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IMO, "illegal aliens" is far too convenient of an excuse for the MB situation. There are quite a few local hispanics who work landscaping and menial construction jobs, such as ditchdigging, etc. I have no idea how many have citizenship or green cards and how many don't, but historically these have been jobs that too many locals have considered beneath their status, particularly because it's so damn hard work.
I witnessed a similar situation when I lived in Pennsylvania. Kennett Square, the mushroom capital of the world, was our next door neighbor. So often you would hear how the Mexican workers had taken the jobs. The fact is they worked at the mushroom farms, a job that no one else wanted.
IMO, "illegal aliens" is far too convenient of an excuse for the MB situation. There are quite a few local hispanics who work landscaping and menial construction jobs, such as ditchdigging, etc. I have no idea how many have citizenship or green cards and how many don't, but historically these have been jobs that too many locals have considered beneath their status, particularly because it's so damn hard work.
The restaurants and hospitality jobs are a different situation entirely. For generations, through both boom and bust times, any HS or college kid who could get their freedom headed to MB for the summer, willing to work for low wages just to have the chance to spend the summer partying at the beach. With this infinite supply of cheap labor, most businesses would be crazy to risk hiring illegals as long as the kids are willing to work so cheap. In the summertime, it's a classic case of supply and demand, with the supply of workers far exceeding the demand for them.
One would think you'd be right, but sadly you're not. I know this for a fact. I dated an illegal, so I know first hand! I was told he was legal when we met at a restaurant we were both working for in MB. He had a social security number, etc. He explained to me he paid $2,000 for it, as well as other id.
I was wondering why I never had to file the I9 forms for anyone when we hired people. They filled them OUT but I never sent them anywhere. He worked at another restaurant for 10 years, where they KNEW he was illegal, right here in Myrtle Beach. They hired many many illegals at both locations.
At the landscaping company I worked at, they hired mainly illegals. Actually, there were MAYBE 2 or 3 NON illegals working there, me being one of them. They had a file on their computer of all of the SS # that they knew were "bad".
There is a program that allows people from other countries to come in and work over the summer, and work they do! A few summers ago, we had dozens of people come and interview for us at the restaurant. We hired many of them, and they worked extremely hard. However, they took jobs that locals could have had instead. We had committed ourselves to the program previously, so we were obligated to hire for the open positions.
So if you consider all of the variables, yes, businesses back themselves into a corner. A financially profitable one. Why would you hire someone that would demand a higher salary, and rightfully so, over someone who would take a measly pay? Considering waiters/waitresses get paid $2.18/hr plus tips, and cooks around $7.50-10.00, that's severely below the northern average, but SERIOUSLY higher than the illegal (we are NOT just talking about Spanish speakers!!) and European counterparts.
IMO, "illegal aliens" is far too convenient of an excuse for the MB situation. There are quite a few local hispanics who work landscaping and menial construction jobs, such as ditchdigging, etc. I have no idea how many have citizenship or green cards and how many don't, but historically these have been jobs that too many locals have considered beneath their status, particularly because it's so damn hard work.
The problem isn't that it's hard, it's that these people don't want to pay you. If you could make 7 an hour working Krispy Kreme or digging a ditch which would you pick? You can't pay rock bottom wages for crippling jobs and be surprised no one wants to endanger themselves for peanuts.
Another thing is in this area there is a tendency to marry and have kids young. Doing either means your paycheck has got to go further but employers pay waaaay less. It's very family unfriendly. It's one of the reasons I plan to leave the area when I'm ready to set down permanent roots.
I don't know much about Myrtle Beach was just checking this out.
I've got to say if things don't turn around by 2012 there will be serious hell to pay in this country. I really hope things get better somehow but am only somewhat optimistic. I can see how illegal immigration is a problem, and I was not on this boat 5 years ago. 5 years ago I saw nothing wrong with it and took a very free-market stance on the issue. Now I see it's just an excuse for employers to undercut local wages and move as much labor cost as possible off the books. It's now reached the point where labor standards cannot be enforced in a lot of places due to this issue. Yet still, there is not the will to do anything about this, because to many Americans even now these people are invisible, and too many powerful interests benefit from their presence.
Politics and society in general will be very unpleasant next election unless something miraculous happens. It's all well and good for people to disagree on issues when everything is going well, but when **** is hitting the fan, it will get nasty. Mark my words (and I'm not looking forward to this new America).
I have to revive this thread. My husband had to make an emergency trip to Meineke today. The guy working on our van hadn't had a day off in a long long time. Why? Because they can't get anyone to apply for a job there. They have been advertising, even have benefits, but nothing. How could that be? If you are a mechanic and in the Murrells Inlet area, heads up! There may just be a job waiting for you.
I understand what you're saying, but with continued unemployment at 10% plus, it says that people don't want to work when they can stay at home and collect unemployment, welfare, food stamps and many of the other government stipends that are partially funded out of MY (and your) tax dollars....
rrufast posted: Further proves my point that some people just won't work no matter what..
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Pburgess68 posted: Could mean people have a job that pays better and don't want to switch jobs, too. Not necessarily that people don't want to work...
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rrufast posted: understand what you're saying, but with continued unemployment at 10% plus, it says that people don't want to work when they can stay at home and collect unemployment, welfare, food stamps and many of the other government stipends that are partially funded out of MY (and your) tax dollars....
It's disgusting if you ask me..
rrufast, I was shocked and YES you were right. Ok, I wasn't shocked that you were right .... Ah you know what I mean. I would have thought a decent job with benefits would have been snatched up quickly. It isn't a CEO of a major corporation, but it isn't McDonalds either. A person would certainly have the potential to earn a decent wage.
As I mentioned in another thread recently, I believe in government programs. I don't think they are without flaws, but as I said before I don't think we should throw out the baby with the bath water. I think many people believe we don't need those programs because THEY don't need them(I am not saying that is how you feel, just generally speaking) . But I am here to tell them, never say never.
I am not trying to bore anyone but that describes me and my husband. We were going along minding our own business and BOOM, lightning stuck. Not our house but my husbands health. He could no longer do the job he had done for 20 years, and because he had recently changed employers (the business sold) he didn't have health insurance. He went from being the executive chef of a fine dining restaurant to delivering pizza for dominoes. It wasn't long before we realized he couldn't do that job either. We lost everything that had material value and if it wasn't for our wonderful family it would have been even worse. I am not looking for anyone to start playing a violin, only pointing out that the rug can be pulled out from underneath any of us.
The question is how do we fix the problem? Our area has many, many jobs with poor wages. That is a fact. That being said this job did not fall into that category and has been left unfilled for some time. I don't think it is very likely that every auto mechanic in the area in gainfully employed.
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rrufast posted: That aside, how was his experience overall with that shop? What'd he have done, repair cost, etc?
Just curious..
rrufast I was shocked, again! When we were in MD we always used the same shop, year after year. We would have never thought to take our car to Meineke but they were fantastic! We were out yesterday and the car was making an awful noise every time we turned left or put the brakes on. My husband immediately headed to anyplace open, which in this case was Meineke. It turned out the brake caliper was jammed and from what he was told could have caught fire had he drove it any more. They didn't have the part and called all over trying to get it. Unfortunately, the parts places were getting ready to close and wouldn't bring him the part. He found a place in Socastee that wouldn't deliver the part but did agree that someone could come pick it up before he closed. This guy at Meineke knew it was our only car and we were stuck if he couldn't get it fixed. He went above and beyond to make sure that didn't happen. As for the cost, I thought it was quite reasonable (I don't know a lot about this stuff so maybe someone can tell me if I am wrong). For UNDER $500 we had the caliper replaced and the brake hose on that side. Also they replaced the front rotors and pads. On top of that they provided wonderful service. Thank you Murrells Inlet Meineke!!!
neecewh, your story reminds us all that, "There but for the grace of God go I." It's a sobering reminder that the situations people find themselves in are not always of their own making. Sometimes circumstances just, well, for lack of a better word, suck. I hope that things are, or will be soon, going better for your family. Thanks for the info on Meineke in Murrells Inlet.
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I would have thought a decent job with benefits would have been snatched up quickly. It isn't a CEO of a major corporation, but it isn't McDonalds either. A person would certainly have the potential to earn a decent wage.
Thank you Murrells Inlet Meineke!!!
