The Mirage of Mexican Guest Workers

Foreign Affairs ^ | November/December 2001 | Philip L. Martin (UC Davis) and Michael S. Teitelbaum (Alfred P. Sloan Foundation)

[StatesEnemy]

We are being primed for full blown socialism.

The elites have realized that the easiest way to manage us (and thus secure their lofty positions - in perpetuity) is to turn us into dependent sheep.

First, the middle class must be eroded. Then, national sovereignty.

It will all be soft and gradual - spread out strategically over a couple generations, allowing progressive indoctrination to take root, and smooth the process.

[speekinout]

. During the so-called bracero ("strong-armed one") program from 1942 to 1964, the number of unauthorized Mexicans slipping across the border actually expanded in parallel with the number of authorized temporary workers; the illegal flows then continued to accelerate after the program's termination...

I don't buy this at all. The guest worker program applied on the East Coast as well as the West. East Coast workers were primarily from island nations like Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, etc. They were seasonal workers, they didn't bring their families, and much of the money they earned wasn't given to them until they arrived back in their native country.

Companies that supplied the seasonal workers did well if they went by the rules. The people who hired seasonal workers used these companies, because they were shielded from any immigration problems by the companies.

The reason these programs were ended is because Liberals thought the workers weren't living well enough. They mostly lived in camps - some were better than others - but the employers were reluctant to build much better quarters for a crew that would live there about 1 month/yr.

[moehoward]

bump

[God is good]

...guest worker programs are virtual recipes for mutual dependence between employers and the migrants who work for them. Employers naturally grow to depend on the supply of low-wage and compliant labor, relaxing their domestic recruitment efforts and adjusting their production methods to take advantage of the cheap labor. History has shown that in agriculture (where many Mexican guest workers would be employed), a pool of cheap workers gives farm owners strong incentives to expand the planting of labor-intensive crops rather than invest in mechanized labor-saving equipment and the crops suitable for it...

Aka: a third world country.

Before you vote for Bush, you should ask yourself these questions.

If slavery of blacks is wrong then why is slave labor of Mexicans and other nationalities and ethnic groups not wrong?

If the minimum wage and child labor laws are humane for American citizens, why are they not humane for Mexicans and other nationalities and ethnic groups?

And why should an illegal be awarded jobs over proven law-abiding citizens?

Should Bush's interest and the nation's interest be to give our money, health-care, protection, and other resources to a people who have no interest or value in our nation's survival or sovereignty?

Is such a President upholding his oath of office to serve and protect America's interests and people?

Is such a person fit to lead our country and hold our country's most powerful position?

Is such a person fit to hold the most powerful position in the world?

[Zipporah]

Actually the supplier of cheap labor actually reduces productivity. Firms are no longer bound by expense to develope innovate methods or technology to increase efficiency. It has been argued that the Roman Empire would have achieved the industrial revolution if it had not been for the slaves.

[God is good]

We are being primed for full blown socialism. The elites have realized that the easiest way to manage us (and thus secure their lofty positions - in perpetuity) is to turn us into dependent sheep. First, the middle class must be eroded. Then, national sovereignty. It will all be soft and gradual - spread out strategically over a couple generations, allowing progressive indoctrination to take root, and smooth the process.

Yes. This is the obvious plan. The elimination of the middle class will give the globalists and the socialists the tyrannical power they long to exert. If this plan goes through, America will be a third world, socialist, globalist country in very short order. America will have no sovereignty.

The indoctrination is already established through the public schools, the media, and the welfare state. The public schools do not teach our children right and wrong or the realities of business and economy in the real world. The public schools with diversity teach perversity and are nothing more than socialist indoctrination camps. The public schools teach children not independent through strong Judeo-Christian values and a good work ethic but perversity and lazy dependence on government money. The children are taught they are entitled to socialism not freedom.

[inPhase]

they certainly keep trying.

[God is good]

Doing "well" in the short run does not mean our economy will do "well" in the long run. The dependence on cheap labor hampers productivity and the advancement of technology. You do not see the advancement of technology in Mexico or any other nation that upholds cheap labor.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Goodbye, USA. It was nice knowing you.

[joesnuffy]

Yep the landed middle class is an insult to the Patrones...only a landless disenfranchised feudal peasantry will do..for the elite globalists...
They gotta get the guns next...

[baltodog]

What happened to all the American jobs that have been allegedly lost in the last few years? Shouldn't we concentrate on getting these so-called unemployed Americans back to work, first?

I'm employed -- in fact, I've never been unemployed. I'm 41-years old and have paid taxes since I was 16. Regardless of that, I don't want to compete with an additional 8 million people in our country's job pool who are willing to work for less.

Anyone who says that these are jobs that Americans won't do is insulting me: I have shoveled sh*t in barns, I have worked on tree farms, I have done landscaping, I have worked at canneries, I've done daily maintenance and janitorial work.

I really fear for my kids' America. I think that the working-class, blue-collar dog like me is reaching a point where something is going to boil over....

Is this really a case of reaping what we have sown? Have we become so spoiled that we really wouldn't go back to these jobs, even if we had to? I know that I would.

[baltodog]

That is what I fear is going to happen....
Something's gotta' give....

[speekinout]

You do not see the advancement of technology in Mexico or any other nation that upholds cheap labor.

Of course not. Any company that doesn't use the cheapest method of production that it can is going to be out of business very soon.
In countries where labor is cheap, goods will be produced by humans; in countries where labor is expensive, goods will be produced by machines.

The trade-off is whether to use machines in the US or workers in Mexico. There never will be high paid workers in the US doing these jobs.
I think there is a lot of benefit by helping the Mexican economy and letting their people do these jobs.

[Lizavetta]

a pool of cheap workers gives farm owners strong incentives to expand the planting of labor-intensive crops rather than invest in mechanized labor-saving equipment and the crops suitable for it...

Exactly. How many human bodies do you see harvesting wheat? Corn? Somehow Kansas et. al. have figured out how to harvest without illegals because they had to. And wheat and corn are CHEAP. For that matter, the cotton that the cheap labor (i.e. slaves) kept low in price is - guess what - still low in price. According to the pro-illegal crowd, it should be expensive.

Not only that, but a huge ever-expanding pool of cheap illegals GUARANTEES wages to remain low. Apparently the libs haven't figured that out yet.

[God is good]

You have just proven my point. The machines or the slaves--which will America choose?

[Sabertooth]

*During the so-called bracero ("strong-armed one") program from 1942 to 1964, the number of unauthorized Mexicans slipping across the border actually expanded in parallel with the number of authorized temporary workers; the illegal flows then continued to accelerate after the program's termination...

**I don't buy this at all. The guest worker program applied on the East Coast as well as the West. East Coast workers were primarily from island nations like Jamaica, Barbados, Haiti, etc.

Fair enough.

Just to clarify the analogy for this Californian, which of those island nations shares a 2,000 mile land border with the United States?

[lainde]

Good points! BTTT

[dagnabbit]

Goodbye, USA. It was nice knowing you

I wonder what they'll call the geographic area now known as the USA?
Maybe "FTA Zone 2", if they number the FTA ex-countries from top to bottom starting with Canada.

[speekinout]

Just to clarify the analogy for this Californian, which of those island nations shares a 2,000 mile land border with the United States?

Were you aware that most of our borders are on the ocean? Have you ever heard of a thing called a "boat"? Have you ever heard that Cubans and Haitians come to FL in rafts, boats, or anything else that might float for even a short time?
Nah, I didn't think so.