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I have a 17 year-old son with many friends in the same age range. He works for my husband but was looking to make more money for car/gas/insurance. He was willing to work afternoons, nights, closings, Saturdays and Sundays. Jobs are hard to come by.
(Disclaimer: I am writing only from what I have seen in my area. It might be different elsewhere.) The children from wealthy homes tend not to work as there is a steady stream of pocket money from mom and dad. For these kids it's a matter of why bust my hump when there's a landscaper, pool guy, etc. The rest of the kids have applied for jobs in the mall, supermarkets, sporting goods stores, gas stations, chain and fast food restaurants, hardware stores, WalMart, movie theaters, Marshalls, BJ's, local farm and farmstands, et al.
There aren't enough jobs to go around. In some situations there is competition from senior citizens who need the money to supplement their SS and meager (or non existent) pensions. There were seniors in WalMart, in Marshalls and wiping down tables in Mickey D's.
Before anyone states that maybe he didn't dress properly: he wore khakis, a collared shirt, has short combed hair, no facial hair, has no piercings. he bordered on looking preppy.
One friend is in a supermarket and texts his friends if anyone quits. My son was home from school for the day, got a text and rushed over within 15 mins. The manager told him that they were not going to hire anyone else to fill the newly opened position. True to his word, they didn't. Gas stations in the area had mostly middle-aged men, owners or foreigners working there. No jobs to be had.
In other cases there is direct competition with illegal aliens. No one wants to hire a US born 17 year-old for minimum wage to wash dishes when they can have an illegal doing it for less. Same goes for working on the farm. There were a number of employees who could barely speak English in the local Burger King and one of the KFC's he went to.
Today it was over 90 degrees and humid on the job site. No AC. My son was out there carrying 100 pound boxes of tile from the pallets outside into the construction site -- something a lot of homeowners would just as soon hire an illegal to do.
OH please lady... do us all a favor and go back to building the statue of your son in your backyard - OK?
It's certainly a very complex issue - and there have been some excellent points made by the other posters.
When I read your post - I could not help but think that the problem is really a supply and demand issue - more than anything else.
As a young man, I did ANYTHING I could do to earn some money to put gas in my car and have some spend money for the weekend. I did LOTS of landscaping, detailed cars, worked in a factory, did odd jobs for local businesses and I would have gladly shoveled your stones - and my friends were all the same. We all HUSTLED because we didn't have parents that were in a position to support the financial demands of an active teen boys social life. So, arguably, in the old days there was an ample supply of young men willing to perform the kinds of jobs that require a a youthful physique.
Fast forward to 2010 - is the above still the norm? I know that there are exceptions to every rule - but for the most part - I find the young men of today fall embarrassingly short of the previous generations with respect to motivation, drive, and maturity when it comes to earning a little money performing jobs that are less than desirable. SO, with a short supply of young men willing to perform such jobs today - illegals fill the void... simple supply and demand.
Without all the emotions, opinions and politics I think it's most definitely supply and demand. If there wasn't a place (economically) for cheap labor/illegal immigrants in our country, they wouldn't be here....especially not in great numbers. Can't get any simpler than that. People on both ends are reaping the benefits. And historically speaking, I think this has been going on pretty much for a good 150 years now. The immigrants coming through Ellis Island were naturalized, but it was a much easier and cheaper process in the early 20th/late 19th centuries. Those immigrants worked the same kind of jobs, for the same crappy pay and it was all off the books and under the table. This kind of labor has been a fundamental part of our culture for longer than any of us have been alive. Do I think it sucks that we've come to a point where a need for this type of labor is literally exploding while legitimate jobs are off-shored to India or the Philippines and the regular, blue collar working class guy can't catch a break? Definitely, but I don't think the prevalence of one is the product of the other.
Now as far as Americans (or Long Islanders) being lazy goes, I've got a slightly different take on that. The jobs were talking about here, the ones that in an earlier time were occupied by teenagers and early 20-somethings, obviously aren't filled by that demographic as frequently anymore. Are these kids lazier than previous generations, or has the whole concept of being a teenager been radically turned on it's head and re-imagined? Look at all the "gifted children" and such threads on here. How are these kids gonna find the time to go out and mow a lawn while their parents are putting the weight of the world on them to go study and become a Stephen Hawking/Michael Jordan hybrid? All this crap is way more than "cracking the books", it's the College/SAT prep classes, the extra-curricular activities, the clubs you need to be in, the band/orchestra, the AP classes, and so on and so forth. These kids have to have an insane schedule, they're literally bombarded with information constantly and must be under an insane amount of pressure to perform. Where does "hard work" come into that equation? I'm assuming the only motivation "hard work" plays is "do good in school so you don't have to be the guy mowing lawns". I'm not a parent, so I can't really criticize. Wouldn't be my approach, but I'm not knocking it.....just saying, we can't kill these kids because they don't have the time to go out and make a few bucks.
OH please lady... do us all a favor and go back to building the statue of your son in your backyard - OK?
Should I place it next to yours?
Apparently it's ok for you to claim to have hustled as a teen. Heaven forbid someone else's son do the same, right? You acknowledged that there are exceptions to the rule, and when I present you with one, you bash it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBucks
As a young man, I did ANYTHING I could do to earn some money to put gas in my car and have some spend money for the weekend. I did LOTS of landscaping, detailed cars, worked in a factory, did odd jobs for local businesses and I would have gladly shoveled your stones - and my friends were all the same. We all HUSTLED because we didn't have parents that were in a position to support the financial demands of an active teen boys social life. So, arguably, in the old days there was an ample supply of young men willing to perform the kinds of jobs that require a a youthful physique.
Fast forward to 2010 - is the above still the norm? I know that there are exceptions to every rule - but for the most part - I find the young men of today fall embarrassingly short of the previous generations with respect to motivation, drive, and maturity when it comes to earning a little money performing jobs that are less than desirable. SO, with a short supply of young men willing to perform such jobs today - illegals fill the void... simple supply and demand.
When was the last time you were a 17 year old out looking for work? Was it 10, 20, 30 years ago? Did you have to compete with illegals and Senior citizens, or was the labor pool other teens such as your younger self?
Now as far as Americans (or Long Islanders) being lazy goes, I've got a slightly different take on that. The jobs were talking about here, the ones that in an earlier time were occupied by teenagers and early 20-somethings, obviously aren't filled by that demographic as frequently anymore. Are these kids lazier than previous generations, or has the whole concept of being a teenager been radically turned on it's head and re-imagined? Look at all the "gifted children" and such threads on here. How are these kids gonna find the time to go out and mow a lawn while their parents are putting the weight of the world on them to go study and become a Stephen Hawking/Michael Jordan hybrid? All this crap is way more than "cracking the books", it's the College/SAT prep classes, the extra-curricular activities, the clubs you need to be in, the band/orchestra, the AP classes, and so on and so forth. These kids have to have an insane schedule, they're literally bombarded with information constantly and must be under an insane amount of pressure to perform. Where does "hard work" come into that equation? I'm assuming the only motivation "hard work" plays is "do good in school so you don't have to be the guy mowing lawns". I'm not a parent, so I can't really criticize. Wouldn't be my approach, but I'm not knocking it.....just saying, we can't kill these kids because they don't have the time to go out and make a few bucks.
This is also very true. Many parents are pushing their children in hopes of getting them into the Ivy league and winning huge scholarships. At graduation on Sunday, the principal announced the the 600+ students graduating were awarded $22,000,000.00 in scholarship and grant money. Yes, the number is correct. The principal made a point of repeating the number. The kids who garnered the big numbers were in the labs preparing Intel projects, not out mowing the lawn.
Honestly, I'm not sure why Latinos are illegals. Have the immigration laws become way more tougher than they were a century ago when our grandparents and great grandparents came here? My grandmother didn't remember the details of when she came here from Poland because she was really young. I do remember her telling me stories of when her cousins came here when she was a teenager. The one cousins, her husband and child entered after a medical checkup, a series of questions about personal information and knowledge. Her brother however, the other cousin, was sent to a hospital because of an illness no one in my family knows the name of or won't talk about probably an STD, who knows. Everyone thought he would be sent back to Poland but he was released in a month and moved in with my great-grandparents. They were all citizen within a year. Why are all these Latinos taking the illegal route when the legal way is not that difficult? Are they just coming here to make money and then go back to their country of origin or have the laws changed from a century ago?
Honestly, I'm not sure why Latinos are illegals. Have the immigration laws become way more tougher than they were a century ago when our grandparents and great grandparents came here? My grandmother didn't remember the details of when she came here from Poland because she was really young. I do remember her telling me stories of when her cousins came here when she was a teenager. The one cousins, her husband and child entered after a medical checkup, a series of questions about personal information and knowledge. Her brother however, the other cousin, was sent to a hospital because of an illness no one in my family knows the name of or won't talk about probably an STD, who knows. Everyone thought he would be sent back to Poland but he was released in a month and moved in with my great-grandparents. They were all citizen within a year. Why are all these Latinos taking the illegal route when the legal way is not that difficult? Are they just coming here to make money and then go back to their country of origin or have the laws changed from a century ago?
The problem is many of these illegal day laborers have no desire to become American citizens, or take any legal path whatsoever. Their loyalty lies to their home countries and they do not assimilate. Often they proudly proclaim they are illegal, happened to me once right here in Westbury. They got wind of my videos against illegal immigration, recognized me and when asked if they were illegal (after they were giving me the finger and shouting "racist") they said they were illegals and acted quite proud of it.
They dont have any desire to use the english language, they fly flags from Mexico, El Salvador, Hondourus, you get the idea.
They come here to make money as day laborers and send it back home. They have a rape and pillage mentality. Everyone who hires these illegals knows damn well that money is going down the drain, they just dont care.
There are latinos that take the legal route, and they are also quite fed up with illegal immigration. Its one thing that's been kept out of the media.
John, thanks for the info. I really don't know much about their lives beyond the fact that they are hard workers, tend to hang out by this bodega (the name escapes me right now) on Middle Country Rd in Centereach after work, where they get very intoxicated.. My 2nd job is as a cabbie so at night I often times pick them up at the bodega and they head to the latin clubs in Patchogue, Farmingville or Coram. One out of four can't speak english but the other 3/4 can communicate with me. Those that do speak English usually they tell me how horrible and poor their country is and want their whole family to live here but can't afford it. They send money home and promise them they will live like royalty when they move to the US. I suspect from what you are telling me that they are lying to me probably because when I converse with them they are under the influence of alcohol.. I have to say I'm guilty of catering to them because they are good tippers unlike blacks and Indians. BTW I couldn't get your message because of a Pop Up blocker. Resend it. Also are you that guy who stand with the anti immigration sign every morning in front of the 7-11 in Southampton. I love that guy! I remember one time someone in the morning Rt 27 traffic threw a bottle at him but missed him. I was coming out of the McDonalds's after it happened and remember him screaming out all kind of obscenities.
I aint the guy who stands by 7-11, but he may have been involved in this video. In case you cant recieve the PM, here's the video of the S92 bus. I didn't put this together, but it was quite well done.
Wow!!!! You can find anything and everything on you tube. I'm waiting for someone to videotape me doing something weird on you tube. LOL!!
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