I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 77 American Slaves, Everyone Who Used Them Said They Were Great

Upon assuming office, Wade Berwick, the slave owner, immediately combined capitalist ideas with the operational mechanisms of slavery and acted swiftly and decisively.

Under his management, the overcrowded Fox River State Penitentiary was transformed into a highly efficient sweatshop.

The prisoners were deprived of almost all their rights and forced to work 12-14 hours a day, operating sewing machines in appalling conditions.

If you don't work hard, you will be threatened—if you are absent from work for a day, you will lose your job, and if you lose your job, you will have no income and won't even be able to afford prison food; if you refuse to work, you will lose the opportunity to be released and will be locked up in prison forever.

To save money, the company reduced all expenses to a minimum, ensuring that the cost of the prisoners' meals did not exceed 5 cents. Insects, rotten meat, bread gnawed by rats... prisoners only had 10 minutes to eat, and if they weren't full, it was only because they ate too slowly.

Wade Berwick was like the most miserly slave owner—no, he was! He racked his brains to squeeze every last penny of profit.

At Fox River Private Jail, almost everything has a price tag.

Prisoners had to pay a "room fee" for each day they stayed in the facility, which was deducted directly from their wages; they had to pay for their meals and buy cups for their water...

By the end of the month, after the financial statements were released, the company had made a net profit of more than $8 per prisoner per day on average, after deducting the negligible costs of food and guarding.

What is this concept?
The average female worker at Logan Victoria's Secret lingerie factory earns only $3 a day.

This means that the income generated by each prisoner is twice the average income of a regular worker!
The prisoners work hard every day and can only save a few cents at most; the rest is the prison's profit.

The astonishing rate of return alarmed the company's shareholders, who were so frightened that they quickly sent someone to "inspect" the place—was the warden squeezing every last drop of oil from the prisoners to sell?

After Wade Berwick led them to count the unharmed heads, he waved a large flag and declared, "To help prisoners better adapt to life in a free society, we are vigorously developing vocational training and attempting to better 'rehabilitate' prisoners while paying them wages!"

Then, changing the subject, he continued, "The biggest advantage of prisons is that there are no labor unions, no strikes, no worries about staff being late or quitting, no extra expenses, and most of the staff are healthy young adults..."

"This is a goldmine of labor with almost zero cost!"

The delegates nodded in satisfaction.

Even for Victoria's Secret lingerie, using prison inmates reduces costs by 30% compared to building a factory and hiring workers.

The facts speak for themselves: American slaves, those who have used them all say they're great!

"Compared to public prisons, private prisons do have their natural advantages..." said the representative sent by the governor's wife.

Wade Berwick seized the opportunity to suggest, "If the government provides subsidies, our profit margin will be even higher!"

—After all, it's under the guise of solving problems for the government, but the contracts signed now don't include government subsidies.

Wade Berwick thought this was unacceptable!
To solve the government's problems, they clearly need more subsidies!

The governor's wife's representative and the speaker's relative exchanged a glance and nodded slightly: "This can indeed be applied for from the state government. Private prisons are indeed under great pressure, and it is reasonable for the government to provide each prisoner with the most basic food and lodging subsidies."

Wade Berwick smirked and pressed his advantage: "If we could add a clause to the agreement we signed with the government—"

"The government must guarantee that our prison beds are at least 90% full. If we don't have enough prisoners, public prisons must transfer some prisoners to us to ensure our profitability. If our company has cash flow problems and has to sell the prison, the state government must buy it back unconditionally..."

The governor's wife's representative and the speaker's relative shook their heads vigorously: "This kind of agreement is impossible to increase; it's too harsh on the government..."

Wade Berwick waved his hand, indicating that he should hear him out first. "If we had such a contract, we could raise funds on Wall Street and expand our scale several times over without any investment from our shareholders!" "Moreover, it would be beneficial for going public!"

"Going public? Nobody else even dared to dream of it!"

In fact, even slave owner Wade Berwick wouldn't dare to think about it; it's too capitalist!

However, one of the company's "consultants" insisted, so he brought it up as if it were just empty promises.

Going public changes everything.

The speaker's relative thought for a moment and gave a vague answer, "We'll go back and think of a solution first."

“Hmm.” Wade Berwick continued to make demands, “As you have all seen, private prisons are similar to hotels. The fixed costs are not much different between 50% occupancy and 90% occupancy. Therefore, increasing occupancy rate is the key to profitability.”

"If the scale is expanded several times, everyone should try every means to bring in prisoners."

"For example, encourage strict law enforcement in Chicago and even Illinois; support felony proposals to increase the number of crimes punishable by imprisonment... Ideally, allow our prisons to have their own disciplinary courts, which could extend prisoners' sentences!"

The silent Italian and Irish representatives exchanged glances, it seemed the fight against gangs couldn't stop, and Chicago's skies needed to be bluer and its air sweeter!
The governor's wife's representative frowned, knowing that every step involved involved substantial exchanges of favors. "If we can do that, can you guarantee the company's successful IPO?" she asked.

"I promise!"

What makes you so sure?

Wade Berwick proudly puffed out his chest: "Because my family has been one of the biggest slave owners in Mississippi for three generations! And because I learned the advanced capitalist methods I learned in Chicago!"

"..."

Several representatives showed the same stunned expression.

My apologies, I had no idea you were so learned!
Why would someone with such impeccable American credentials be willing to become a prison warden?

Oh no, apart from prisons, it seems there's nowhere else with so many "legal" slaves for him to put his "family skills" to use!

With that thought in mind, the group felt relieved.

"The only problem is that the past impact of prisoner leasing has been very bad. When people hear about private prisons, they easily associate them with unpleasant things like abuse, forced labor, and racial oppression, which makes it much more difficult to push for legislation on private prisons," said a relative of the speaker.

Unexpectedly, Wade Berwick smiled knowingly. "Some people say that private prisons are a resurgence of slavery. I say that's complete nonsense. Private prisons can be very humane, like the luxury prison packages we're preparing to launch!"

"The luxury prison package was designed to help 'well-behaved' prisoners reflect on themselves, cultivate themselves, and improve themselves, so that they can better integrate into society and return to their families after their release."

"Of course, these are all paid services!"

……

　Black Americans: I'll just watch and not say anything...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)