Posted on 1/14/2004, 3:00:01 PM by SJackson
The owner of a home construction company bragged to me that he used to have to pay carpenters $20 an hour plus benefits but now gets carpenters for $12, no benefits, because of the ready supply of illegal immigrants.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, in the last decade alone, illegal immigration has increased 400 percent. Today, at least five million of California's residents are illegal.
That's not surprising. The US government now barely enforces its immigration laws and provides ever-increasing rewards to illegal border crossers. For example, US taxpayers now provide illegals and their families with emergency- and often, non-emergency health care, plus public education K-12, all for free. Illegals not only can attend California's public colleges and universities including Berkeley, but pay in-state tuition (!), even though legal residents of the other 49 US states must pay three to five times more!
Pandering to Corporate America's thirst for cheap labor, President Bush's Guest Worker proposal would accelerate the percentage of illegals even faster. It would provide legal residency for three years (renewable) to all illegals holding US jobs, to their families, and even to those with just a letter stating that an employer promises a job.
The only restriction would be that the employer must first have tried to hire a legal resident. That restriction is practically unenforceable. The cost of investigating each of millions of hiring decisions would be prohibitive. No doubt, as in the 1986 amnesty program for agriculture workers, Bush's Guest Worker program would rely on employers' self-serving attestations. Even that amnesty program's sponsor, Charles Schumer (D-NY) admitted that fraud occurred in at least 2/3 of the hires.
What are the likely effects of the guest worker proposal? It is corporate welfare at its worst, thrusting a dagger into the middle class's heart:
Lower wages. Flooding the US job market with millions of Guest Workers eager to work hard for little more than minimum wage would enable employers to slash salaries. That would shrink the middle class, forcing ever more Americans into a lower-class existence.
Gutted unions. Unions protect workers against exploitation. Adding millions of non-unionized Guest Workers would erode unions' power to negotiate.
Higher taxes or fewer government services. Most Guest Workers would earn low salaries and therefore pay little or no tax, yet are high users of tax-dollar funded programs: education, health care, and the legal system.
Worse public schools. Adding millions of children who speak little or no English means that teachers must slow down instruction, denying legal residents who are native English speakers their right to an appropriate-level education.
Worse health care. California's health care system is already overwhelmed. For example, we have a critical shortage of nurses. Adding millions of Guest Workers would only exacerbate the problem.
Increased immorality. The Guest Worker program would give legal status to millions of people whose first act in this country was to break the law--entering illegally--and who soon committed a second crime-- applying for jobs when only legal residents are allowed to. Can we ask US citizens to be honest--for example, to pay their income taxes--while we reward lawbreakers with legal status and a free American education for their children? In officially welcoming millions of acknowledged two-time lawbreakers into the US, we would exacerbate America's already declining morality.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
Obviously the builders aren't passing the savings down because in California where they have the most illegals, the costs of houses is higher than anywhere else. It's far more expensive to buy a home in California built by $12 an hour illegal labor than one in a state with low levels of illegal labor where the carpenter makes $20 an hour.
It really angers me that my husband has always been diligent about the laws of employing people. We have always filled out and kept the proper paperwork required by the INS. Now, here it is that a law abiding tax paying citizen has to cut his American born tax paying crew leaving his loyal workers without a job just so HE can work to provide for his family. Where I am from someone is a guest if they are invited. If they aren't invited they are trespassers.
Contractors who knowingly hire illegals should be prosecuted. Maybe the contractor mentioned in the article will go bust after his own illegals learn enough to get their own work and put him out of a job.
Lost me with this tripe from the communist manifesto!
Every person that shops price is responsible not just corporations. We as a society are not educated in the true cost of shopping price only. Corporations, in order to stay in business, will use every tool in the book to bring a customer into their business (airlines excluded as they would not know a customer if one bit them on the butt). One of the easist things to do is sell your product based on price as there are millions of people who only look at the price tag.
Dishonest employers are not only denying jobs to Americans, they are underbidding the honest employers who are obeying labor laws and making it impossible for them to stay in business. The excuse that they can't find Americans to do the work falls flat when there is never any proof they made any effort to find Americans or offered wages impossibly low for Americans to accept.
I see people in the military who came from inner cities and disadvantaged neighborhoods --- it's quite common --- so if they are willing to join the military and be sent to Iraq to fight in a war --- I can't believe they wouldn't take a construction job or other type of job they commonly bring in illegals to do.
It's not only contractors hiring illegals,it's homeowners hiring them.Since they're illegal,they don't have ANY of the above mentioned I am required by law to have.What happens if they get caught?The law looks the other way.If I get caught without all of this,I'm fined and put out of business.Not to mention all the OSHA requirements.We've legislated ourselves out of jobs and turned a blind eye to illegals.Something is definatley wrong with that picture.
I can remember times when we paid some of these obligatory items out of our own checking account just so we could do the right thing. There have been times when work was slow or nonexistant but we have kept the business open. My husband has always said that anything worth having comes with a cost. It just doesn't seem to be worth having anymore with this problem of illegals being so great. How in the hell can you fight it? I normally don't dislike someone without knowing them but, lately I find myself resenting nearly every hispanic person that I see. My husband has suggested that he will simply just not pay taxes anymore and pay his guys cash. After all, isn't that what these "guests" do? Of course that is frustration speaking.
When the goobermint selectively enforces laws, and the highest office in the land encourages behavior that will burden your taxes with freeloaders, your husband's idea doesn't seem unfair to me.
Bush encouraging parasites is utterly disgusting.
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