[Klickitat]

ping

[jimt]

Bump.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Bill O'Reilly of Fox News is correct when he predicts that the new legal immigration proposals will bring in another 50 million people, this at a time when hundreds of thousands of Americans are unemployed, and the jobs we do have are being outsourced to India, Mexico and a host of other cheap labor countries. Bringing in more cheap labor will only acerbate our problems and will be a recipe for disaster for these United States not too mention the impact 50 million people will have on our hospitals, schools and police services. (According to the Border Patrol, 7 percent who enter our country illegally now have prior criminal records).

It's a time bomb.......

[2banana]

When I was a kid, we only had one parent working - my dad - and we always seemed to have enough. Not plenty, but enough. This is particularly amazing in view of the fact that my dad was a preacher - you know how they overpay those guys - and had five children.

One big oversite in this article, taxes in general and in particular on the poor have gone way up since Mr. Behnke was a kid.

[camle]

two things are wrong with this article:

if the poor are getting poorer, then why did the government have to RAISE the poverty level to show more poor people?

And, the whole minimum wage debate assumes that people making minumum wage will always make minimum wage. this is a false assumption. minimum wage jobs are entry level low skill occupations desgiend for people to get in the job force and establish a work record before moving on to more profitable jobs. And most people do just that. very few people who were making minimum wage ten years ago are still doing so.

OK, three things. what do you do with a chap who's labor is only worth five bucks an hour? aren't you pricing him out of a job by raising the minimum wage? And what does that do to low skill jobs as a whole? Will raising the minimum wage continue to erode entry level job availability?

[Conspiracy Guy]

My family was so poor we had no molecular structure. We were free floating sub-atomic particles. But we were happy and we got by.

CG

[Gunslingr3]

When I was a kid, we only had one parent working - my dad - and we always seemed to have enough.

They had a lot less than people do now. Appetites have grown apace with wealth. Now if you don't have two cars, 3 TV's, and additional consumer craved bobbles you're considered poor.

[hattend]

BTTT

[freedox]

"When I was a kid, we only had one parent working - my dad - and we always seemed to have enough. Not plenty, but enough. This is particularly amazing in view of the fact that my dad was a preacher - you know how they overpay those guys - and had five children."

I know it's not really the point of the article, but just an observation......

In my experience, churches typically see to it that the needs of the preacher and his family are met, even if they are not covered by his actual salary. This author might not have been aware of "charity" that the family was receiving from church members who were observant of their needs.

[Chi-townChief]

"When I was a kid, we only had one parent working - my dad - and we always seemed to have enough. Not plenty, but enough. This is particularly amazing in view of the fact that my dad was a preacher - you know how they overpay those guys - and had five children. Today it seems both parents have to work full time, and even then lots of families barely scrape by."

I don't know how old this bozo is but, if he's around my age (50), he had about 1/2 the standard of living as today - two-family house, party lines, no basement, one car, one toilet, coal that you shoveled for heat, one TV, etc.

[SamAdams76]

Being that I do not have a 40 inch plasma TV, a shiny new SUV and a membership to Gold's Gym like some welfare bums that I know, I humbly assign myself among the growing ranks of the poor. Maybe if I stayed home and collected a crazy check from SSI, I could have some of the aforementioned things for myself.

[Blood of Tyrants]

He is right, it is illegal aliens driving wages lower than they ought to be that is causing more problems in America.

[RnMomof7]

Yes O Reilly is right..

The Administration promises 2.5 million jobs. Even if that is true (they missed last year by a mile) , the influx of even 2 million Mexicans washes out any "benefit".
It just means the one that is willing to work for less wins the job. So the depression of wages continues.

[B4Ranch]

"Today it seems both parents have to work full time, and even then lots of families barely scrape by. "

Solution: Do Not Have Children Until You Can Assume The Cost For All Their Needs.

I get fed up with the guys who go around bragging what great men they are. "Hung like Einstein and almost as smart as a horse" is what needs to be tattooted on their fore heads.

[Poohbah]

Now at a time of abundant cheap labor and a 6 percent unemployment rate on its way to 7.9 percent

And the referee throws a "Bravo Sierra" flag on that play...

[luckydevi]

for later

[FITZ]

In the meantime, the poor will get poorer and poorer.

What is going on too is that we're importing massive amounts of poverty. The poor today are less educated than ever, we have huge welfare programs that didn't exist before that appeal to many of our new poor, and a lot of the poverty is cultural. Unwed mothers are quite a lot younger than ever in the past --- 20 years ago it was considered shocking for a 16 or 17 year old to become an unwed mother, now it's not shocking to see 12 year old unwed mothers.

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

BUMP

[dr_who_2]

Yeah, a man has to hold two jobs these days to afford a computer, washer drier combo, a dvd player, and that SUV that gets him to work and brings home the microwaveable tv dinners and movie rentals. Times just keep getting worse and worse.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

He states that a lot of people are living on the edge of household financial disaster and cannot escape their poverty because there are a lot of things that keep them there - a low minimum wage, convenience stores that advance them cash at 20 percent interest on a two-week loan, unscrupulous bosses who falsify time sheets so they work longer hours for the same pay, garment workers paid by the piece, exorbitant housing costs just to mention a few.

Raise the minimum wage and put them out of work. That'll help. It made FDR a hero to the lefties.