We Should Help Prison Inmates Become Entrepreneurs Upon Their Release

Jeff Smith was once an up-and-coming star in the Missouri State Senate. He went to prison for a year for covering up an election law violation. Since his release, he’s created a new space for himself as a professor, writer, political commentator and advocate for those he was locked up with.

But what Jeff discovered inside wasn’t what he expected — he saw in his fellow inmates boundless ingenuity and business savvy. He asks: Why don’t we tap this entrepreneurial potential to help ex-prisoners contribute to society once they’re back outside?