In the wake of the recently passed stimulus bill, many Americans are complaining about the paltry direct payments of $600.
Without detracting from Congress’s failure to support the millions of people who need help, it is worth pausing to acknowledge one unexpected victory in the bill: It contains no prohibition on stimulus payments for incarcerated people.
It’s a good thing that Congress stuck to the policy of including incarcerated people in the pool of eligible recipients.
Even before the pandemic, day-to-day life in prison and jail was getting expensive, with commissary charges for basic food and hygiene items, and increasingly common pay-to-play e-book and music programs.