The Prisoner And The Pauper - An Inmate's Home Is His New Castle
Here's how the story goes:
The good people of New Castle, Indiana, a Rust Belt community of 18,700, is finally going to have its prison filled to capacity. The prison, a joint venture of New Castle Mayor Tom Nipp and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, was built in 2002 with the hopes of bringing new jobs to the economically strapped area. Of course, New Castle prison jobs were based on the promise that the facility would quickly fill. But apparently the citizens of the rest of the state did not cooperate, for five years later, Indianans had only committed enough serious crimes to inhabit New Castle's new castle to half capacity. Looking to nip this epidemic of Hoosier wholesomeness in the bud, Mayor Nipp roused Governor Daniels to round up some ruffians, and after a deal for some Californian non-conformists fell through, Daniels hit pay dirt as Arizona agreed to send 1,260 tanned inmates their way.
"There's no end to the positives that will come with this!" exclaimed Nip, noting the approximately 230 jobs that will be created by the influx of southwestern recruits of ill repute. "Hey, we're all about getting jobs to this town," agreed Shawn Edwards, a New Castle resident who works at one of the town's few thriving occupations-home repossession. Meanwhile, no less of an authority than J. David Donahue, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, was sent to speak to the New Castle Rotary Club to calm the fears of the town's few skeptics. "They wanted to know if any [of the Arizona imports] are sex offenders or gang members," Donahue related. "They are not," he repeated firmly, as if to imply the new prisoners were nothing more than mere loiterers or maybe guys with a few unpaid parking tickets.
But exactly what quality of jobs are these? Indeed, in better times, Chrysler Corporation was the town's leading employer, and salaries of $60,000 were commonplace in New Castle. In contrast, the prison jobs start at a measly $9/hr., although if you survive the first ninety days (and despite Donahue's denial, working in a prison IS dangerous), you could then be eligible for up to $11/hr. "They aren't Chrysler jobs," agreed Edwards, in between repos, "but it's better than nothing." And even Randy Rendfeld, the feisty editor of New Castle's town newspaper could write nothing critical. "When someone comes in bringing jobs, and it's not a nuclear waste dump or landfill, it's welcome," Rendfeld shrugged.
As a Catholic, one comes away from the New Castle dilemma with mixed emotions. On the one hand, John Paul II clearly states in his encyclical Laborem Exercens that, "A workman's wages should be sufficient to enable him to support himself, his wife and his children," and even the $11/hr. rate doesn't come close to that. But on the other, as Pope Leo XIII said in Rerum Novarum (the first social encyclical), "broken in body and spirit . . . men would have gladly freed themselves from this galling slavery . . . but human respect, or the dread of starvation makes them [work]." In other words, it is still better to give this low-wages job to a family man, for although it might not keep their house out of Edwards' hands, at least it can stop his family from starving. Plus, a family man is more likely to be diligent on the job than some drifter or college kid, who, for that kind of cash, would probably stay at his computer station rather than make the rounds and risk being beaten or raped.
But as pitiful of a place as 21st century American capitalism has made little towns like New Castle, it could be worse. It could be the site of the 2008 Democratic-or Republican, if Rudy G. is nominated-National Convention, in which case they would not only host adulterers, con artists and accomplices to murderer, but would have to pick up their tab too.
Related Tags: news, politics, catholic, prison, new castle, prisoners
Thomas Augustine O'Toole was born in Chicago and after attending Catholic grammar and high school, he was accepted into the University of Notre Dame. Tom majored in English, but also made the Irish varsity tennis team as a walk-on (a feat statistically rarer than Rudy's) and was also the sports editor of Notre Dame's Scholastic magazine, where his story "Reflections on the Game" won the award for Best Sports Feature for the Indiana Collegiate Press Association.
Tom's innovative writings on the connection between faith and sports ("Cathletics") has been praised by the Papal Nuncio, and his groundbreaking book Champions of Faith: Catholic Sports Heroes Tell Their Stories is one of the original volumes to be placed on the shelves of the recently formed Office of Church and Sport located in the Vatican. In 2006, Tom published a number of articles on the prestigious Catholic Exchange website, and started his blog Fighting Irish Thomas which has been praised for its Catholic candor and humor.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- The Unused Power
Ever wondered what would have already been accomplished on this earth if only a handful of people ha - How Horoscope / Astrology Does Affect A Person's Happiness
When we speak about happiness, it reflects on two variations. One as an emotion like being happy or - Using The Internet For God
Do you have a Christian product, service or message that you would like to inexpensively advertise a - Get The Latest Catholic Church Mass Times Now On The Internet
Get to know the Catholic Church Mass Times through the Internet. It is generally obligatory to atten - Horoscope Compatibility For Libra, Capricorn, Sagittarius
According to psychic readings, people under this horoscope signs are somewhat different and somewhat - Know Your Life Through Psychic And Clairvoyance!
Having psychic and clairvoyant readings done from professionals is the best way to know the flaws th - Astrology/horoscopes: Why People Love Astrology
Astrology/horoscopes is the study of celestial body movement. Astrologers believe that the movement - Benny Hinn: India Healing Crusade
Benny Hinn recently conducted a healing crusade in India that drew one of the largest crowds ever. P - Sun, Moon, Ascendants Sign In Birth Chart Wheel
The Ascendant signs or the rising sign - is the zodiacal sign and degree that was ascending on the e - Zodiac Sign Gemini And Its Houses Description
Understanding Zodiac is not that difficult at all, determining your reading for the said subject doe
Most viewed articles in this category:
- No Sign in the Prayer Test
The recent release of the Richard Dawkins book, "The God Delusion", has brought renewed accusations - Bible Versus Quran Versus Sciences Array (2) the Bees
Before dealing with the topic of the Bees in Quran versus Bible versus sciences, it is mandatory to - Understanding the Heart
(If you wish to more benefit from this article, please read first our "The Alems" titled article. - Christian Dating vs Courtship
Over the past decade, or so, It's become popular in modern churches to use the concept of courtship - Bible Versus Quran Versus Sciences, Array (19) the Birds
The issues concerning the Birds in the Bible are:1) The Birds are Detestable and intolerable, 2) The - Starting the Wealth Process
Luke 6:38 KJV Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken togethe - Dissolving the Illusion of Fear
Webster defines fear as unpleasant emotions cause by expectation or awareness of danger. However, - Crossing Paths with a Whistleblower
Mordechai Vanunu grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home but abandoned the faith by his mid teens. He bec - Conspiracy Madness
In connection with the WTC disaster there are conspiracy theories that have been proposed. Such as t - How You Dream Your World Into Existence
Reality is not real. It is a dream. This is not a metaphorical statement. On the quantum level of