Posted on 02/26/2008 8:03:07 AM PST by 3AngelaD
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton on Friday stood behind his offer to trade "lazy Missourians" for hardworking Mexican citizens. Jetton, a Republican from Marble Hill, first made the suggestion earlier this month at a Republican Party gathering in Springfield. He repeated it Thursday when asked about it at The Associated Press and Missouri Press Association Day at the Capitol. "I think there are some lazy Missourians in this state who really don't want to work, and I think there's a lot of hardworking Mexicans who would love to come up here and make a little money to support their families," he said. "And by golly, if we could find a way to trade them, I would trade them in a heartbeat."
Jetton said he's taken some criticism for such comments, but that others have told him he's right. He said there are too many Missourians who would rather enroll in government programs than earn a wage. As evidence, he pointed to an example from Wayne County in southeastern Missouri. Jetton said a company that tried recruiting employees for jobs paying around $8 an hour had just three applicants. The county had the highest unemployment rate in the state at the time.
Jetton's comments came as lawmakers were considering more than a dozen bills designed to crack down on illegal immigration by limiting government services to them, checking immigration status and punishing those who are in the country illegally.
I hate to burst your bubble but did you happen to notice WHEN he said this?
“Jetton’s comments came as lawmakers were considering more than a dozen bills designed to crack down on illegal immigration by limiting government services to them, checking immigration status and punishing those who are in the country illegally.”
Cracking DOWN on ILLEGALS and he comes out with THAT comment on LEGAL AMERICANS?
It doesn’t take much to see that he FAVORS CHEAP ILLEGALS and has no clue that ILLEGALS clean up on our benefits and don’t pay taxes. He’ll be voted out of office.
As for “lazy” folks - deny them unemployement if the are LEGAL citizens. They’ll find work REAL FAST.
I understand what he's trying to say, he just didn't it right.
Amazing people, other than those here illegally are not jumping at the chance to work for poverty wages..
Dont get me wrong I would work two eight dollar an hour jobs if I had to but with two kids the prospect of working hard just so I can join the working poor and eliminate myself from any kind of medicade is *not* something I look forward to..
The sad part is that he stole part of McCain’s platform.
If I lived in Missouri, I would sure enjoy voting against him. If he really is concerned he needs to find out why the locals aren’t taking the jobs. I have noticed many that whine they can’t get legal workers will not advertise jobs because they don’t want legal workers. Another issue is, are the wages enough for the job required?
A local pecan farmer in the coffee shop the other morning was claiming he left his crop of nuts to rot this year because he could not get the workers from Mexico that he has always had. This sounds desperate and might convince some people that we need to allow illegals to stream in. My daughter’s fiance works for another pecan farmer that hires only legal workers, he pays his workers well above minimum wage ($12 and up) and had no problem getting his nuts harvested. He made such a profit this year (even with paying decent wages) that he gave his employees bonuses based on how long they had worked for him- one worker was there 5 months and received a $1,000 bonus after harvest, most of the workers received several thousand dollars as a bonus. The man also took his main crew of 15 workers on an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas for a long weekend.
Over and over I see farmers and ranchers in this area that manage to find legal workers; then hear other farmers and ranchers whine because they can’t get legal workers, and claiming they have to have illegal workers. I think it is bogus that there are no legal workers that want the jobs. It seems that some employers are able to find them.
Hear, hear!
Maybe he should offer to drop the lazy Missourians from the welfare rolls and keep the illegals in Mexico. I wonder how that would work? Has it ever been tried?
That was my thought too. Apparently Missouri wishes to become a slave state.
Martin, thanks for the pic of this “public official”. They say a picture says a thousand words...his picture tells me he hasn’t stooped down to do much manual labor.
Actually, many of them will not. They'll hang out on street corners with signs. They'll become criminals. They'll find someone to mooch off of, including but not limited to the government.
I've seen this up close and personal for too many years. There is a significant percentage of the American population that simply will not do honest work. Sad but true.
MM (in TX)
You are in trade Dude, better get over here!
I agree. I totally understand this guys sentiments. Its easy to have a knee jerk reaction because we all hate illegal immigration so much. But he does have a point. Shortly after the Welfare Reform program went into affect and people actually had to get a job, our small company of about 50 employees started hiring former welfare recipients who had been kicked off the government teat. That summer, we went through about 100 people. They just wouldn’t work. So the company went out and hired 15 Mexicans. End of problem. They come to work every day, don’t collect Workers Compensation, never sue anyone and never demand anything. The company claimed they were paying them the same as everyone else but I doubt that. I don’t agree with illegal immigration at all. It is wrecking our country but I do know he is right about people not wanting to work. They want to start at the top and then not have to actually work for their pay. And will sue just for looking at them funny. They don’t have the perseverence to work their way up. So this guy has a point.
You have to start somewhere. I worked for a lot less than that for a quite a few years.
The fast food places in my suburban area were hard up for employee’s. The suburbanite snob kids would’nt flip burgers for $10-$12 an hour. Fast food places resorted to chartering buses to bring in inner city kids on a daily basis.
ok, i’m not working, but i’m expecting some opportunity to turn up anyday now.
Say, did the stimulus bill include a six month unemployment benefit extension?
anyone know?
Agreed, but I still say hes got a point. This country has just gotten so used to political correctness, you just can’t say anything anymore without being called some kind of name with an “ist” on the end of it.
You have a good point, too. I totally agree that businesses should have to try to find legal workers first, but the article didn’t say he favored hiiring illegals. He just said Mexicans.
President Bush as said the same thing - just not as eloquently.
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