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I've always felt that if these were caucasian Canadians coming over in the exact same numbers, the protests would be half as loud and half as numerous.
Invalid argument. Would never happen. Canadians are decent people - they would not come here and **** on our lawn.
And honestly, you could play the what if game all you want, but I would bet money that it isn't about race (if I were a betting man).
You ever hear about the hardships that white Irish, white Italians, white ethnic Jews, and white Poles went through? You still want to claim it's about skin tone?
This isn't about race, it's about a group unappreciative idiots who don't care for our culture or our language coming here, giving virtually nothing, and taking plenty. We do see assimilation in some places where there are few hispanics, and the hispanics do quite well, just as Irish settlers who tried to become Americanized did. Come to Buffalo one of these days (even Cleveland to a lesser extent) and see how well Italians and Polish people are doing who never learned English and never gave up their cultures are doing.
The difference though, is that these Italians and Poles don't wreck their neighborhoods. They are proud, maybe not rich -- but proud.
If hispanics started acting civilized in large numbers, we wouldn't have these problems... But part of the issue is that in any civil society, the rule of law is supreme, and the fact that these hispanics came over illegally, means that they likely do not care for civil society, therefore, are probably at least a generation out from any assimilation.
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I am a legal immigrant, I had to learn American English (I spoke little English, mostly just French). I have worked hard. I spent time campaigning for my Congressman (1 of 4 GOP members in NY). I don't claim to love my old country, I actually am renouncing my citizenship shortly. I love America, and America alone. I would die for this nation. I don't treat it like a soup kitchen, only here to serve me, without me giving anything back.
I know I am so blessed to live in America, and I wish these hispanics (who ironically call me anti-immigrant) would do the same.
And honestly, you could play the what if game all you want, but I would bet money that it isn't about race (if I were a betting man).
You ever hear about the hardships that white Irish, white Italians, white ethnic Jews, and white Poles went through? You still want to claim it's about skin tone?
This isn't about race, it's about a group unappreciative idiots who don't care for our culture or our language coming here, giving virtually nothing, and taking plenty. We do see assimilation in some places where there are few hispanics, and the hispanics do quite well, just as Irish settlers who tried to become Americanized did. Come to Buffalo one of these days (even Cleveland to a lesser extent) and see how well Italians and Polish people are doing who never learned English and never gave up their cultures are doing.
The difference though, is that these Italians and Poles don't wreck their neighborhoods. They are proud, maybe not rich -- but proud.
If hispanics started acting civilized in large numbers, we wouldn't have these problems... But part of the issue is that in any civil society, the rule of law is supreme, and the fact that these hispanics came over illegally, means that they likely do not care for civil society, therefore, are probably at least a generation out from any assimilation.
==========
I am a legal immigrant, I had to learn American English (I spoke little English, mostly just French). I have worked hard. I spent time campaigning for my Congressman (1 of 4 GOP members in NY). I don't claim to love my old country, I actually am renouncing my citizenship shortly. I love America, and America alone. I would die for this nation. I don't treat it like a soup kitchen, only here to serve me, without me giving anything back.
I know I am so blessed to live in America, and I wish these hispanics (who ironically call me anti-immigrant) would do the same.
I understand and agree with some of what you say. However, to say they give nothing to this country is a falsehood. The enormous pool of cheap labor that they provide props up entire industries. What do you think would happen if all the illegals went home tomorrow? Economic chaos.
I understand and agree with some of what you say. However, to say they give nothing to this country is a falsehood. The enormous pool of cheap labor that they provide props up entire industries. What do you think would happen if all the illegals went home tomorrow? Economic chaos.
If large groups of ANYONE vanished tomorrow, it would cause waves
If large groups of ANYONE vanished tomorrow, it would cause waves
OK, then lets say over the next 2 years, all the illegal immigrants went back home. What economic impact do you think that would have? Does the net input of cheap labor and purchasing of retail goods (and there accompanying sales taxes) offset the drain on the economy through use of social services? I don't know, it is probably difficult to estimate because it is all being done under the table. I guarantee the cost of construction would drastically increase. How would that effect the economy? The price of produce and meat would go up significantly. The state of CA would probably be crippled as millions of menial laborers left. We have all benefitted from their cheap labor in one way or another. To ignore that fact is putting your head in the sand. These people are being used by the US as much as they are taking from us.
If the illegals went home tomorrow, what would happen?
Well, likely the same thing as happened before they were here. Regular people would be out doing that work, albeit for higher wages.
How can anyone, Liberal or Conservative, possibly say that it is right that company A can get labor at below minimum wage, because they hire illegals, while company B has to pay the prevailing wage.
Right now manufacturing and construction are the two hardest hit sectors, coincidentally, two of the most illegal-immigrant infiltrated industries.
Could you imagine, no need for $787 billion bailouts, we would be a full employment in days. If there are jobs that we can't fill, I have a very easy solution: For those who declared themselves, applied for a visa, and went home to Mexico, we allow expedition of their visa, so they can work in the US again.
It's really not as complicated as the Libs make it sound. We could end illegal immigration, and barely see a ripple.
I don't mind having people coming here to do menial tasks. They need to be done. But when Americans are suffering, wondering where their next meal is going to come from because they just got laid off and will take literally ANY job that they get offered, I think it's a humanitarian need to deport people working here illegally.
It's not America's problem to take care of other countries' poor by opening our borders.
If the illegals went home tomorrow, what would happen?
Well, likely the same thing as happened before they were here. Regular people would be out doing that work, albeit for higher wages.
How can anyone, Liberal or Conservative, possibly say that it is right that company A can get labor at below minimum wage, because they hire illegals, while company B has to pay the prevailing wage.
Right now manufacturing and construction are the two hardest hit sectors, coincidentally, two of the most illegal-immigrant infiltrated industries.
Could you imagine, no need for $787 billion bailouts, we would be a full employment in days. If there are jobs that we can't fill, I have a very easy solution: For those who declared themselves, applied for a visa, and went home to Mexico, we allow expedition of their visa, so they can work in the US again.
It's really not as complicated as the Libs make it sound. We could end illegal immigration, and barely see a ripple.
I don't mind having people coming here to do menial tasks. They need to be done. But when Americans are suffering, wondering where their next meal is going to come from because they just got laid off and will take literally ANY job that they get offered, I think it's a humanitarian need to deport people working here illegally.
It's not America's problem to take care of other countries' poor by opening our borders.
OK, but we've been living high on the hog for the past decade. This is partly due to the fact that we've been turning a blind eye to the mass of illegal, cheap labor doing work that Americans don't want to do for such a cheap wage. That system works OK as long as unemployment is low and the Americans that want a job can get a job. Now, unemployment is up and Americans are looking for jobs. Do you think the illegals that have set up roots here are all suddenly going to go home? Nope, the Americans now have to compete with an illegal who will do the job at 1/2 the price. Do I agree with it? Absolutely not. But we, as a country, made this bed.
Do you really think "libs" are solely to blame for this? Do you think liberals own the chicken processing plants all over the SE that employ illegals in large numbers? How about farmers all across the country, are they sporting Obama stickers on the back of their F-150? Do you think the good ol' boy contractors all across the country are bleeding heart liberals that just want to give a struggling illegal immigrant a job to feed his kids? Give me a break. Businessmen of all political leanings have been making money hand over fist for the past 10+ years on the back of cheap, undocumented labor.
If the illegals went home tomorrow, what would happen?
Well, likely the same thing as happened before they were here. Regular people would be out doing that work, albeit for higher wages.
How can anyone, Liberal or Conservative, possibly say that it is right that company A can get labor at below minimum wage, because they hire illegals, while company B has to pay the prevailing wage.
Right now manufacturing and construction are the two hardest hit sectors, coincidentally, two of the most illegal-immigrant infiltrated industries.
Could you imagine, no need for $787 billion bailouts, we would be a full employment in days. If there are jobs that we can't fill, I have a very easy solution: For those who declared themselves, applied for a visa, and went home to Mexico, we allow expedition of their visa, so they can work in the US again.
It's really not as complicated as the Libs make it sound. We could end illegal immigration, and barely see a ripple.
I don't mind having people coming here to do menial tasks. They need to be done. But when Americans are suffering, wondering where their next meal is going to come from because they just got laid off and will take literally ANY job that they get offered, I think it's a humanitarian need to deport people working here illegally.
It's not America's problem to take care of other countries' poor by opening our borders.
Great post!
I graduated from high school and at age 17 started work in a packing plant. ( lugging beef quarters into trailers all day)
The work was just as hard then as it is today ( --" the job Americans won't do"---sarc
The difference was the pay and benefits were great. I worked there for 19 years.
Our packing plant ---all legal workers--had to eventually close in the 1980's cuz they could no longer compete with packing plants who re-located to small, rural towns farther west.
Those packing plants knew the population of that area could never keep the plant running and their low wages was not an incentive for people to re-locate there. They knew fully well ILLEGALS would be making up a high percent of their future workforce.
I worked at a good paying packing plant from 1963-1982 and our good wages didn't cause people to not afford eating meat.
I'll bet the packing plant workers back then could afford to buy beef a lot easier than the packing plant workers of today.
graduated from high school and at age 17 started work in a packing plant. ( lugging beef quarters into trailers all day)
The work was just as hard then as it is today ( --" the job Americans won't do"---sarc
The difference was the pay and benefits were great. I worked there for 19 years.
Our packing plant ---all legal workers--had to eventually close in the 1980's cuz they could no longer compete with packing plants who re-located to small, rural towns farther west.
Those packing plants knew the population of that area could never keep the plant running and their low wages was not an incentive for people to re-locate there. They knew fully well ILLEGALS would be making up a high percent of their future workforce.
I worked at a good paying packing plant from 1963-1982 and our good wages didn't cause people to not afford eating meat.
I'll bet the packing plant workers back then could afford to buy beef a lot easier than the packing plant workers of today.
...which is why nothing is going to be done about this. Illegals are a great way of reducing labor costs, so theres not going to be a serious attempt to close the border, aside from making a show of it. Too much money involved. Wont see a push to for a blanket amnesty either, since if you do that these guys can complain about wages and working conditions and you cant call La Migra on them to have them deported. So you've got a very cheap and very docile workforce.
BTW, meatpacking is a classic case of how an industry that once paid a good living wage lowered their labor cost by going illegal or, at least a somewhat legal but with a very low wage immigrant workforce.
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