It isn’t the border, it’s the sub-minimum wage seasonal jobs with no benefits
I love how conservatives blame immigrants for America’s immigration “problems” and rail against President Obama as he attempts to nudge the country toward taking advantage of the desperation of immigrants in a slightly more transparent way. Conservatives hysterically claim that our porous southern border is the problem. It isn’t. The problem is the greedy farmer. The problem is the unethical food processing company that doesn’t want to pay a living wage or be bound by even the most minimal standards of workplace safety. That’s what they found out in Alabama when they really cracked down on the people who employ illegal immigrant labor.
Dirty jobs are available; Americans won’t fill them; thus, Americans are too soft for dirty jobs. Why else would so many unemployed people turn down the opportunity to work during a recession? Of course, there’s an equally compelling obverse. Why should farmers and plant owners expect people to take a back-breaking seasonal job with low pay and no benefits just because they happen to be offering it? If no one wants an available job—especially in extreme times—maybe the fault doesn’t rest entirely with the people turning it down. Maybe the market is inefficient.
Tom Surtees is tired of hearing employers grouse about their lazy countrymen. “Don’t tell me an Alabamian can’t work out in the field picking produce because it’s hot and labor intensive,” he says. “Go into a steel mill. Go into a foundry. Go into numerous other occupations and tell them Alabamians don’t like this work because it’s hot and it requires manual labor.” The difference being, jobs in Alabama’s foundries and steel mills pay better wages—with benefits. “If you’re trying to justify paying someone below whatever an appropriate wage level is so you can bring your product, I don’t think that’s a valid argument,” Surtees says.
Greedy farmer, huh? I guess you will be enjoying your Soylent Green when those “Greedy Farmers” working those farms don’t exist anymore.
Indeed. I’ll also enjoy my $50.00 head of iceberg lettuce when the conservative dream of an iron southern border and mass deportation of browns goes into effect.
Deport the people who hire them
I’m switching to Napa cabbage and Boston Bib
lol. That’ll be the day.
Here is what the President said.
The lucky 5 million being treated as virtual slave labor can continue to do so with a little less looking over their shoulder. It’s a win/win!!
Now, to mount my hobby horse again, this is one of those times that a coherent AND CONSISTENT DEMOCRATIC MESSAGE would make sense. Too bad there is no such thing.
Wake me when Obama gets to helping the rest of America.
Actually it is past time to realize the real problem is conservatives. Period. Ask yourself:
Why is America not great and prosperous?
The one unifying answer: Conservatives.
^nailed it^
Obama should keep going. Veto Keystone XL the day after Landreiu loses. Say no to Seismic airgun testing and offshore oil/gas exploration.
None of those require conservatives.
Hear Hear. Conservatives have always opposed forward thinking and policy
Price controls and protectionist policy are as regressive as feudalism or slavery, which is being inadvertently administered at every level under the veil of “equality” and “fairness”.
http://mises.org/library/economics-one-lesson
Re: Soylent Green. That was written back in the ’60s. In the modern version, Soylent Green is a premium product. The masses get Soylent Brown, which is made from sewage and petroleum-tainted aquifer water.
RE: Re: Soylent Green. The movie to which Geezer refers was “based” very “loosely” on Harry Harrison’s overpopulation novel “Make Room! Make Room!” in which, by the way, Soylent Green wasn’t people.
Thanks for the correction, Steve. The book is from the ’60s, the movie from the ’70s. I would maintain the best-remembered part of either one is the climax of the movie: “Soylent Green is people!”
I used to smoke a lot of Soylent Green
@Geezer–the only thing memorable about either the book or the movie was that last tag line. The book was turgid and the movie overrated.
@mouse–I don’t know you well enough to say (as I would to my friends), “Well that would explain a lot.”
The problem is the Alabama farmers still have to compete with farmers from neighboring states who can hire illegally without worrying about employer sanctions. Which is why employer sanctions need to be applied nationally.
@Anon: Neither crackpot economics nor scientology are going to fly around here.
As time goes by, it becomes more apparent that the president has roped the dopes.
It’s not always the labor force. I still think of those Maine lobsters left in the pots last year, because of the abundance and the sinking price at market for the lobstermen. Geez, us non- hunters and gatherers can never get a break!!