This is a factor that the bourgeoisie makes every attempt to conceal. The minimum wage continues to decline in real terms. Giant prison factories now dot the country. If prison pay were included when calculating all workers' average pay, it would show a significant decline in workers' real wages in the United States. Immigrant workers make up almost 10 percent of the U.S. work force.
Immigrant workers are all lower paid.
This sub-minimum pay is not included in the official figures showing workers'wages in the United States. What emerges is a clear picture that the economic boom for the rich is built in part on an overall decline in wages and living standards for U.S. workers. The dramatic expansion of the sub-minimum work force has pulled down wages and living standards for the entire work force, while at the same time it has increased profits for the rich. The list of financial institutions heavily invested in this sector of the economy includes American Express, General Electric, Goldman Sachs and Co., Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney. A Corrections Corporation of America prison in Tennessee can pay prisoners a maximum 'wage' of 50 cents an hour.