Using TypeScript to obtain one of the rarest license plates

Prison Labor and License Plates

• Several commenters say learning that U.S. plates (e.g., Texas, New York) are made by very low‑paid prisoners killed any desire to buy vanity plates.
• Others argue work can be a “luxury” versus sitting in a cell, providing activity, modest pay, or sentence reductions.
• This is sharply contested: many insist that when refusal leads to punishment, loss of privileges, or longer time, it’s effectively forced labor, not a “borderline” case.

Legal Framework and “Modern Slavery” Debate

• The 13th Amendment’s “except as a punishment for crime” clause is repeatedly cited; some note case law allowing even pretrial detainees to be compelled to do “housekeeping chores.”
• There’s disagreement over whether this is constitutional but immoral, or outright unconstitutional in practice.
• Reports of “pay‑to‑stay” (prisoners billed daily rent), restitution garnishing wages, and debt on release are discussed.
• Commenters highlight how this, combined with minimal or no wages, and poor rehabilitation, can trap people in cycles of poverty and recidivism.

Economic and Moral Arguments

• One view: prisoners “owe a debt to society” and shouldn’t be paid at all, or only token amounts.
• Opposing view: forced or coerced labor is wrong regardless of crime; if inmates produce value they should be paid fairly, both for dignity and to reduce reoffending.
• Concerns are raised about cheap prison labor undercutting free labor and turning incarceration into a profit center with perverse incentives to imprison more people.

Vanity Plates and Cultural Differences

• UK and European commenters discuss plates as class markers and the economics of high‑value plates versus cheap “try‑hard” ones.
• Danish system allowing Æ/Ø/Å sparks speculation about enforcement and foreign ANPR systems.
• Some prefer inconspicuous, non‑vanity plates to avoid attention or road rage.

Scraping Government Plate APIs

• Several note the DMV‑scraping approach is clever but risky, especially with no rate limiting; they reference past prosecutions over automated access to public sites.
• Others argue the real problem is overbroad computer crime laws, but still advise extreme caution.

TypeScript Relevance

• Multiple commenters say the story is about reverse‑engineering the plate system and scraping, not TypeScript; the language choice is seen as incidental marketing.