W's Live Speech Thread

Fox News | 1-7-04 | my favorite headache

[My Favorite Headache]

Press conference starts at 2:45 EST....get the prilosec out...we are going to need it.

[RebelBanker]

And the President has unilaterally changed what law? If I understand this, these are propsals for Congress, not executive orders. The public debate starts now.

[antaresequity]

I don't see many Americans picking fruit.

Yep...and you won't see Americans standing on street corners for the opprotunity to drive a shovel or rake.

You know what else you won't see? All these "Round 'em and deport 'em" folks paying 40 bucks and hour for a union laborer to dig out his juniper bush.

Blanket amnesty is not the answer, nor is 'rounding them up and deporting them'

Its somewhere in the middle.

[muggs]

What was the original title?

[SUSSA]

Just like he is rewarding Fox for siding with Iraq against us in the UN. That "you are with us or against us" crap was just so much BS. Bush would do anything to pick up a few votes.

[sarcasm]

Yeah, Americans really want a new flood of welfare recipients.

[RockyMtnMan]

Does that make Bush any less responsible for suggesting it in the first place? He's going to loose the election if he keeps pissing off his base.

[Peach]

Listened to the speech with my husband; almost afraid to read the thread because this issue is ticking off good Republicans more than the Medicare bill.

[McGavin999]

There are several things in this that really make sense. First of all, one of the things hinted at is that we are going to start enforcing the law against those who hire illegals now. There will no longer be an excuse to do that. Second, if they are not employed, they must go home. That's going to be easy to check and easy to enforce. Third, I think they are about to get dead serious about enforcing the borders. This is all in preparation for it.

[SONbrad]

I guess that you forgot that Reagan granted trie blanket amnesty when he was President! Damn! You shouldn't have voted for him!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Good grief. Look at what I was posting to and stop mudding the water with 1776 and world wars. Get a grip.

[rintense]

Anyone who is physically and mentally able to work (and of age) should do so before taking a handout from the government. Period.

[StolarStorm]

Great for the elite who can now pay extremely low wages to their maids, landscapers etc, bad news for those who are just beginning their trek up the economic ladder. One more effort to destroy the average American. This issue may cause the republican party to implode.

[geopyg]

COAL COUNTY WAGES...

highest in North Dakota.
Oliver and Mercer Counties – located in the heart of North Dakota’s coal country – ranked first and second in having the highest average annual wages, according to Job Service North Dakota Labor Market Information.

The survey, based on 2000 salary data, shows Oliver County leading all 53 counties with an average wage of $42,407, nearly twice as high as the state’s average. Mercer County ranked second with an average wage of $36,122.

The average employee in North Dakota earned $24,683 annually in 2000 while the average U.S. employee earned $35,323.

Job Service data also show that people engaged in the state’s coal mining industry received an average annual salary of $62,975, the highest average wage of any of the state’s primary industries. And the average annual wage for employees engaged in the electrical production – often related to the coal mining industry – received $52,622.

[Laura Earl]

Well I'm cubicle-bound now, so appreciate the straight facts...Thanks!

[Mad Dawgg]

"An issue as big as this should have been presented to the people and voted on after 6 months of public debate. I am very disappointed with the Bush administration."

That is a nice dream you have, and IF you lived in a Democracy that is exactly what would happen but since you live in a Republic your desire to vote on issues will not be granted. (See it is the way the Constitution is written.)

[RKV]

Not in a Bush administration, no.

[Age of Reason]

I recently drove nearly the entire west cost of this country and from what I saw, it is hardly full up.

Because nobody wants to live there.

[WackyKat]

What is a reasonable wage for such a job, in your opinion? With that in mind, are you aware of the price increase that would be a result of higher wages? This should be considered.

Labor cost is a small fraction of the total cost of vegetables.

That is a hacknyed and false rationale used by apologist for the illegals.

The real desired effect of illegals is to depress wages in the country across the board for unskilled, semi-skilled, and increasingly, skilled American workers

And any small savings on food is greatly outweighed by the taxes and other social costs imposed by illegals

[HolgerDansk]

bush's sellout of America today just lost him the election.

Well, then GWB is in good company. Jack Kemp and Bill Bennett took similar positions on Prop. 187 in California. Julian Simon over at the Cato Institutute and Kevin McCarthy and R. Burciaga Valdez at RAND studied the whole question, and concluded that the economic costs and benefits of illegal immigrant labor were about even.

By legitimizing migrant labor, the administration can focus limited border patrol resources on the real problem -- criminal aliens and terrorists. A very smart move.

Oh, and for those who harbor the illusion that migrant labor takes away jobs from US citizens, get a clue -- paying a "living wage" on US terms would at least quadruple the cost of fruits and vegetables. Which, of course, would raise the cost of living for everyone else. And the idea of US citizens taking those jobs is laughable -- try to get a kid to mow your lawn these days.

The Conservative position on this issue should be pretty clear -- side with those who take personal responsibility for their lives, work their butts off and send money home to their families, and go after those who do not make a positive contribution to society.

[Flyer]

You're welcome. I almost wasn't going to post to this thread because it's crazy here.