How prison keeps many Americans locked into poverty — MSNBC

President Obama mentioned the word “poverty” four times in his State of the Union address this February—more times than he had mentioned the worldwide issue in all of his other State of the Union addresses combined. In his speech, Obama offered five solutions that if implemented, would help move millions of families currently living in poverty in the United States toward economic stability. Each of these solutions has implications that may be invisible to policy and opinion makers, but they highlight the intersection of criminal justice and rising rates of poverty—which is among the collateral consequences of criminal conviction, particularly among people of color.

The president first suggested that one solution to poverty is to create good jobs. People need jobs that pay decent wages, offer long-term security and health benefits, and provide a path to upward mobility. Who could be against that?

However, it becomes more complex when we consider the Pew Center’s 2008 finding that nearly one in 100 adults in the U.S. is behind bars and the National Employment Law Project’s estimation that nearly 65 million U.S. residents have a criminal record on file. This leaves them vulnerable to employment discrimination based solely on a conviction, no matter how long ago it occurred. What makes a lot more sense is a national ban on previous convictions inquiries until after an applicant has been deemed otherwise qualified.

How prison keeps many Americans locked into poverty — MSNBC