"Since its founding in 1983, California’s inmate work program has grown into the largest in the US About 5,000 convicts punch the clock at 57 state-operated prison factories, where they earn 35¢ to 95¢ an hour * * * state law allows the agency to sell only to government entities—and few public bodies in California are awash in money right now.
"That shift [to make California prisons not overcrowded] means fewer low-level convicts are available to stitch sneakers. And demand is down because the prison system itself is the biggest consumer of inmate-produced goods; fewer prisoners needing sneakers means fewer shoe orders to fill.
Note: The English surname Nash refers to "someone who lived by an ash tree * * * by misdivision of Middle English atten ash ‘at the ash.'"