In many states you lose your right to vote, you lose your right to firearms, you lose your right to privacy since you're now a known felon, you have almost no chance of getting a white collar job or a high paying job unless you were already connected before the felony and very wealthy. Poor people who get felonies often get tougher sentences because they can't afford the lawyers of the wealthy. Pretty sure for most people a felony severely limits any chances of a life that isn't just scraping by or in the best case middle class.
