Guys With No Way to Lock in a Profit

LANSING, Mich. —  The bars that confine prison inmates can’t protect them from the effects of a weak economy.

Michigan convicts who hammer out license plates, road signs and furniture aren’t getting their usual profit-sharing bonuses because of sluggish sales to government agencies and nonprofit organizations, state officials said.

Department of Corrections records show that the 20 prisons that let convicts earn pocket money haven’t issued bonus checks for two years. There are 1,129 inmates in the program.

Convicts in the $33-million program earn hourly wages of 24 cents to 78 cents. They’re also supposed to get profit-sharing bonuses for the shoes, bedding, textiles, work uniforms and other products they make.