Even though we are in the 21st Century, slavery still exists in America. Big Corporations and the Government DON'T want you to know about it though. It is being masked by false controversy, name calling, and other hidden agendas, however it is alive and well here in America. The slaves are the Illegal Immigrans also called un-documented workers. The tactics being used to justify this slavery is the same as those used prior to the Civil War.
Lets take a look at history and compare the two:
THEN: In arguing for Slavery, the plantation owners, and southern farmers said that without slaves there would be no-one to pick the crops, and that it would be too expensive to have regular Americans to pick them and that it would damage the economy.
NOW: Today the same argument is being said about illegals. They are doing jobs "Americans just won't do."
THEN: It was illegal to teach slaves to read. Because if they could read, they could learn, and in learning they could fight against their masters.
NOW: Illegal Immigrants live in small Latino communities. They go to spanish speaking stores, they watch spanish television, and have bilingual support for most services. In most instances they are discouraged from learning English, even though that every study taken shows, that immigrants who learn the English earn significantly more money than those who do not. By discouraging immigrants from learning English, it keeps them down, and denies them the opportunity for better paying jobs.
THEN: Many Slaves were abused and beaten, and had poor working conditions. They had no recourse, they had no voice under the law.
NOW: Many Illegals are absused, mistreated, forced into poor work conditions, and in some case young girls and women are forced into prostitution, or other illegal activities. They are often forced to work to pay off a "debt" to pay the people who smuggled them into the country. Often, this is at high interest, and has very little chance of being paid off. They also have no recourse. Their "Modern Day Slave Owners" threaten them with INS, deportation, etc. They have no voice under the law for fear of being discovered and deported. They aren't going to complain about their wages, working conditions, treatment etc. because of the threat of deportation and the INS.
THEN: There is a reason why the founders only counted slaves as 3/5's of a person. It is NOT because they were bigots or racists etc. Slave owners wanted them to be counted fully. If the slaves were counted fully, this would have given a massive population advantage to the south and slave states based on apportionment. This would have then increased the number of congressmen from slave states, who would have been able to fight against and block any legislation against slavery.
NOW: As the 2010 census comes near, there is a big push to count ALL illegals. This will give huge population increases to states like California, New York, and other border states, as well as many farming states with high numbers of Illegal workers. Many will say this is for the benefit of the illegals, so we can put them on the path to citizenship and fight for their rights. DON'T BE FOOLED! The intention is to preserve the indentured servitude of the illegal workforce. The more congressmen we elect into congress to fight for so-called "immigration reform" the more illegals we can have working on the farms, and in industries where we don't have to treat them equally, or have to pay them as much and won't care if they get hurt or injured.
So if you truly care about the immigrants, then it would make sense to close the borders, make sure that people are here legally, and are given full accesss to the American Opportunity without limits, without fear of deportation, and without being modern day slaves. We need them, and we want them here, but legally. This will raise wages, and in some case prices for goods. However, if we can rebound from it after emancipation of the slaves, we most surely can after emancipation of the Latinos.
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Comments: 116
Hope your articles opens many eyes
...as legal?
(Interesting post; thanks.)
Oh, don't worry, Nora. No matter what happens to the "undocumented workers"/illegal aliens, you can still look down on them and anyone willing to help them.
You cannot know about the H1B farm workers IF YOU DID YOU WOULD BE HOWLING FOR an end to the abusive treatment they face.
Facts: All employer based enforcement stopped being inforced within weeks of Geo. W. Bush election. I know because I live in a farm community and the immigration vans disappeared. . .
Facts: When Lou Dobbs and O'Reilly began showing the hords literally pouring over the border, so called conservatives whipped up a frenzy demanding that the borders be closed.
Strangely, NO employer based enforcement and so on. So some of the right wing
Republicans killed the immigration reform bill, really it smelled bad, and I don't regret that it did not pass.
While that Republican "base" voter was against illegal immigration, the Republican Party was not.
But as we read along Poliwonk's post, we find the real reason the REpublican Party is suddenly against illegal immigrants.
No call here for employer sanctions.
But they don't want the illegals to be counted.
Look through Poliwonk's post, NO WHERE in it does he call for enforcment of employer sanctions against hiring.
Now look at all the nodding heads agreeing about the poor illegals. . .
While he complains of border security and the REAL problem for Republicans.
The Census.
If bet if we scrolled through all of your posts there will be NOT one concern about illegal immigrant WORKERS.
YOu are posting this bs merely to scare up the base about the census.
Where do illegals live. . . poor neighborhoods, how do poor people vote.
The smart ones vote Democrat.
Now, How many ghettos have been eradicated thanks to the Dems? How many people have come out of poverty and off of welfare thanks to the Dems? You live in the world of vive a man a fish every day. I live in the world of teach the man to fish so he can take care of himself.
Biased, to you means I am a liberal, I never pretend to be conservative.
So how can I have a liberal bias. I am a liberal.
Now, how many ghettos have been eradicated thanks to the recent 8 years of conservative control?
How many did the conservatives bring out of poverty...
Now, you know darn well Clinton signed the welfare to work program.
And stop the silly change the topic tactis.
This is according to you about the poor helpless illegal immigrants.
And. . . .
the census, and this paragraph in your post doesn't make sense.
::::::::"NOW: As the 2010 census comes near, there is a big push to count ALL illegals. This will give huge population increases to states like California, New York, and other border states, as well as many farming states with high numbers of Illegal workers. Many will say this is for the benefit of the illegals, so we can put them on the path to citizenship and fight for their rights. DON'T BE FOOLED! The intention is to preserve the indentured servitude of the illegal workforce. The more congressmen we elect into congress to fight for so-called "immigration reform" the more illegals we can have working on the farms, and in industries where we don't have to treat them equally, or have to pay them as much and won't care if they get hurt or injured::::::::::::::::
Poliwonk, the census, must count everyone here.
Simple.
Set up a fund,
offer tickets home plus $500 cash, for them to disappear until after the census.
Problem solved.
This post is about the census. In that one paragraph Poliwonk seems to try to say counting the illegals will keep them illegal.
heheheheh... ok I will get serious now.
Good Articale Poliwonk :)
My Eagle looks nicer than Poliwonks. (Just joking Poliwonk)
It's a win-win scenario ace, whether you believe it or not....
American business wins with cheap labor
(what you call slavery is little more than capitalism in action)
And Mexicans can find jobs they are willing to take for the wages being paid.....
Slavery ???
PUHLEEZE.........
It makes sense for employers to hire illegal workers, because they get cheap labor. It's no concern of theirs whether their employees have enough money to live on. Any savings on materials or labor goes into the corporations' pockets, so they can lobby Congress for lower taxes -- which they will do anything to avoid paying.
And why should it ??? That's the EMPLOYEE's job, not the employer. The employer has a job, the employee wants a job. The employer states the pay he's willing to offer, the employee can accept or reject that offer.
That's how capitalism works.
How can I possibly be a bleeding heart, when I am endorsing unfettered capitalism missy ??? Are you sure you're in the proper discussion for your level of comprehension about the way the world works and how words are defined??
YOU sister woman are the BLEEDING HEART and your words PROVE IT ! ! !
*chuckle*
* The Mexican government
* The U.S. government
* U.S. businesses
* La Raza
* Coyotes
A legal system protects everyone. But, there has to be a special place in hell for the U.S. and government that has failed to pass workable immigration legislation, and has continually lied to the American people about it, and the Mexican government that sees its poor as a resource to be exploited.
Many deaths of vulnerable people are on their hands.
We need to export the illegals and close the border our unemployment here is too bad to accomodate any foreign workers of any kind at this time.
Who's going to do what it takes ???
Who's going to expend the political will ???
Come on folks, this is like kids talking at the kid table......
Look, legal or illegal, immigrants have been FLOODING our borders since the day the door was first opened. The simple truth is, the immigrants have ALWAYS been demonized, and said to be "taking American jobs."
The simple truth is, on the OPEN MARKET, in the economic system known as CAPITALISM, the TRUE SPIRIT of an "American job," is defined by two things:
1) employer has a job available, and is willing to pay X amount to fill it.
2) hopeful employee needs a job, and is willing to work for stated amount.
That's IT ! ! ! !
Show me where capitalism includes and recognizes a person's skin color as a qualification for getting a job ! ! !
Show me where CAPITALISM stops at national borders ! ! !
I know I know I know, you'll say, "but there are laws! ! !"
Show me where any laws have stopped the effective supply, when there is a demand ????
The so called "war on drugs" should tell you ONE THING ! ! ! !
You CAN'T close the border, no matter how much you whine and whine and whine about it-- unless, tell me, do you have some secret idea that would actually work ???
I mean, I do---
I say we inject a GPS TRANSMITTER inside the arm or leg of EVER IMMIGRANT that enters our borders. This would allow them to be found around the clock every day of the year. If they are caught without their GPS tag, they are deported and banned from ever returning. If they are caught after being banned, they are put in jail for LIFE ! ! !
ANYTHING SHORT OF THAT, and you're just whistling in the wind kiddies....
But who's going to do that ??
NO ONE ! ! ! ! ! That's who.....
Close the border ????
How????
You are right jJack no one has the guts to do it in DC
The difference between most other countries, and the USA, is that people actually want to come here *chuckle*
The countries that patrol their borders zealously, are the very countries NO ONE WOULD WANT TO GO TO ! ! ! !
I merely suggested the reason we can't "close our borders" is because there are financial and politically expedient reasons the political integrity and will cannot be mustered to do what must be done, to ensure the border is "sealed."
I wasn't measuring anything against anything else.
Nice stab at attempting to denigrate me in a futile effort to make yourself appear superior though, really-- practice makes perfect, so maybe next time, eh old sport??
That's slander, and it was directed at me.
Without some regulation there is an open door for these people, and they will start to shift the balance of the country, as in the most popular name in CA is Jose now.
But that is a separate issue as to your moronic thought process, and it is ... you just jam a bunch of unconnected slogans together and think you proved something. It's nonsense.
Because there are criminal resources which are dependent on the border remaining open we cannot close the border? The "m" word.
As to the subject of modern day slaves. One thing is different. The modern slaves of the subject put themselves in the position the ones back in the 1700 and 1800 did not have that choice.
We have a huge illegal population were I live...we are mostly agricultural. We have a business that employs many illegals or I should say mostly illegals. Anyway a couple years ago it came to light that several women that worked for this employer had been repeatedly raped by supervisors and other male employees and were too scared to go to the police because they were here illegally.
And I disagree that this is a win win situation.
In Florida there was a big citrus grower that employed all illegal worker bees. This employer didnt pay things like work comp if a worker got hurt he would just send them to Manatee Memorial Hospitall..where I worked...and drop them off in the ER. The hospital couldnt refuse to treat them and they didnt have insurance and no one ever paid the bills.
We are letting the employers off too easy. If employers wouldnt hire illegals then illegals wouldnt come here.
We've already placed far too heavy of a burden on the private employer, without offering them the tools to check the documents they are ostensibly suppose to verify.
How can a private employer know if a green card, a social security card, a driver's license, is legally valid ???
If a person presents credible credentials, it is IMPOSSIBLE for the private employer to verify federal documents, yet they've been asked to do that job ever since the I-9 form went into effect.
If the employers are WILLFULLY breaking the law, this is of course very different. If the employer is not even requiring federal documents for proof of employment verification, or if he is actively forging the I-9 form, the employer should be hit and hit hard.
A social security check tells you that a social security number exists, it does not authenticate the person who gives it to you. How many employers do you think even go so far as to check the social security number?
So how are the illegal aliens in the agriculture and food industries getting hired?
Migrant works are rarely hired legally, therefore they produce no documents.
How many employers do you think even go so far as to check the social security number?
I don't believe there is a system set up for this to be done.
As always, I'm willing to be proven wrong.
The SS adm will tell you the number exists and will also tell you the name of the person who has the account, usually nothing else. When Sanchez comes in and presents a card belonging to Cook an employer should have some idea that something is not quite right.
come on....
I can go out tomorrow and get a job without documentation.
Everyone knows this, I'm pretty sure, but then you're off the grid too, and perhaps not even making minimum wage, and you certainly aren't paying any federal, medicare, state or local taxes.
Your illegal status is compounded.
Wonderful Intelligent Article - This has to be read many times for better understanding and for digestion - These matters are complex and require study.
I love numbers, statistics, demography, and economic matters.
So I prefer the census to be reliable and well done, even if some data can not be obtained. ( How many Legals or "Illegals" )
It would be wonderful if we can have information about the Hispanics and other Immigrant Populations, Legal or Illegal, but the Census should not be used as a tool for evictions, expulsions and progroms.
Guns have safety devices, so that the weapon is not shot accidentally. I wonder if there is a possibility of the Census triggering a big progrom. ( perhaps not with Mr Obama and the Democrats )
The Economy and Foreign Trade are also important matters and people are usually EXTREMELY IGNORANT of these numbers, and matters of trade, quotas, taxes, fees, custom duties, etc ... And they link these matters of Trade Agreements to liking or disliking Immigrants ( Legal or Illegal ).
Let's study all the Implications, Numbers, History, etc ... of Immigration, Slavery and Indentured Servants ..... and the "Safety Devices" of the Census.
And don't forget the H 1 B "greencard workers", since some people complain of abuses or explotations against these workers.
Milenials.com
Vicente Duque
We'll all point to the Clinton years right ??
Or should I say the "Contract With America" years?
I think we can all agree, 94-99 were pretty good years, ecnomically. We can look back and call it a "bubble," but it was a bubble we all enjoyed, and yes, some enjoyed it more than others, isn't that the way capitalism works??
During the 90s, immigrants accounted for 44% of all jobs produced in the USA. That's the ENTIRE DECADE, not just the five years I noted above.
To even suggest immigrants were "taking jobs" from Americans is MISINFORMED AND MISGUIDED ! ! !
FORTY FOUR PERCENT OF ALL JOBS IN THE 90s ! ! ! !
Without immigrants, legal or otherwise, our economy wouldn't flourish the way it does, we're too old as a nation, and REQUIRE the influx of NEW BLOOD if capitalism is going to continue to GROW the way we are accustomed to it growing in the USA.
Without the immigrants, legal or otherwise, we'll end up with the same problem the Japanese have, the same problem large numbers of European nations have, the same problem Russia has--- an aging population that can no longer expand their economy, and finds it increasingly difficult to pay for the growing, aging population.
It is myopic in the EXTREME to look around you, and having seen a bunch of Mexicans standing on the corner looking for work, and curse and swear about their existence on the same playing field you happen to enjoy, BY A MERE ACCIDENT OF BIRTH ! ! !
Our Declaration of Indepdence tells us ALL men are endowed with the same inalienable rights you enjoy ! ! ! !
You shouldn't be so quick to forget that......
I can back up any of it rather quickly.....
You are absolutely correct, they do learn english.....
Even though we all know it is wrong and causing the destruction of the country we know, there is no way to argue or force the government to discuss what it wants to keep quiet, while it operates for the few but jiggering the numbers to make the stupid population think they have no choice.
We are working our way towards a very sick state, or a revolution, and doing no one any good, except those who gamble and participate in this big rip-off machine. What is a country full of beaten down losers worth. Are we so scared of our own people that we now refuse to give them the support and protection they need to be full citizens?
The US is the most fascist of the developed countries at this point. We have the oldest, deadest Constitution in the world, and we are going the way of the old Soviet Union. If we go to far we will be as lost as they are now, and then as corrupt and evil
Now that everyone is off the farms, and broken down into the industrial family the dynamics of people's lives have all changed so that they are now dependent on the factory system for their lives.
There is no alternative, no frontier, no other place to go or way to be. That is not freedom, it is slavery. It may be a higher class slavery that Mexicans experience in Mexico, or South Americans, but that does not make it progress, positive, or American.
As for the flourishing of our economy, it isn't flourishing. It is floundering, and one of the main reasons why is because of immigration :
1. $45 Billion/year lost from the economy in remittances.
2. $ Reduction of wages, and thereby consumer spending.
3. Lost jobs.
4. Less $$$ for jobs programs due to increased allocations for immigrant related problems (welfare, crime, EMTALA, schools, etc.)
The Brits found the VERY ACT OF REBEL "criminal." It's all about PERCEPTION.
one of the main reasons why is because of immigration
At any given time, nearly 2/3s of our currency is outside of our borders, I don't think a mere $45 is the culprit of your dreams.
I don't really think you can prove any correllation between flat wages and immigration trends either, after all, when the economy is down, the Mexicans leave in large numbers, but the wages never go up than when they are here. We've had flat wages now since the 60s and I don't think anyonen is pretending we've had an "illegals" problem anywhere near that long.
As for jobs, the fact is, without the immigrants we would have had FEWER jobs, as companies would not have been able to find people to fill the jobs. We've moved to a service oriented economy and that means there are people at the top and people at the bottom, just like in the industrial age. At the bottom is the traditional roles we think of when it comes to service, food, lodging, etc., at the top is the information sector of our economy, thriving and growing in very unexpected ways.
But the top will always be served by the bottom, and in the 90s that required 44% of our workforce to be comprised of IMMIGRANTS ! ! ! !
We don't lose jobs because of immigrants, WE CREATE THEM ! ! !
Your last point isn't even worth address, the dollar figures are INSIGNIFICANT ! ! !
It isnt FAIR for Americans. If you remember back, there were plenty of Americans mowing companies...cooks...etc.
It isnt FAIR that Americans spend 432 BILLION a year for illegal's health care/education/judicial/economic support. That isnt fair.
We have to protect our borders. Let people in...sure. But the right way.
~M
as I asked before---
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO "SEAL" THE BORDER ???
There is no one willing to do it.....
Listen to the guy would ya ???
Open up your ears and your mind ! ! ! !
1. Illegal aliens are criminals. The knowingly entered our country by breaking the law.
2. there are more than 20 million of them still here.
3. It has cost the AMERICAN taxpayer almost 400 billion dollars in social services since 1996.
4. There are almost 5 million children of illegals in our school system. Cost for this is almost 15 billion since 1996.
5. There have been more than 2 million "anchor babies" born here, guess who pays for them.
6. There have been more than eleven million skilled jobs taken by illegal aliens.
7. There are over four hundred thousand illegal aliens incarcerated at a cost of $1, 465,100,900.00 since 2001.
And let's set another thing straight, illegal border crossings CAN be stopped. The Militiamen in Arizona stopped it by patrolling the border. Our government doesn't want to stop it, but they can. Janet napolitinao doesn't want the illegal aliens to be arrested, neither does Obama, hence the pressure on anyone who does try to stop and deport illegal aliens.
MY PLAN:
1. Set up guard towers along the border and man them with volunteer veterans.
2. Any employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien should be fined five thousand dollars and get a mandatory sentence of one year, per offence.
3. All illegals will be required to turn themselves in at the nearest police station. They will be finger printed, photographed, given a medical screen and a criminal check. If they pass they get a green card, if not they get deported. They will pay a fine to support this. There will be a nationwide computer system to verify status and whereabouts of each alien. If you are caught using forged documents, two years hard labor.
4. I catch you in this country again illegally, you get a two years hard labor sentence, building the fence to keep you out.
I catch you a third time you go to jail for five years, building the fence. Oh yeah, you live in a tent city like sheriff Joes.
5.
http://immigrationcounters.com/
How far apart are you going to put these "towers" ?? and what do you think these towers would be doing ?? snipers ?? relaying data to the "troops" below ???
Any employer who knowingly hires an illegal alien should be fined five thousand dollars and get a mandatory sentence of one year, per offence.
the fines are $5,000 now for receiving or knowingly accepting forged or fraudulent documents.
All illegals will be required to turn themselves in at the nearest police station.
That's like standing in the middle of the woods with a gun and saying, "okay, all the deer will now report to the run." *chortle*
There will be a nationwide computer system to verify status and whereabouts of each alien.
*chuckle* how do computers allow human beings to be tracked, except perhaps GPS... ???
You're a regular revolving door incarceration kinda guy eh??? Two years here two years there, yeah, that would make everything better *chuckle*
Check the website, do some investigation, find some facts other than the same old liberal BS you seem to love so much.
2. there are more than 20 million of them still here. Or 12 million, or 8 million, or... ? In any case, I think 20 is a tad excessive.
3. It has cost the AMERICAN taxpayer almost 400 billion dollars in social services since 1996. So, roughly $13 billion a year? Not so bad. And, of course, most of them have fake IDs... which allow the government to tax them. The "FACT" appears to be that they pay more in taxes than they use.
4. There are almost 5 million children of illegals in our school system. Cost for this is almost 15 billion since 1996. Which they paid. Oh yes they DID!. They pay property taxes, just like every OTHER renter (very few of them buy homes, and they don't live in tents. They RENT. Even if it's three families to a house or apartment, they pay, and the rent's in the payment.
5. There have been more than 2 million "anchor babies" born here, guess who pays for them. We do, they do... same as every other generalizeable group in the USA.
6. There have been more than eleven million skilled jobs taken by illegal aliens. REALLY? 20 million illegals (of whom at least half are dependents) have taken 11 million PROFESSIONAL jobs? Whose? Where? What kind of "professional' jobs? How 'bout some citations?
7. There are over four hundred thousand illegal aliens incarcerated at a cost of $1, 465,100,900.00 since 2001. "Probably. We tend to arrest and incarcerate brown and black people at a helluva rate here in the "Good Ol' Boy" USA.
And let's set another thing straight, illegal border crossings CAN be stopped. The Militiamen in Arizona stopped it by patrolling the border. Our government doesn't want to stop it, but they can. Janet napolitinao doesn't want the illegal aliens to be arrested, neither does Obama, hence the pressure on anyone who does try to stop and deport illegal aliens. Yup, buncha scary dudes with guns chasing people around in SUVs, FWD pick-em-ups and ATVs shut down illegals in spots all over AZ, NM & TX... until the inevitable happened, and people started getting beaten, run down and even shot. Now... no more big dumb guys with beer, guns and FWD vehicles chasing scared Mexicans all over the desert. This is NOT a job for self-righteous, sanctimonious volunteers.
People get what they deserve, we are creating another problem to bitch about.
Chuck...having a hard time with moral turpitude? You cant distinguish the difference between speeding and mass murder? You should go see someone about that.
Illegals cost us 432 BILLION per year. The number above was just social services. There is no property tax on rentals in Texas. The illegals get to send their illegal kids to school on our dime.
"Probably. We tend to arrest and incarcerate brown and black people at a helluva rate here in the "Good Ol' Boy" USA.
That in of itself is a racist statement. One that I am offended by.
~M
It has also been over-looked to not only the concern about Republicans losing votes to the ghetto dwellers who continue to vote for those that have confined and restricted them to their helplessness and hopelessness with their Big-teated govt policies to pacify and stagnate them for generations.
They are mostly brownies and blackies!
The hot-looking-light-skinned ones could be PRESIDENT one day - so they should all be terribly inspired to ASSIMILATE and PROPAGATE and learn a little English so they can also read a Teleprompter with heart-felt compassion. (Can you say Hope and Change?) Welcome to America hombre!
Remember, that border gate STILL swings both ways.
(Anybody know where there might be some homeless senorita that does "light" house-keeping?)
Unions for pickers, packers, drivers, warehousers, handlers, all assistants and all with a 'MIN Lifestyle Sustaining Income' to be determined by the wisest of the wise and generous Progressives in DC.
Ya, that's the ticket - everybody gets the equal share of the pie just for the privilege of Being Here!
Viva La' AmeriMex!
So we are all now supposed to disregard our laws if we perceive them to not be criminal, huh ? No, it's all about what is legal, and what isn't, and changing whatever laws (by our influence upon legislators) we deem unjust. Entering the USA without inspection is a crime, as it certainly should be. That's the American people's perception.
"At any given time, nearly 2/3s of our currency is outside of our borders, I don't think a mere $45 is the culprit of your dreams."
Man, you really think you can get away with some pretty big whoppers don't you ?
Well, when it comes to whoppers, you might want to stick to hamburgers. There's a mighty huge gap between currency outside of our borders, and money lost from our economy, forever. Sure, lots of US money is floating around the world, but much of it produces trade benefits. Immigrant remittances produce only 2 things : a gain for the immigrants' home countries, and a loss$$$$$$$$ from the US economy.
PC has made us ignorant and confused. Its sad.
~M
I don't have to prove it. That was clearly done by George J. Borjas of Harvard University, in the highly respected study entitled "The Labor Demand Curve IS Downward Sloping: Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labor Market", published in the November 2003 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics (pp. 1335-1374). BYW, it's not a proof of "flat wages". It is proof (using 40 years of US Census data from 1960 - 2000) of REDUCTION of American workers' wages.
Man, are you behind the times. I can't believe you're actually still trying to get away with the "jobs Americans won't do" lame line. I, et al, have refuted this nonsense claim dozens of times, here in Gather, over the past 3 years. In a well-researched study, the Center for Immigration studies examined 465 occupations. Only 4 had a majority of immigrants in them. Americans, by majority, ARE doing the jobs immigrants do.
Also, in many cases, it's only because of the reduced wages that some jobs are less appealing to Americans (who don't split rent & car payment 15 ways). So, if the employers would simply pay a fair wage, they'd have no problem getting workers.
A dozen night watchman jobs available for $50,000/year ? Jobs are filled in one hour.
As for the dirty and dangerous jobs, the most dirty and dangerous are filled almost entirely by Americans (ex. coal miners, firefighters, troops in Aghanistan, etc.)
"Your last point isn't even worth address, the dollar figures are INSIGNIFICANT ! ! !"
Yeah ? Try some facts on for size :
1. "The National Research Council (NRC)1 estimated that immigrant households create a net fiscal burden (taxes paid minus services used) on all levels of government of $20.2 billion annually. The National Research Council�s 1997 is report entitled, The New Americans: Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. (www.cis.org/articles/1999/combinednrc.pdf .)
2. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) estimates that in 2002 illegal alien households imposed costs of $26 billion on the federal government and paid $16 billion in federal taxes, creating an annual net fiscal deficit of $10.4 billion at the federal level, or $2,700 per household. (The High Cost of Cheap Labor: Illegal Immigration and the Federal Budget Steven Camarota. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscal.html)
Hey, there's lots of ways of maximizing the benefit of something. The point is, intelligent people don't ignore the costs just to maximize benefits. I suppose I could really enjoy my electric guitar the most, if I jacked up my amp's volume to the max, at any time of the night. It would be pretty rough on my neighbors though. Hiring cheap labor immigrants is just pure selfish greed.
What does guitar volume have to do with immigration?
Say for example that those greedy employers, need capital so we can war in the modern way against the rest of the world that wants to eat our lunch. OK, fine. Then tell me what is in it for the US worker, for the US citizen.
Why is it constant lowered expectations and lifestyle when we are supposedly the most powerful richest country in the world?
I've been following the illegal immigration debate here on Gather for quite a while now, and I often wonder if companies that hire illegal immigrants are paying these folks to post here on Gather.
After a thorough review of all the relevant criterea (and there's a lot), it is an inescapable conclusion that many countries (mostly Mexico) see the USA as simply a great place to loot, with a complex politic that allows them to get away with it. It's the Vikings and Britain all over again only using low wage workers instead of swords and arrows.
I agree that there's probably some shills here, in Gather, planted by the Greed Freak companies who use illegal aliens to boost their profits, but also by other special interest groups who support illegal and excessive legal immigration (ex. American Civil Laughingstock Union, Southern Poverty Laughingstock Center, US Chamber of Commerce. some churches, some unions, some ethnocentrist groups, etc.).
Too much guitar volume any time of the night is self-gratification, AT THE EXPENSE OF
neighbors who want to sleep. Too much immigration (and at reduced wages) is profit self-gratification, AT THE EXPENSE OF American workers, and really, everyone in the country.