family-financial-burden Archives

The $350 Billion ‘Family Tax’: How America’s Prison System Forces Families to Pay Nearly Four Times What Taxpayers Spend on Incarceration

Families of incarcerated people bear a $350 billion annual burden — nearly 4x taxpayer prison spending — through inflated commissary prices, phone kickbacks, and fees in 48 states.

Georgia Pays Incarcerated Workers Nothing While Extracting Hundreds of Millions in Labor and Commissary Profits

Georgia forces incarcerated people to work for zero pay, then charges their families markups up to 1,150% on necessities. GPS maps the full extraction system.

Georgia’s Prison Commissary Extraction Machine: A Two-Tier Markup System Costing Families $8–15 Million Annually

Georgia’s prison commissary system extracts an estimated $8–15 million annually from incarcerated families through a two-tier markup scheme. Generic ibuprofen: 833–1,150% over retail. Tampons: 183–254%. A June 2025 contract renewal creates an immediate reform opportunity.