College or Jail?

"Then again, maybe those humid summers are too much for you, in which case you'll be wise to consider the minimum-security camp in Lompoc, California, where Ivan Boesky did his soft time, as did the Watergate offenders." (249)

This passage is especially powerful comparing the punishment dealt to street crimes, as compared to "white-collar" criminals. First, the author built up pathos by talking about how unfairly long punishments were doled out to what were essentially troubled youths caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. Then, he goes on to switch to second person, talking to the readers themselves about how white-collar criminals, with their wealth and connections, can essentially see prisons as a sort of "college", and it's certainly compared that way, because, since they haven't committed any violent crimes, they can go to minimum-security prisons which are nicer. So no matter what, their punishment is at most a mild inconvenience for them.