this seems like a novel but important argument as whatever cases are brought need to reference some violation of the Constitution. And in this case, the "involuntary servitude" cannot be permitted because of the stipulation that is noted in this amendment and should be considered a clear cut violation...

If you think about it, slavery is STILL LEGAL in 2019 because the 13th Amendment just HAD to include the clause "except as a punishment for a crime". This gave the powerful a way to continue slavery through the prison industrial complex. So of course the people who write the laws and enforce the laws determine who the targets are for prison. And of course the most disproportionate group of people affected by it just happen to be black men.

Sometimes I wish we could just modernize the whole damned Constitution and start over. It's really not fair that we STILL have to live by a document written by powerful white slave owners that clearly had an agenda that served those who looked like them. At the time it was written, women had no say and black people were slaves. When many of the Amendments were written, so many people didn't have the right to vote and therefore had no say in who represented them in government. To me it should be considered illegitimate. Could you imagine if Adolph Hitler and his group of Nazis wrote the foundation of the German government and the German people still worshiped that document in 2019?

the 14th amendment has been used to try to minimize and mitigate that statement in the 13th amendment and so far since that was originally ratified, inmates have been "paid" (a pittance but paid). Agree that some serious revisions need to happen but of course you know what that would require and although the demographics changes are becoming more favorable for change, we ain't there yet.

slavery is still legal. It's a just a coincidence that most prisoners and wrongfully convicted people are black.

but these people are going to win and get double damages.

or, at most, summary judgment.

They are going to get paid. Hell, its not unheard of for some people to only get paid once a month. Or upon completion of a project. That's not slavery or indentured servitude and it trivialize what slavery and indentured servitude is claim the government shutdown is equivalent.

If this suit had been brought against the Clinton administration after Bill vetoed a republican funding bill in 1995, leading to a government shutdown, there would be howls of protest here.

And there will be consequences not only for that , but for trump and the gop working for putin and against this country. The 2020 elections, if putin doesn't cyber attack us first with help from trump , and we lose our power grid to them and our financial banking institutions with it, they will be voted out of office , then Democrats will retake control of it all, and reverse everything trump and the gop did to hurt us, and remove all appointments, and judicial appointments that putin and trump and the gop made.

the government. Republicans are holding the country hostage for the wall. They should be sued.

When Democrats control both houses of Congress and the presidency again, we need a law stipulating that if Congress and the president cannot agree on a new budget figure, the budget amount already in place with the current budget remains in effect until they can agree. Neither party should be able to shut down government as a political tactic.

who voted for Trump?

Dipshit has treated them very badly for no good reason, and many are unable to pay rent/mortgage or large medical bills for family members, and more.

Not everyone has savings.

I'm sure most Americans would empathize and support these unpaid workers but about 1/3 that are still supporting Trump are just plain deplorable

like - say Martin Skreli - sentenced to a term of slavery instead of prison?

A much better sentence for white collar criminals is to order them to fix what they broke. They can do it from inside a cell.