Good article about the immigration issue here.
The article addresses something I've been complaining about for years; the absurd statement, oft repeated by the man I voted for, that asserts illegal immigrants will do jobs Americans refuse to. This of course really means that illegals will do jobs that Americans refuse to do for unfair wages.
Right here in Iowa, almost everyone I know has detassled, which from what I can tell is one of the shittiest, least fun manual labor jobs you could have. Yet, the pay is good, and people do it. What if instead, they could pay the workers $3 an hour and simply ship in a bus load of illegals? Bad news for Americans. This is why I could never vote for a big 'L' libertarian.
1 comments:
You'll notice though that the majority of those who detassel are young kids who are desperate for the money. Also, most of them quit after a week or less.
Iowans are more practical than other places though, and detasseling is supported by a different sort of industry than fruit picking. The seed that the plants produce is very valuable, meaning that companies can pay minimum wage and still earn a good profit.
When you look at other things like the meat packing industry, things become less clear cut. Is it even possible for meat packers to maintain a profit without incredibly low wages? Yes, if you don't call minimum wage incredibly low, but can they find skilled labor? i've heard reports recently of some packer bringing in Puerto Ricans rather than Mexicans to do the work since those from PR don't have to get a visa.
It really is the truth that there are jobs that most americans feel they are above in the same way that many of us feel we are above working at McDonalds or Wendy's.
This slump in labor is a drastic blow to the American economy which has historically thrived on the availability of cheap workers.
I made this same point in a later commentary though so I won't go on except to say that the immigration debate these days doesn't seem to go much further than who can build a bigger wall.
You might have a valid point somewhere James, but detasseling isn't it.
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