Posted on 05/01/2006 1:20:55 PM PDT by SirLinksalot
Which Americans Won’t Work?
J. D. Pendry
The yearly per capita income in Wyoming County, West Virginia, the place of my birth and much of my youth, is $19,110.00. In neighboring McDowell County, it’s $16,483.00. The state average per capita is $23,794.00. It costs more money to attend school for one year at the University of California, Santa Cruz than the per capita income of my state. It’s also interesting that West Virginia has the highest rate per capita of military veterans in the country. Seems people who work hard for what they have are willing to serve and defend our country while the spoiled brat classes who have never worked for anything chase military recruiters away.
The joke’s on us, however. Taxes paid by people making 19 thousand a year, some of them serving in our Armed Forces (psst, being a Soldier is one of those jobs most Americans don’t want to do), find their way to the University of California, Santa Cruz in the form of federal dollars. Since I’ve clawed my way up from dirt poor to middle-class, I’m willing to fight to keep what I’ve earned and to prevent my small piece of West Virginia hillside from becoming part of the Islamic caliphate. If everything is given to you, you’ve never had to earn anything and you are left to want for nothing, you probably take it for granted that what you have will always be there and that the job of protecting it falls to others of lesser status than you. Lord help me for agreeing, but when John Edwards said there are two Americas out there, he may have been on to something.
Wyoming County is coal mining country. There’s currently a shortage of skilled miners in the state. Federal mining safety regulations require extensive training for this physically demanding and inherently dangerous job. Coal supplies more than half of our country’s electrical power and has the potential to lower prices at the pump through coal liquefaction if some wide-butted millionaire Congress people I know would actually work for our state – and America. Yet most Americans won’t work in the mines. Wait. What did I just say? It’s only a matter of time until Senator McCain sends the illegal immigrants; there I go again, undocumented guest workers here to do the job most Americans won’t do. He may need to do that to keep your lights on because I hear the miners are packing up to head to Yuma, Arizona for the five-month lettuce-picking season. McCain promises these lazy Americans fifty bucks an hour to do that job. For five month’s work, that’s better than forty grand a head. Bring the buses John, when you get to Wild Wonderful, head south on state route 10. We’ll be waiting for you at the McDowell-Wyoming county line.
There is another reason the good Senator from Arizona is worried about lettuce pickers:
“YUMA, Ariz. -- Shortly before Thanksgiving last year, Tom Nassif did something few law- abiding citizens would ever think to do: He called the U.S. Border Patrol here and suggested agents stop manning a highway checkpoint intended to keep illegal immigrants out of the country.
A former U.S. ambassador and currently the president of a powerful farming association, Mr. Nassif told officials that the agency couldn't have picked a worse time to beef up enforcement. Didn't they know it was lettuce season?” – Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2005, As Border Tightens, Growers See Threat to Winter Salad Bowl
Senator McCain again proves to us that pandering is the first priority of politicians. I have to tell you though he’s in the minor leagues compared to Pander-in-Chief Hillary.
"I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants. We might have to move towards an ID system even for citizens.
People have to stop employing illegal immigrants, I mean, come up to Westchester, go to Suffolk and Nassau Counties, stand in the street corners in Brooklyn or the Bronx (and) you're going to see loads of people waiting to get picked up to go do yard work and construction work and domestic work. You know, this is not a problem that the people coming into the country are solely responsible for. They wouldn't be coming if we didn't put them to work." – Hillary Clinton to WABC Radio's John Gambling.
That’s what Miss Hillary said before she made her faces of the people who clean our toilets speech at an immigration protest. She thanked the mob for doing the jobs Americans won’t do - watching her kids, cleaning her house, doing her laundry, cleaning the hotels and washing the dishes. Incredible. She told the gathered crowd that she wants to keep them as the permanent under-class, which is the same status they held in Mexico and elsewhere. The truth is socialists like Hill need a permanent and dependent under-class to keep them in power. I wonder. What would the reaction have been if she made the same speech to a group of Black Americans? I envy people who work hard, but I pity people who cheer at the prospect of forever doing Hillary’s laundry. Now that’s pitiful.
You may not surmise this from my reading my words, but I sympathize with people who come here and their only motivation is to provide for their families. Those of us who’ve raised families and survived by doing the jobs Hillary, John and others claim Americans won’t do are their kindred in spirit. Unfortunately, well-meaning, often poorly educated people have again been duped by politics and pro-communist organizations with agendas and affiliations that should alert immigrants that they don’t give a rat’s ass about them except as their potential usefulness in pushing a political agenda or harming the United States. Waving an American flag is meaningless if a communist places it in your hands and the colors aren’t in your heart. Organizations like A.N.S.W.E.R. and spineless, pandering politicians are doing immigrants more harm than good. I’m afraid my feelings on this matter are morphing from sympathy toward anger. At some point, if they haven’t already, Americans will stop seeing poor immigrants looking for work and start seeing tools used by people who want to harm our country.
I once was a registered Democrat, now I’m a registered Republican. I’ve never voted a straight party ticket. I cast my votes for America. Voting, by the way, is another of those jobs many Americans won’t do. The politician that wants my vote will show leadership by standing on principles and standing up for America. They’ll get my vote by first securing our borders. By registering and accounting for all illegal immigrants in our country and doing it within 90 days – before Election Day. By immediately deporting, without hearings, illegal immigrants found here that have serious criminal records. By deporting those that cannot show gainful employment. By providing a program that allows hard working, honest people who can clear a criminal background check to come here on work permits that require them to return to their country once each year - permits for which they or their employers must pay processing and annual renewal fees. If instead, the politicians give us amnesty, then I’m for flushing the whole kit and caboodle of them on Election Day. Let’s clean house of the people who wont’ work for America.
It does give a good view into just how big a cut the Federal government is taking out of business. The illegals are basically working in the business environment we had in the early 20th century. None of the miscellaneous taxes and overhead deductions for both employer and employee, just cash on the barrel. Depending on how much you make, the government takes 50-100% on top of the paycheck you actually see. The illegals split the difference with their employers, and both come out ahead.
I've worked jobs where I knew how much it cost the business to pay me. At the last such job, 52% of the cost of my employment went to the government at various levels, with 48% of their cost being given to me in the form of a check. Any way you slice it, that isn't right for anyone and it encourages illegal employment.
If the government wants to reduce the incentive for illegal employment, all they have to do is eliminate the financial incentive for both employers and employees by greatly reducing the costs and overhead they impose on both parties via taxes and regulations when they do things by the book.
You're missing the actual cost to the employer. If they know they're hiring illegals, they're paying just $14/hr. and it all goes to the worker. If you're getting $11/hr., it doesn't matter that you see less than that. The employer is paying half of your FICA and Medicare, Unemployment compensation insurance, and maybe some insurance benefits for you. It costs your employer more like $20 to hire you at $11.
I posted an article some time ago that stated that illegals only account for about 3% of those in agriculture.
And labor only accounts for 10% of the cost of produce.
I'd have to do some digging to find the article.
We're only saving a few cents per head of lettuce if an illegal picks it. But we are paying millions to cover education, health care, law enforcement and other expenses that are resulting from the flood of illegals. And the money they earn is "off the books" so they're not paying taxes on it. And they're sending billions back to Mexico which is lost to our economy. When are Bush and his cronies in the Congress going to wake up? We are being hosed and these dummies don't even realize it.
Ahh??? Don't you mean his wife's personal fortune???
In the State of Washington there is a minimum wage law. Everyone who works is paid at least that. Convenience store workers, Sears workers and so on.
Farm laborers generally make more because they do have some skills and the 'law of supply and demand' allows them to command more. If they are reliable and willing to learn, farmers will keep them on as permanently as possible and pay them even more.
During the summer when I hire nearly 50 packing house worker who work piece rate, these individuals make from $10 per hour to $15 per hour. Not bad for unskilled work!!
In addition, their childres get free breakfast at school or Epic, free lunch at school or Epic. And, most of the food that you taxpayers buy goes into dumpsters because they don't eat it. That is true even if it is their frioles or burritos.
They also qualify for unemployment when not working and free medical at the Farmworkers clinics, which you also pay for with your taxes.
As far as their 'rights' are concerned, if they desire to turn you in, you will be investigated by L & I or Human Right's Commission, even if the complaint has no basis.
So, revel in your belief that they are dumb and can't understand their rights. Give me a break!!!
This past weekend FEMA and the City of Austin , along with the Texas
Workforce Commission setup a job training/hiring/interview/job fair for
all the Katrina FEMA evacuees in the Austin area to be held at the ACC
campus on Webberville Road in East Austin Several of the evacuees said
they had no transportation to get from the apartment complexes.
So the city of Austin/FEMA/TWC set up transportation for each of them
to ensure they would be able to partake of the benefit of job searching.
The transportation consisted of nine buses and vans, to run from four
locations in Round Rock, and five locations in Austin, in continuing
shuttles back and forth to the campus to ensure that the hundreds of
people looking for jobs would be transported in comfort. The vehicles
were brought to their residences; drivers knocked on the doors; and every
effort was made.
At the end of the day, the nine vans and buses transported a
total of one person.
Not one person per bus - one person total.
At the end of the day, none of the Katrina Evacuees applied for
any of the jobs.
Not one person took employment - NONE total.
The bill to FEMA was $7800.
And yet they still get on TV claiming that the United States
Government "OWES THEM", I say we don't owe them anything and if
anything, they OWE us - the Tax Payers that are "WORKING PEOPLE",
they owe what they have been mooching off of the Tax Payers for
almost a year now. It is obvious that they don't intend to work as
long as they can sponge off of the system. It is time to cut them
loose and tell them the free ride is over !
PS - Pass this along to everyone you can if you agree that we don't
owe them ANYTHING !
Are these illegal aliens you are hiring?
And I will hire them. But, they aren't the ones that ask to come to work.
Also, I can't ask them if they are legal or illegal. All that I can do is ask for two pieces of I.D. One has to be a picture I.D.
So, there is a thriving business in forged documents, so good that the authorities can't tell them from the proper ones.
That is the problem. All the elites like Newt Gingrich, Senators, Congresspeople and the President have to step up to the plate and DO THEIR JOBS. THE JOBS THEY HAVE BEEN ELECTED TO DO!!
So, most of us in the produce industry welcome the lack of workers, if that were to happen. Hoorah!
A study was done that even @$10/hr. it would only raise it half a dollar.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I can't believe it would be that much, it doesn't take long to pick a head of lettuce.
That's twenty heads of lettuce per hour - one every three minutes.
One head a minute would only be 16 cents a head.
The penalty has to be on the employer when the "guest worker" decides not to return. The employer should have to put up a bond for each worker, and forfeit the bond if the worker elects not to return at the end of their work visa.
Also, the employer should be responsible for all liability for the worker (auto, health, etc.) while the worker is in our country. Nobody else (i.e. local taxpayers) should have to contribute to the employer trying to keep their costs down.
When an employer adds up the additional costs that he normally shifts on to everyone else, maybe the employer will find that its cheaper to raise what they are paying and hire American.
You are on the mark. Small businesses here (No. VA) without accounting/tax skills in house are much better off paying the illegal $10/hour unskilled wage than the $15/hour legal wage with the extra liability that it brings. The unskilled guy gets hurt, you can plausibly deny he ever worked for you. Same with taxes, if you screw up the unemployment tax or something like that, the state comes after you. If you pay an illegal under the table, nobody comes after you.
"The penalty has to be on the employer when the "guest worker" decides not to return. "
You've obviously never run a business. Please explain why it "has" to be that way. All that does is turn our own citizens who employ people into criminals.
You are part of the problem.
Junior enlisted soldiers and sailors make the equivalent of less than minimum wage. Meanwhile, fat lazy welfare rats sit on their expanding rearends and consider it an unfair burden that they have to walk all the way to the welfare office to pick up their check so that they can pay their cable bill. So which of those two groups of Americans are the smart ones?
That is exactly the problem. They have become a lifestyle for millions of Americans who will no longer work.
What a lotta folks (Dane comes to mind...) is that this is how the Roman Empire fell.
While the lower classes in Rome were entertained with bread and circuses (and NOT serving in the Legions!) the Roman patricians brought in illegal aliens to do the work that "Romans wouldn't do." Those "illegals" were barbarians: Teutons, Goths, Visagoths, Vandals, etc. They were being push from behind by other threats, too.
Eventually the barbarians noticed that the balance power has shifted in their favor and things turned violent. I hope our nation takes control of its destiny before American patricians encompass our doom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.