# Do convicts really make license plates? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897 "2011-05-23T14:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/21 "2011-05-25T13:14:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sorry, that math error is a pet peeve of mine. Oops, that started out as $0.23, then I edited to “23 cents” but that pesky decimal got away from me. Damn and blast! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/22 "2011-05-25T13:34:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But the authority behind the federal minimum wage laws is based on the commerce clause, which means that the states can work around it by having the prisoners only make things that aren’t relevant to interstate commerce. License plates are one of the few examples of such a product. If this is correct, it illustrates why the commerce clause is such a thorny area to study. If a small patch of wheat grown solely for personal consumption or a restaurant off the highway give rise to commerce clause issues, then surely a license plate–often driven across state lines to conduct business–_should_ qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/23 "2011-05-25T14:13:50Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Wait, are you seriously telling me every US state manufactures it’s own license plates internally in that state? > > I would expect license plate manufacture to be privatized and for some companies to bid for manufacturing for other states. Eg the same way that many small countries actually get their currency printed by Delarue in the UK (who also make the UK pounds) Not really the same situation. Printing money is a pretty highly-skilled profession. Stamping out license plates is comparatively low-skill and low-tech. (And that’s leaving aside the comparative security issues.) As for bidding the job out to private companies, most companies are going to have a difficult time underbidding somebody who can make their “employees” work for free. That’s the reason why there are laws limiting prison industries - private companies and unions lobby to restrict the competition. And most states are going to figure it’s cheaper to set up their own prison license making system rather than buy license plates made in another state’s prisons. I don’t know if every state manufactures license plates in its prisons, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the majority do. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/24 "2011-05-25T15:02:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The way I heard it explained, the federal minimum wage laws apply to prisoners, too. You heard wrong. Courts have routinely held that the Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage law) doesn’t apply to prisoners working within and under the supervision of a prison, regardless of whether the prisoners are engaging in commerce or anything else. See [Loving v. Johnson](http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/455/562/569612/) which also cites many earlier cases. As a practical matter, of course, states are reluctant to assign or allow prisoners to work in competitive commercial industries, since such work engenders union and competitor opposition. But as the call center example illustrates, some do so anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/25 "2011-05-25T17:03:20Z")
**Freddy** , you might want to scroll up to **Hello Again** ’s posts. He already pointed out that I wasn’t quite right, and also pointed out the correct law that I actually was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/26 "2011-05-25T21:13:06Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Wait, are you seriously telling me every US state manufactures it’s own license plates internally in that state? Of course some states don’t. I have personally been in a plant in Portland Oregon (a few years ago) that manufactured license plates for some U.S. states and a number of foreign countries. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/27 "2011-05-25T22:35:47Z")
It doesn’t surprise me most states make their own license plates. What is a little inefficiency if it benefits instate companies supplying materials? Also, it creates state employee positions to supervise and control the work. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897/28 "2011-05-25T22:50:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Thanks for the clarification, **Hello Again**. Although it does seem odd that the federal government would have such concern for prisoners, and yet so many states have no problem with prisoners making license plates (and other state goods) on the cheap. It’s not due to concern for prisoners. It’s a concern for non-incarcerated workers. Since prisons can pay their workers less than private industries (at least, in the beginning when these things started), they can undercut private manufacturers. They go out of business, putting their workers out of work. In the beginning, prisoners were paid next to nothing for their work – it was primarily there to keep them busy. Say you’re making chairs. You have to pay your workers more than a prison has to pay their workers. Thus the prison could sell for less. Laws were passed so that prisons could only manufacture non-competitive goods, or goods for the state government. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-convicts-really-make-license-plates/582897.md?page=1)