So this leaves us with what to do, and I look to the history of America to provide guidance on how all underprivileged classes have been able to work their way up the social strata. That is through entrepreneurship. If you look carefully at the history of the United States, you find that every underprivileged group was able to improve its position through education or entrepreneurship. We know that inmates do not typically have the blessing of a good education, so we have to rule that out. That leaves us with entrepreneurship. If somebody has a business and comes to my front door and asks to cut my lawn, I don't ask them whether or not they've been in prison. I also don't need to know if they can run a computer or even read. I don't care — I just want my lawn cut. However, if I run a lawn-cutting service myself, and someone wants to work for my company, I may ask questions about that person's background. So the answer is to help inmates start low-capital (less than $500) businesses that they can bootstrap to make a livable income and be productive and proud members of society. Various organizations in the country have recognized this deficit and are addressing it. The government can and should also get more involved, starting with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA already has free resources to help other groups specifically (women, minorities, veterans) start and operate businesses. Why not help the millions of former inmates who also need help? And, remember, an ex-offender is more likely to hire an inmate than a person who has not been incarcerated, so the compound interest effect of helping people start businesses is overwhelming.