memes

One of the greatest propaganda pieces, that is usually not perceived as such intentionally, is that anything having to do with penalties from justice systems is free. Penal justice usually do have statutes of free services, judge time and free legal counseling, but most other tribunals and also a lot of the penalties involved incur financial costs and debt into the convicted. House arrest, you either pay for the ankle tracker or a fine for the officer's hourly pay; mandatory anger management, mental health counseling, etc, you are footing the bill; civil damages, win or lose, attorney times have to be paid; deportation, the receiving country is billed for the plane ticket, room and food during travel, which usually they pass down to you; in the US, convicts have to work in order to access anything that is not basic care (food, water and electricity), usually for slavery wages. And a long list of etceteras.

The cliché of getting yourself arrested for a misdemeanor being cheaper than paying rent and food sounds quirky, until the reality of fines and fees of the associated process come through. Justice systems are mostly poverty manufacturing systems.