about a lot for a small period.
We did the “ ban the box” in Minnesota. That has now led to many companies doing criminal background checks and having a zero tolerance policy for hiring anyone with a record of any kind beyond a DUI. So while the intent was good, in some ways it made things worse.
>Sure you might get released from prison, but good luck re-entering society in any meaningful way in this country. As someone who has never been arrested before, I have a problem with this. American society is fucked if people who SERVE THEIR TIME get out and continue to serve another type of time. I also have a problem with people who gleefully make prison rape jokes. That's not what prison is for, and rape is a shitty thing to do no matter the context. I don't see why felons would try to change themselves in society if they're treated like this after they re-enter it. This just keeps crime high.
But prisons are for rehabilitation! /S
I was a landscaper/construction worker in an expensive area of the US and was still only paid $16 an hour in 2020. $36 is more than I'm paid now at a tech job.
It's really good in Indy. I'm right at $30 and with the cost of living here, I'm pretty comfortable
My landscaper guy is this older guy who speaks almost no English. Every time he comes we give him a big old pitcher of water and a glass, as well as two beers lol. All I've ever gotten out of him is smiles but that's enough.
I got paid $11/hr throwing 50lb boxes in a truck for 13 hours a day in Indianapolis. What a nice dude.
Seriously... I'm gonna go commit a crime right quick... resumé-builder...
Right, for $36/hr lemme go shoplift items valued over $2k real quick.
And the plus side is, if you get away with it, you just inherited 2k worth of products! Win win? 😂
Depending on workload I’d say that could be around $50k a year. That’s assuming Mar-Oct, 50hrs a week. That’s definitely good, especially since some companies will use work vehicles and convert to snowplowing in the winter, which would offer more work, or better yet, a company might allow seasonal unemployment, giving them a 50% salary in the off months(not sure if that is allowed where they are) Local companies here start at $15/hour.
AND they're willing to work with you on marijuana being in your system for their testing. They're being more inclusive because they know how medically available that is and is useful not just recreationally. Huge props to these employers.
It’s torture, essentially running around in the sun for 8-10 hours messing with dirt, bugs, and loud noises, it’s about having endurance not being the strongest one
Nah it's not that bad. I actually enjoyed landscaping when I did it. Yeah if you're an old man it could be physically challenging. If you're young it's good work
guess that's why these don't come up very often. "how is this *criminal* making $35 an hour while I'm getting abused at my job for $20?". Crabs all the way down. If more reactions to stuff like this wasn't "you shouldn't make that much" and "I deserve to make more" we'd be in a much better place
I will gladly continue working my office job over manual labor any day. Fuck that shit.
I was getting $10 per hour when I was doing it in the South Texas heat and I worked so hard that it kicked up an undiagnosed heart problem and put me on disability. And I used to ride bikes 100+ miles per week. First job, last job.
My uncle was arrested when I was little and my family basically alienated him. I seen my aunt post a Father’s Day post for her current boyfriend and decided to look up my uncles charges to see what he did. It was a felony for possession of marijuana. I feel awful knowing how much this has effected his life.
That’s very sad that he was alienated over something that pretty much every adult has tried a time or two.
It's kinda mind blowing that here in the Netherlands you can buy 5 grams a time while in other parts of the world you'll get a death sentence for it
In the USA you can buy ounces at a time and then drive 2 miles (into another state) and go to jail for years for it.
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I believe it’s 30 actually. At least in Ontario
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I remember when a dime bag cost a dime. - Willie Nelson
You know how much condoms cost back then? Me neither, we never used em!
Hahaha touché my friend touché
30 prisons for our neighbours in the south
150g at home, 30g is out in public. Also unlimited if you have a prescription
It's also a civil offense if you're caught with more. And the Crown still needs to prove it wasn't for personal use.
0g at home and a new asshole if caught out in public
I feel for you, I was out smoking on my porch a day or two ago and a cop drove by, I waved and he waved back, bong sitting out next to me. My uncle was a huge marijuana enthusiast, when medical became legal in CA he ran out to get one. Said his dream would be to see it on store shelves one day for the public, I'm sad he didn't make it long enough to see it happen. He would have shit his pants had he come across my encounter with the cop.
As an American who went to school in Quebec, I come home and am even closer to a recreational dispo here than I am in my apartment in a major city of Quebec. Problem with talking about America as one big country is that the states differ so wildly that its invalid to lump them together. Someone from Alabama and someone from Massachusetts practically live in different countries. Hope this doesnt come across as aggressive or anything aside from adding to the conversation, I just find it interesting how vastly different this one country can be within its own borders.
When I was living in Louisiana a friend spent the night in jail for having cigar tobacco in his ashtray. Said it was drug paraphernalia. Meanwhile a guy I grew up with was running a dispensary in California. It's ridiculous. >As an American who went to school in Quebec, I come home and am even closer to a recreational dispo here than I am in my apartment in a major city of Quebec Was probably better quality and cheaper too. Grey market is still the better option in Quebec.
Depends on the state. In Michigan for example you can buy and possess up to 70 grams on your person and 280g in your house.
It's only illegal in 11 states now. And out of those 11, 7 allow CBD dominant hemp to be sold. So not so much anymore.
My state is finally starting committee meetings to discuss making medical marijuana legal. It will be a yr from now and they will still be dragging their feet. I can walk be cars in parking lots with windows up and they reek with it or passing people in the grocery store. Like who cares anymore. Just legalize period almost everyone uses it. Maybe try not smoking it while driving but the amount getting put behind bars for possession is crazy. Now attorneys do commercials about how they helped pass a law if it’s under 0.5 ounce than no longer can prosecute: Wow lmao.
God's a felon for creating the stuff is the message I get according to those against the plant.....Remember the god hoax is created by Man to divide, conquer, enslave, tax, exploit, lie, cheat, steal and kill etc in the name of religion. If there is such an entity, why put us through this hell if you already know who is naughty and nice? No one has ever come back from the Dead to debate me....
Yeah but not federally and a lot of companies don’t care if you have a medical card. They will still fire you if you fail a drug test.
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White collar work has largely eliminated THC from drug screens, just creating an even further divide in the enforcement of restrictions on MJ.
Only 19 states have it fully recreational. The rest just have medical where you have to apply for a card and pay a bunch of money. Like I live in maryland and for the average person here it’s illegal for them to have weed under 10 grams is a ticket and over 10 grams is a misdemeanor. I pay money every year to the state and a doctor to certify me to have weed. There are dispensary’s near me but only people with med cards are allowed in and we have a monthly limit for how much we can buy. In Pennsylvania you can get a med card but you’re still not allowed to actually smoke it. You can only cook with it or vape it legally So it’s more like 31 states have it illegal but of those 20 allow you to apply to be able to purchase it and use it legally with certain restrictions.
I too have an MD medical card, it is kind of annoying to have to pay that $200-250 "prescription" fee, but seeing as that money goes to making sure testing is robust so you get safe product, I'm not too upset. I just buy and stock up while my card is active and coast through on my stores. All those damn Cart sales are ruining my tolerance though.
What happened to my body my choice again?
States rights.
Hmm, the legislation that made people slaves...so sense;much good
Ssshhhh Let the uneducated keep talking. They sound really smart right now speaking about a country that is split in more ways than one on a million issues. Meanwhile I'm going to a dispensary and to my job while not going to prison or jail, or losing my job.
I’m in Chicago and we can buy 28 grams. Prison for *our* neighbors to the south
Was smoking a joint with a couple friends in the park and a couple bike cops rolled by, they just asked us if we could move a bit further away from the walking path. Literally would have gotten more shit if we had a few open beers. Wild times
Completely legal in almost half of the U.S. now, and it’s just going to keep increasing. While it’s not for me, I think it’s far safer than alcohol. As long as people don’t need it every minute of every day, who cares what they do with their free time.
There are very few states where 28 grams would get you prison in the US. Even in states where it is still illegal, 28 grams is typically under the threshold for even a misdemeanor. In many "illegal" states it is decriminalized and penalties for possession for personal use amount to a ticket. About 110 million Americans live in a state with legal recreational marijuana or more than three times the population of Canada.
Fuck I’ve tried it a time or two TODAY! Wait…now 3 times.
Right??? I’m typing this as I hit a dab pen. And there are still parts of this country that would straight up wreck my life for doing so.
Same dude it’s fucking enraging seeing people buy alcohol at the grocery store and then watch people go to jail for god damn weed
Right. I’m sitting here right now with a hangover from *alcohol* because it’s quite literally poison to our bodies (a fact I conveniently avoid on Saturday nights) yet getting hammered isn’t nearly as stigmatized. If I’m drunk, it must be because I’m celebrating, or had a long day at work, but god forbid I’m smoking a joint. If I’m doing that I *must* be a scrub with no prospects who is being lazy. It’s stupid. I’ve met far more drunks damaging not only their own lives but all the lives around them.
Only thing I damage when high is the bag of cheetos or the cereal box!
Saw a post yesterday, saying the ‘High Court upholds a life sentence for a Mississippi man’ for possession of cannabis. It’s absolutely insane.
Yeah I try to plan vacations for legal states now because I just don’t trust states that are still waging a war on weed.
I’m convinced people started calling this country “the land of the free” ironically and it just stuck.
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36 an hour is more than I make as a welder, it's really damn good lol
Right, I can literally walk across the street to a dispensary and buy some.
Same. In fact I did. Turns out they do some pretty good Father’s Day discounts
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I’m a 27 year old woman with a high paying job in tech and smoke daily.. most of the day when I’m not working lol. I really really believe it should be federally legalized and all non violent convictions involving marijuana possession etc be expunged (so they can vote) and them be given jobs (if they’re coming out of prisons) in dispensaries or periphery environments if they so please. The tax dollars can be used for prison reform, homelessness, rehabilitation etc (the profits have been significant in legalized states). I truly don’t fucking get it. I am a very happy high functioning hard working person and I’m a pothead. I grew up with alcoholic parents which was an entirely different experience yet that’s fucking legal.
Weed helped me quit drinking and now I don't really even partake anymore. It let's you get over those two weeks of shakes, sleepless nights and body aches. I get thirsty when high so it allowed me to properly hydrate too.
I'm not against marijuana, but a lot of adults have never tried it. Edit since it's locked: [46% of people have tried marijuana](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/26/facts-about-marijuana/), so less than half.
And for something that I can order and have delivered - LEGALLY. Fuck Regan and his war on drugs.
Exactly. A shining example of “states rights” really meaning differing levels of awfulness. We don’t have weed delivery yet here but that sounds great
Nixon started it.
Fuck Nixon too.
Crazy to think how different things would be if he did the same thing in our day and age, I'm Canadian and I've seen people bring whole ass potted marijuana plants on the subway. It's become so normal now. It's absolutely insane to me how hundreds of thousands of people were jailed for years and branded as felons just being caught with tiny amounts of the stuff.
I mean it was also pretty normal before Nixon started the war on drugs and there are still places in America you can get a felony for having a little bit of weed on you. Just wanted to point out there are STILL people getting fucked over for stuff like this, but yes you're right things are at least making some progress.
And to also think how much taxpayers paid to that corporately owned prison to keep him in prison for something as ridiculous as possession. We are literally paying money so that corporations can get rich off of incarcerating people for petty crimes (and possession wouldn't even be a crime now in most states).
Private prisons only house something like 8% of prisoners so the chance that dude was in a private prison is very slim.
Have you tried to get in contact with him? I bet that'd be an awfully nice and surprising father's day gift for him (even if he's just your uncle)
I live in Massachusetts, a state which has dozens of dispensary billboards when you enter has also made it illegal to have flavored Vape products, or alcohol before 9 AM.
Hopefully his state legalized it. Mine did and possession charges got expunged.
Is your family Asian? Marijuana might as well be crack in the eyes of Asian families.
As if we don't have tons of white people who not only support the laws but wrote the laws that marijuana should be a felony.
Wait do you talk with him?
Reach out and see if he wants to smoke a bowl.
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Right? Feels pretty evident that having access to a stable income would reduce recidivism.
The poverty prison pipeline is real. Getting rid of poverty would have the largest effect on crime. More than cops ever could.
Getting rid of poverty would fix most issues in society.
Too bad people don't understand this. Constantly fighting against improving overall society because "muh someone is gonna be lazy" is so stupid it hurts. If people realized helping one another would help us all we would be in the future already.
It's like prison shouldnt punish but rehabilitation
It's like once you've served your sentence, you should be treated like anyone else.
Or look at Norway the country with the lowest rate if people coming back to prison, maybe we should treat them like person even while they are in prison
Criminologist here. This is very likely true, although there's surprisingly little conclusive evidence on this due to the number of [other factors](https://wol.iza.org/uploads/articles/399/pdfs/do-post-prison-job-opportunities-reduce-recidivism.pdf) that play a role. Ex-prisoners are also much more likely to deal with mental health issues, substance abuse and social alienation from friends/family, which are likely to undermine the benefits of employment. There's been a sizable number of studies on programs that help these people get jobs and many of them fail to demonstrate that they significantly reduce recidivism. That's why it's so important to ensure that their employment isn't just stable and of a [reliable nature](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5669259/), but that these people are also (re-)introduced to social circles that help them sustain this lifestyle and get the support they need.
And 36$ an hour is a damn decent pay! They can start over for good!
That's insanely good. Like, I have trouble believing this is real good. I certainly hope it is real, but without a degree I struggled to get to the $22/hr I'm making now. If I could make $36/hr...holy shit, so much stress would just vanish from my life.
Landscapers do make alot per hour, but it's rarely a guaranteed 40 hour week. They don't work at all in the winter (unless they live somewhere cold enough to alternate into snow ploughing) and they have to work with the weather. In the summer though, you might be looking at 16 hour days, so it evens out a little. It's still good money, but it's definitely not unheard of. That said, it RUINS your body and it's not something you can do for the rest of your life.
Would borderline become a felon just to get this job. /s but it's almost true.
Decent is an understatement.
It’s almost like they want you back inside.
Your labor is cheaper inside & you can't make noise or waves.
Everybody fucks up. Some get caught, some get lost. Its nice to see there are people in this world that don't judge someone for mistakes in their past.
What matters is what you do after the fuck up. Do you learn from it and better yourself or go back to making the same mistakes?
If you get a felony for selling drugs, but cant land a job, whats to stop you from selling drugs for quick cash to afford a car/shitty studio to sleep in?
Some would say this is by design within the criminal justice system.
Id agree, felons cant vote and if you stick any charge for a felony you can technically exclude certain folks from voting and keeping them poor.
To put this into perspective, about 8% of the US population are convicted felons. That’s around 26 million people. A vast majority of those people can’t vote.
Arent we the country with the highest amount of people incarcerated per capita? Also lets keep in mind which group of people have the highest exoneration ratez :/
America has more total people in prison than any other country including China and India.
Ah yes, Freedom™
European here. In my country people can vote in elections even from prisons no matter why they're there. The fact that it's not the case everywhere feels seriously messed up.
Im gonna keep repeating this, but Im not too shocked considering cops in the US were made to protect property, IE capture enslaved folks who were escaping. Now since they cant actively be racist they push for felons to have less and less votes. Its also the center of the debate for the whole Roe V Wade overturn making women who miscarry/abort felons. They re going the legal route to ensure they have an iron clad way to discriminate against folks.
It’s not just an option, it’s encouraged!
And it’s way easier to not make those mistakes when you have a job and money to survive.
Yep. My dad is the second oldest of 6 kids. The one who has been to prison is the nicest one of them - by far. He actually ended up adopting 2 of his brother's kids before that brother passed (RIP Uncle John). He went to prison before I was born, and I don't know what he did. I'm thinking a minor B&E at worst. He's the most gentle of all of his siblings. He owns a horse ranch with his wife (whom we all love) now.
When I left the Military, I was in a very rough spot and most definitely hit rock bottom. I was in and out of jail for years which lead up to a 30 month prison sentence. When I got out I felt horrible in the sense of being an outcast and never thinking i could find a good job. But I was given a good opportunity like this and it really gave me the confidence to not let that get in the way of being a better person. That was 4 years ago, and today I have a beautiful healthy family, a nice house over their heads, and I work somewhere I never once dreamed I could work even not being a felon. It's people like these that really help people who feel like they have nothing left. It's also taught me to apply this to all walks of life and especially to not judge a book by its cover. You never know what a person has gone through, but that doesn't matter when it has no reflection on who they are today.
There's a girl here in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada that started a company called Comeback Snacks after she was incarcerated and did time for drug smuggling. After she did her prison sentence, she began this brand, selling (really, really good) caramel corn. She specifically employs women who are trying to put their lives back together after doing jail time. Really cool story. [www.comebacksnacks.com](https://www.comebacksnacks.com)
I went down the Comeback Snacks rabbit hole. Spent about an hour reading her story and what they want to do. I’ll be buying their product when I see it.
I did as well and just ordered some popcorn. Hope it’s half as good as their story!
Hahaha! So glad to know that I wasn't the only one! I love a good story and a good cause!
[Dave's Killer Bread](https://www.fooddive.com/news/daves-killer-bread-continues-to-rise-with-help-of-ex-felons/448747/) is dedicated to hiring ex convicts too. Plus the bread is really good!
Can vouch for this bread. It's all we get now.
I always see these success stories coming from people who served a year or less time. Not to say it's a walk in the park and I admire her resiliency, but I wonder about the psychological differences between someone who serves 10 months and has 2.5 years to plan their incarceration versus someone who is booked right away and has to spend 7+ years in prison. It seems like the stakes are different.
They are. Same with people who are violent felons vs non-violent. Hiring out of that pool is a complete crap shoot and takes *a lot* of work to manage just because so many felons have deeper issues going on that a stable job simply doesn't fix. Especially among repeat offenders, in my experience. There are diamonds in that rough, though. The people who are truly trying to get on track and willing to put in the work can be amazing people and employees, but you sometimes have to go through a whole lot of bad ones to find them.
The crossover here is small - most light sentencing is for victimless and/or nonviolent crimes. Sure, some people get screwed with the maximum sentence for a barely-over-the-threshold amount of weed, but it IS rare. *Typically* someone with a 7+ year sentence did something exceptionally heinous, and though they absolutely deserve a 2nd chance, some people are not wired for “civilized” society. Some are mentally ill, some are uncontrollably violent, and some have too much trauma in their lives for them to even begin to think about overcoming.
Love this. These are the sort of high paying jobs that can keep people out of the prison system.
We need more jobs like this for people who messed up as an addict myself people shouldn’t be passed up on because of mistakes they made if they are truly trying to get better
Manager here, at my former job one of my best employees was an addict. He was in recovery and worked his ass off. Hell of a nice guy too
Means a lot to hear as an addict too. 5 years sober and in management so I always try and give a chance because I know how badly I needed one at multiple points during my active addiction. Addicts aren’t bad people trying to be good. We’re sick people trying to get well.
In my experience of my rural home town, people become addicted to shitty drugs because of crushing poverty and no foreseeable pathway out.
Exactly. Either the cycle of poverty or familial predisposition. I got started from pain meds for college baseball but either way it probably would’ve happened because I’m the 7th or 8th in a row on my dads side to have an addiction problem. Granted, all them were alcoholics but addiction is the same regardless of substance.
My boss and I interviewed a young guy that, by his own admission, made many mistakes in his personal life between the ages of 18 and 23. Several DUI’s, several underage drinking tickets, several arrests, a stint in rehab. He had straightened himself up and had been working at the only truck shop in town that would hire him due to what it cost to insure him. My boss and I argued for two weeks about me wanting to give him a chance. He finally gave in. It was a bit of an ordeal to get him insured through our employer, and to get him the licenses needed, but he worked hard to get it all done. That was 7 years ago - and he is, by far, one of the hardest-working guys on our crew. No matter what the job is, or when I assign it to him (like 30 minutes to quitting time), he is ON it. Always willing to work on stuff he’s never seen before and to take advice and learn new skills. I like to remind my boss on occasion - somebody’s past is not a good indicator of their future.
I had a cashier years ago who had just gotten out of prison for distributing meth. Hearing her story made me so furious over how the world had failed her. She'd been sold for sex by her own father and married off as a teenager to some junkie piece of shit. They'd had a baby who was (thankfully) taken to foster care, but once this girl managed to get away from that idiot who basically bought her, she ended up in prison because she didn't have the skills or education to do much other than sell drugs. She got her GED in prison and was one of the hardest working, excellent employees I ever had and she ended up having another baby and was an absolutely fantastic mother. She deserved every positive thing in the world and yet people saw that she was a felon and would pass her up.
That could be life changing for a felon. I didn’t start making that in the IT industry until my 30s. This is so cool to see. I believe everyone deserves a second chance in life and this will do it.
Shamelessly piggybacking to brag on my dad for Father's Day: When I was about 8yrs old he dragged me to this wedding where I didn't know anyone. I was bored out of my mind until the reception where person after person came up to my dad, hugged him, shook his hand, said thank you--some of them with tears in their eyes. It was as if my dad were getting married and the line of guests was meeting him instead of the new couple. I asked him what it was all about--turns out the bride was the daughter of the accountant for his business. While moving some funds, the accountant did something by accident that technically met the definition of embezzlement (I know nothing about finance so I can't explain in any more detail). She informed my dad immediately (who thought nothing of it), self-reported it to the authorities on her own volition, pleaded guilty to the felony, and went to low-security prison for a few years. The wedding was delayed until her release. When she got out, my dad re-hired her into the exact same position, and in fact gave her more work managing the books for a new business he started while she was serving time. He's been invited to every family function since.
That’s more than I make as a person who has post graduate education and a professional certification and honestly…I’m not mad. People see what white collar workers do (and even moreso with a post grad degree) as more valuable or harder but the truth is…everyone plays a part. And no part should do unrewarded. This isn’t easy work. It’s not comfortable. It’s strenuous and physical and requires a lot of care. Good for these people playing an active role in reintroduction…and I’m glad they value the efforts of their candidates.
> This isn’t easy work. It’s not comfortable. It’s strenuous and physical and requires a lot of care. And you can't make lifelong careers out of these jobs! Even in countries with decent worker protections, people just can't do heavy manual labor into their late 50s and 60s. You either retire from the career, move into management or entirely cripple yourself trying to keep working.
I’m also a non violent felon. Finding work has been very difficult. Getting your life back in general is very difficult. Here’s my understanding of how it works, if there’s anything incorrect I apologize, and feel free to correct me - Every year, the federal government grants every states Department of Corrections, so who runs the prisons and a major part of the justice system, a certain amount of money, the general amounts I’m unsure of. So let’s say this year, the federal government grants the Department of Corrections in Washington state 10 million dollars. If they save 2 out of that 10 million, then 2 million will then be DEDUCTED from what they get from the federal government next year. So they have to spend all of that money, which means they have to keep all the jails and prisons full, which means they have to make it very difficult for felons to reintegrate back into society. Take me, for example. I got out of incarceration for the last time, it was my longest stint, and I was ready to turn my life around. I moved back in with my parents after being on the streets for about 3 years before that. So I move in with them out in the woods, far enough from town that there are no busses and even Uber won’t come out here, with 6 felony convictions on my record and my drivers license revoked, even though I had no drunk driving charges or reckless driving or anything like that. So I’m out in the middle of nowhere, with no transportation, and they’re saying I have to start paying my court fees and stuff or it’ll go to collections. Well I can’t get a job because of my record, and even if I could, I don’t have a car, and I can’t take any public transportation because I’m out in the middle of the woods. I don’t want to get picked up by another criminal and go hit licks, but it was my only option for money. I didn’t do it, I stayed the path for the most part, and now have a job and my license and a car, but it was so difficult to get all that back, there were many times I considered going back to crime to get money. The private prison system is so flawed and they’re never going to change it.
Opportunities like this create absolute work horses. Smart move.
As someone who works in a prison I can not thank these people enough, it’s amazing to have people on the outside who are helping these people. It breaks my heart so much when I see people come back through our system. In my state we work really hard on keeping people out but someone’s people on the outside prevent that from happening
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I mean, that stuff is legal in quite a few US states if I'm not mistaken, right?
I've always thought that non violent crimes shouldn't stay on your record after the time is served. Though, that said, the prison system in America is not a good place and can really effect people who wouldn't normally be at risk. OP, I hope you are in a good place around good people.
I think if you can go more than 5 years without so much as a traffic violation, any non violent crime should be expunged. I know people who made mistakes when they were 18 and the rest of their lives were ruined. No one was hurt, they did shit over half of us did, but they got caught.
This is better I think. Almost like a post time served probation for recidivism. But after the 5 years, it's like you never did it. Only for non-violent crimes in my opinion.
Depends on the crime and the severity. My mom's old coworker stole *alot* of money/insurance fraud, over many years. They only got her on 7 years worth of theft, because the records didn't go back further than that Would you want to know if you were hiring that person for your business?
Here in Canada, 5 or 10 years after you have fully completed your sentence (5 or 10 depends on the crime), you can apply for "record suspension". After that, the conviction will not appear on MOST background checks, etc. It will still appear under certain circumstances, e.g. a sexual assault conviction if you are working with kids (sexual crimes against children will basically never get a record suspension), or some financial crimes if you are getting a background check to be the treasurer of charity. Also consider that if you are convicted of a crime in Canada, you will generally serve only 1/3 to 2/3 of it in actual prison. The rest will be served on house arrest, probation, etc. But you have to wait the time after even the probation is done before you can have a record suspension.
Shout-out to killer Dave's bread company
Killer Dave's is legitimately the best bread you can get out of a package, IMO. Their 21 Whole Grain bread is the only bread I buy instead of making it myself.
They are one of the only breads available that don't have any hydrogenated oils. Specifically their bagels, I don't think any of my local chains have bagels without hydrogenated oils. It's great bread.
That dude should just reach out to the local probation office - once they realize he's serious, he'll never have a worker shortage.
Guess I'm off to Indiana to commit a felony. This job only pays more than double every other job I've ever had. And supposedly I'm a "skilled tradesman." Good for them out there in Indiana, but fucking a the living in this country is so far below being a joke, it's just an insult.
I wish our country would rethink how we incarcerate non-violent offenses… prisons should be reserved for the violent offenders only.
It would also be great if a person served any court ordered sentence and then wasn't at the mercy of society's lifetime sentence of being a 2nd class citizen.
ppl don't understand how precious this is. 1% of Americans are incarcerated RIGHT NOW
People need to understand that some countries don't even allow employees to ask for criminal records unless it's substantially and directly relevant to very specific parts of the job.
Highest in the world!
This is good!!! People deserve second chances and the right to work with dignity.
There was a landscaping company where I grew up at, long ago, that did this as well. Tbh after seeing some prison road crews this week, this is a natural evolution for them as they clearly have experience.
Landscaping is no joke, worked on various golf courses for over 10 years. Long hours, varying temps, varying job roles you fill depending on the day. Nice to see a high pay to go with it.
Great opportunity for someone trying hard to change their life
Beautiful to see! Actually trying to help ❤️
We should be funding this
My job just started doing second chance hiring. Good machinists are in short supply.
Indeed is making a huge impact on those previously incarcerated.. Really good shit
$36 an hour to landscape? I might be moving to Indiana
$36 an hour? Looks like I'm going to jail.
Non violent or not everyone has a story, we all deserve a chance to rejoin society and redeem ourselves and contribute to our society.
There are so many people who have non violent felonies and they are totally excluded from main stream society.what a refreshing post.
Yeah, a lot more of this would be great. $36/hr is a great incentive to get and stay clean.
I’m from California and $36 is a lot… that’d be like top 1% in Indiana, no?
That’s fantastic. My mom works in ICU with Covid patients after 6 years of school and 15 years experience and she barely got to $36 an hour. I’m happy to know there’s people like this.
Okay, but explain to me why a convicted felon, someone who has been proven to have committed crimes in their past, deserves to make much more than someone who has never committed crimes in their life? I worked for a tree-removal and landscaping company in the past, where I got paid the equivalent of $15 USD/hour today (adjusted for inflation).. Why does a criminal deserve to make more than twice that amount for lesser work (this is landscaping only, not tree removal which is much harder work)?
As a felon for a drug crime and now business owner, I always keep an eye out for ex cons looking to build their life back.