Brad Pitt’s character, Tyler Durden, said it best in the cult classic movie “Fight Club”: “The things you own end up owning you.” A film that critiques the grip of consumerism and materialism has proved true at my Pennsylvania prison, the State Correctional Institution at Frackville.
The most recent example of this has been SCI Frackville’s new cable TV package, which promises more channels — and greater distraction from prison — but comes at a cost many people here can’t afford.
At Frackville, there’s a constant pressure to spend. We feel like we must buy more commissary items, games, e-books, music or movies for our tablets, new clothing and now the upgraded cable package. Each product is billed as an escape from prison, but when the cable subscription price rose by $5 on June 1, many people here began to question whether the comfort of cable was worth the cost.
Many of the prisoners here have said, “They robbin’ us!”
One man named Danny said the higher cost, which is set to rise even further, might change his workload.
“Looks like I’m going to have to ask for some overtime in the kitchen if I’m going to pay for it monthly,” he said.
When people make so little money, but feel pressure to spend it, they start a dangerous cycle that’s hard to break. They don’t want to be left out, or “be down,” as we refer to it. So they try to keep up with their neighbors. Others will spend large sums for distractions from their current reality. Over time, it starts to feel like your purchases control you, much like Durden said.
Is the price hike worth it?
For the previous five years, the cost of cable for us at Frackville had been around $17 per month. The new price structure is spread out over a five-year contract with Chisholm Communications Group LLC, a cable provider. There are renewal options every year in the contract.
The new cost starts at $22.20, increasing to $22.87 in the second year, $23.55 in the third year, $24.25 in the fourth year, and reaching $24.97 by the fifth year. This new cable contract includes the addition of 10 satellite radio channels, and brings the total number of TV channels to 78, offering a broader range of content. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections told PJP editors in an email that this is an increase of 27 cable channels in state prisons.
It was also supposed to include a more reliable signal thanks to fiber-optic cable. But ever since the new TV package was installed, the picture still goes in and out if the weather is bad.
Back on April 10, the deputy secretary of administration for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections sent a memo to everyone in state prisons, which was printed out by staff and handed to us. In the memo, the deputy secretary said these cable package upgrades justified the price increase. The memo also disclosed that both the vendor and the DOC have reserved the right to adjust the channel lineup at any point in the lifetime of the contract.
Many prisoners do actually believe that the price hike is worth it. MTV channels, CMT, MotorTrend, the Travel Channel and CBS Sports have been added to the package. One man told me he’s excited that MTV has returned so he can watch reruns of the popular reality TV show “Jersey Shore.” Another man named Jerry, who’s a lifer, said he liked the addition of Newsmax in particular.
“Finally, we get a conservative news network,” he said.
Low wages persist
Even if a price increase is justified like the state prison system claims, the broader, unaddressed problem is our compensation. Despite rising costs for commissary items and our cable package, wages have remained stagnant. Unlike many workers on the outside, people in prison don’t receive annual cost-of-living adjustments.
In Pennsylvania, we just received our first pay raise — a 20% bump — in 30 years. But you are still starting off at 17 cents an hour. If you reach the top pay rate of about 50 cents per hour in state prisons, that nets you $15 for a full 30-hour workweek. But many people can only get four or six hours of work a day. Beyond that, the state can deduct at least 25% from our wages for restitution, court fees, filing fees and other reasons.
The $5 monthly price hike has sparked mixed reactions. Some see it as a fair trade for better service. Others are doing the math and coming up short.
“Maybe I can get my folks to help me out with the cable bill,” a prisoner named Shawn joked.
Another prisoner, who’s nicknamed Wheels, said: “I’m going to be bored as hell going through it without cable.”
Looking at alternatives
There are alternatives to cable, like purchasing an antenna from the commissary to access free over-the-air channels. But reception at SCI Frackville is often unreliable.
Others may choose to go without TV altogether, turning instead to books, writing or other hobbies.
Choosing to step away from the television, even temporarily, can feel like taking back a small piece of control. Without the constant stream of noise and distraction, there’s room to think, to breathe. That’s the route I’m taking once the price increase is in full effect. I’ve never programmed a “favorite channel” on my TV because mine is generally off.
But as I write this in early August, the new cable package works in my cell and I’m not yet being charged for it. The state has gifted us two free months under the new system. So for now, maybe I’ll turn on FX. Who knows, a rerun of “Fight Club” might come on soon.