Description: New FWD.us research shows mass incarceration is costing families with incarcerated loved ones nearly $348 billion every year in lost wages and out-of-pocket spending.
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Videos About Get Involved We Can't Afford It: Mass Incarceration and the Family Tax Mass incarceration costs families with incarcerated loved ones $348 billion every year and locks generations out of the American dream. For too long, the economic impact of America's high incarceration rate has been framed in terms of the $89 billion taxpayers spend on jails and prisons. But the true cost is far greater and falls most heavily on families already struggling to make ends meet.
New research from FWD.us shows that incarceration costs families nearly $350 billion each year, primarily in lost wages and increased out-of-pocket spending.
People with an incarcerated loved one spend almost $4,200 per year to support family members. This money goes towards things like staying in touch with their loved one, taking on additional childcare responsibilities for minor children, paying for essential items and traveling to visit them in prison. The incarceration crisis is systematically driving families into poverty and preventing them from climbing the economic ladder.