Unicor is a government-run enterprise that employs over 13,000 inmates -- at wages as low as 23 cents an hour -- to make goods for the Pentagon and other federal agencies.
With some exceptions, Unicor gets first dibs on federal contracts over private companies as long as its bid is comparable in price, quantity and delivery. In other words: If Unicor wants a contract, it gets it.
And remember under no circumstances can the government produce a product for sale nor can they ever hope to compete with the private sector.
That is why prisons are a multi-billion dollar business because they rather pay criminal slave wages and keep giving money to government official and themselves instead of folks who needs jobs and give them a honest salary.