New Inmate Labor Force Competes with Unemployed for Jobs in Wisconsin. Gov. Walker Austerity Plan working.

Ron Johnson, known to some as Senator (to me, he's an actor in a reality play written by Ayn Rand), used inmate labor at his former plastics company. For most of us, that smacks of slave labor, and unfair competition for all those unemployed workers trying to support their families.

The unions had been successful preventing inmate labor from taking work away from law abiding Americans, until now. With Gov. Walker's collective bargaining victory, we can now welcome into the neighborhood criminal help, for free.

Racine County Executive James Ladwig couldn't appear happier, and clueless, than in this video from Fox 6 in Green Bay:

Think Progress: The law went into effect last week, and Racine County is already using inmates to do landscaping, painting, and another basic maintenance around the county that was previously done by county workers. The union had successfully sued to stop the country from using prison labor for these jobs last year, but with Walker’s new law, they have no recourse.

This is the new labor force in competition with the massive number of unemployed workers. No problem there, right Mr. Ladwig?

Clueless to inmates taking jobs away from law abiding citizens, here are a few viewer comments:

Lesson:  You can send a convicted felon to do a union member's job... at bargain tax rates!

There is something very Karma-like about this!     

EXCELLENT: Instead of the city paying out for such simple jobs, the inmates begin to give back a little something to the city! Money stays in the city, and criminals pay back for their actions.

YES!!!  This is what SHOULD have been going on all along!  Why pay a Unionized worker an inflated wage when an inmate can do it to pay for his keep.  Sorry Unions, your "collective" control over us is coming to an end

This is great. Now let's get the inmates in the fields and have no work for illegals.

Cap Times: The governor agrees. "These reforms will ultimately help balance budgets, avoid layoffs, and at the same time improves services," says Cullen Werwie, Walker's spokesman in an email. "In this case, (Racine) County employees can build a parking lot instead of just mow grass."