[Sundae]

I can't comment on the poor in the US but in the UK it is not true that those in prison have access to a better standard of living than those outside. The problem in the UK is mostly one of encouraging people to take up the opportunities available. Education being the prime example.

I hear the prison argument again and again - people in prisons get three square meals a day, they have it good, don't have to worry where the next meal is coming from, I should get myself in prison, easy life etc etc.

Thanks to the Welfare State, no-one in this country should ever have to worry about where the next meal in coming from. No-one starves to death (unless parents deliberately starve their children, sadly). The homeless are a moot point - I'm not claiming they have as high a standard of living as prisoners, but they are not generally considered in conversations about "decent hard working people" who are worse off. Three meals a day is not a luxury and prisoners should not be considered pampered for receiving it. The main difference is that those outside have to shop for and prepare their food and make decisions about their own budget/ nutrition. Big chore.

If it were a discussion about a child in foster care who was locked in a room for 20+ hours a day you would not think the carers indulged the child because it had been fed. You would think the child had been punished.

TV with cable? I can't say. But prisoners don't have unlimited access to books.