Well, here's why we have laws against illegal immigration: To protect your opportunities.
Most youth live in the fantasy that with the proper piece of paper, you'll have a lovely life. They are excellent at following the program. But guess what? Following the program means you'll have a masters in ethnic studies which is suitable for a cushy job enticing others to sign up for massive debt loads or a barista at Starbucks.
Let's back up 8 summers previously; while you were sitting on your PS/3, an illegal was mowing the lawns in your neighborhood. A few hours each weekend, maybe more during the summer, you could have had the cash flowing in to buy those desired titles and accessories rather than asking Mom (or playing her against Dad whom you see once or twice a month.)
Six summers previously, you could have used those skills you learned mowing lawns and selling yourself to your neighbors for yard work to land a construction job. Sure, might only have been holding signs or pushing a broom, but that's some good money which would have bought a car and paid for the insurance.
Alas, the subcontractor is from Mexico and has no worry about finding enough ‘cousins’ to fill out a work gang, and there's 40 and 50 year olds holding those signs instead of you.
But that's okay, you went to college, and look, they even put your health care and that fantastic computer on your tuition, plus look at that great student housing and easy meal plans that go right on the loan. Just took a signature (and one from both Mom and Dad) and you were on to PAR-TAY! Oh, and a cool degree in ethnic studies.
Meanwhile, the janitorial service the university contracts with is staffed with illegals with an illegal as manager and another as owner. You even attended monthly rallies to demand that they get better wages. ‘course, that could have been your job - not the best job, washing toilets and emptying trash cans, but the illegals are pulling down $50k a year plus benefits as ordained by the university after your protests. The manager's pulling down 100k, and the owner just bought his 12th apartment building with the profits.
Two summers ago, you had your four year degree and even though the tuition for that masters program is really high, it's also top rated in the Huffington Post social conscious ratings, and the academic advisor says that the 75k a year of debt will mean nothing when you land that great job.
You of course get to teach half the classes your professor is supposed to, and grade most of the papers. Man, what idiots this freshmen are, they don't even know not to use gender biased pronouns. Meanwhile, when you pick up the phone to tech services, a guy with a thick accent answers and says that Joe will be right down to change the toner in the laser printer.
Yep, the tech’s got a clean shirt from the contracted company, doesn't say much, but performs his job. He's got to, the smugglers get a quarter of his paycheck, half goes to the understanding landlord from Mexico who says he'll make sure that ICE never knows he's here illegally, and in three years, he'll have made enough to bring his wife here so they can have a baby and live here forever.
The university considers this service to be a bargain; they're only paying $25 an hour for contracted work, far cheaper than the $22 an hour they were paying staff plus taxes plus benefits, and if some chanting students object to the outsourcing, they'll point to the higher wages being paid.
And this summer, in debt enough to pay for a new car and a decent house, with no skills to find a job to put money in your pocket, you'll fill out that barista application and be grateful for your first job at a coffee shop while applications go out to all the big companies sure to hire the top of the class.
Pay’s pretty good, $11.40 an hour plus they'll take 10% of your salary and match it to help pay off your student loan debt. The only part you hate is staying late for the delivery truck, as they never speak English and the last one keep playing all this whiny yelly prayers. Of course you won't say anything, that would be racist. Plus it looks like they pretty much live in that truck too, though you hear that they make some good money, maybe he's supporting his family back home. What a sucker they are, giving away so much of their income, as you're living at home for free with Mom.
This is the pattern that comes from illegal immigration. You, locked out of the most basic steps of the job market and saddled with enough debt that you'll do any face job that the cheap labor express desires just so long as they help service your massive debt. They'll hold your mother and father hostage to that debt as well - you don't have a job? Why, gosh, sure was a nice house your parents had there.
In contrast to that was the story of my mom’s family.
Her dad was basically a sharecropper all his life. A man with a sick wife, leukemia, and 10 children.
Only four of the children finished high school.
One, her youngest brother walked 20 miles to school each morning and 20 miles home each evening his senior year. He was on track to be class valedictorian.
Each evening and Saturday he worked at the local Piggly Wiggly. He saved every penny he earned.
After high school he was accepted to UVA in Charlottesville, VA.
Each week he walked from Madison Heights, VA to Charlottesville, what is now an hours drive.
He worked in the school cafeteria to make living expenses.
Every weekend he would walk the 60+ miles back home and work at Piggly Wiggly on Saturday.
During the summer he worked and saved every penny he made for the next years tuition.
His fourth year he ran out of money and was forced to drop out.
He then joined the army.
Over the next 8 years he received the training he needed to get a good job.
He went to work for Babcock and Wilcox in the Naval Nuclear Fuels division where he wore a tie and jacket to work and never accumulated one penny of debt for any of his school/training.
And todays snowflakes can’t go to the useless classes they are in debt for because they are “stressed” because their candidate lost an election?
These pukes don’t know what stress is.
Brilliant, well written post.