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Perhaps the answer is that before mass Hispanic immigration, employers hired Americans - and were obliged to pay them decent wages. That would explain the growth of the middle class. Now, employers would prefer not to pay decent wages.
On the other hand, although maybe in your town it was all white people, I hope it's crossed your mind that a large chunk of the population was black. If you're speaking about the mid-west, please note that millions of black citizens left the south and migrated north and west.
Read through most of the posts, no one mentioned the rise of organized labor as the driver of good wages in the trades. The drive by business to push labor rates down only served their agenda and certainly not the national good. In the absence of unions the labor market became an open door to all who could work for those wages, I say "could" because most of America, living the usual working class lifestyle could no longer make it on the low--non union pay-- offered to the hapless Mexican.
Illegal labor, is really just low paid labor, but that is what we are really talking about, and it is in big demand, and that explains the ruse of "border security" being nothing more than a band aid on a problem that America just doesn't want to face. We went along with the notion that these trade jobs and AG jobs weren't really good enough for OUR kids, no, OUR kids were going to be the next big thing in computer programming, and all that "other" work was now dismissed as something tainted, something beneath the great American dream. But, a ton of people needed those jobs, and America needed the good wages that went along with them. American's used to do their own farm labor, not anymore, the farm kids are off to their STEM dream world and the Mexican is just coming to town to backfill those jobs we have considered beneath us.
Paying good wages, providing good benefits, and having a decent retirement has long been included in the goals of union contracts, we in America need good jobs and good wages, but the business class sees things differently, thus the desperadoes from south of our borders risk life and limb to do what we won't do, or more to the point, can't afford to do.
Yeah the old school guys on CD will contest this notion but unfortunately it's true, they remember a far different America, but they also forgot what made that era memorable as a robust economy, take a look at the younger guys who feel that even college may be too much hard work, couple that with the fact of the poorest kids having no work ethic any longer due to the ideas we have developed about working in general. Today, the blue collar guys get little respect, they are asked why they didn't "choose" to go to college, and looked at as under motivated types who are here to serve the lofty university grads whose lawns they will be expected to mow.
If we really want the illegal labor stopped in America we will by necessity need to link all labor to the respect it is due. "Burger flipper, " "grease monkey," "retail'-- said with a disapproving hint of sarcasm. We just don't need to continue our rewarding of some labor while leaving other types to languish among all that we disdain. This is why the Mexican CAN come here with the reasonable prospect of work, look at the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, an open door to quite a bit of work that was once done by American citizens. These people aren't here illegally and they still comprise a large segment of American labor being done by foreigners. Closing the border to the illegal worker is just a small plug in the works, most of our competition just walks across and is welcomed by his boss, neat as a pin, and far from the reach of Trumps dragnet.
Perhaps the answer is that before mass Hispanic immigration, employers hired Americans - and were obliged to pay them decent wages. That would explain the growth of the middle class. Now, employers would prefer not to pay decent wages.
On the other hand, although maybe in your town it was all white people, I hope it's crossed your mind that a large chunk of the population was black. If you're speaking about the mid-west, please note that millions of black citizens left the south and migrated north and west.
I think it all depends where you live. this does NOT hold true for Florida- I am 64 and always knew of migrant workers and the oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, blueberries and cows - sorry not buying that. and before that were slaves and the Chinese-- please re-think that statement.
I'm always amazed of how ignorant Americans are of their history. A simple google would better inform you all of the history of migrant workers, etc.
Yes, this.
We've always had migrant workers. We've always taken advantage of minorities to help run American businesses. We've always treated people as disposable work machines until they've served their purpose before turning our backs on them. All of this is nothing new. Its only disgusting that it still happens.
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