Racism and Illegal Immigration
Let me be very clear: I am not blaming illegal immigrants for this.
I’m blaming their employers, who enjoy the individual benefit of a cheap labor force, while socializing the costs of that labor force onto the rest of us. If the Republican Party had any brains, it would be banging the drum loudly about this — emphasizing that the poorest Americans are being impoverished through lower wages and increased health care costs, all for the benefit of the minority of employers who are knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
If the Democratic Party had any integrity, it would recognize that part of why we have the staggering 43 million uninsured Americans is illegal immigrants — who make up 15 percent of the uninsured. I don’t hold out much hope that enforcing our immigration laws will dramatically increase wages for the least-skilled Americans, but there are Americans right now who can’t quite afford health insurance — and who probably could if they weren’t competing with the eleven million illegal immigrants that were in the U.S. in 2006.
If the U.S. had severe labor shortages right now, I suppose that I would be a bit more sympathetic to guest worker programs or to a path to legal residence for illegal immigrants. But with the unemployment rate in May hitting 9.4 percent — and the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank warning that it could hit 11 percent before the jobs come back — it is lunacy to consider any strategy that rewards illegal immigrants, either those already here or those considering crossing the border. It is especially crazy when you consider that the Americans with whom illegal immigrants largely compete for jobs are the least likely to have a savings account to help them through months (or years) of unemployment.
The chattering classes don’t seem to ever quite understand this concern about illegal immigration and jobs. I suspect that if English-speaking India were right next door — and newspapers, schools, and universities were run by unscrupulous sorts who didn’t ask too many questions before hiring workers — journalists, teachers, and professors would suddenly understand the concern. Or at least they would shortly after all three professions started paying minimum wage — with no benefits.
You blame the employers- try being an employer before you make that accusation.
If you have jobs that pay less than $10 an hour anywhere in the Southwest that do not require communication skills the only applicants you will get are Hispanics. If you make it clear that all applicants must have verifiable documentation, you will get that documentation, and you have no way of knowing if it is real or fake. After a few weeks on the job you will notice that “Pedro” prefers to be called “Elias”- so what do you do? You can’t realistically fire the guy as a suspected illegal alien, you will get sued if he’s not. And you’re highly likely to run into the same problem with his replacement.
So you may think- pay more than $10 an hour. But you have competitors, and you may already be paying more than they do, sacrificing margins in order to attempt to comply with the law. Pay any more and you’re out of business.
Or another alternative- let’s issue biometric identification so people can’t use fake identification. Illegals currently pay big bucks for great fake identification, don’t you think they will pay a few more dollars to get it biometrically encoded to match themselves so they can assume someone else’s identity? And now every citizen will have to have the new super ID to live in our new police state.
Illegal immigration is not a problem, it is an opportunity. If people want to come here, charge a reasonable admission. Say an extra 10% immigrant income tax for 7 years until they are eligible to apply for citizenship, with no non-emergency public services available until then. And make the citizenship tax difficult- in particular require a comprehensive knowledge of written and spoken English. If they fail the test, they get to keep paying the tax, so few will fail.
People who are willing to risk their lives, pay “coyotes”, and pay for fake identification only to live in the shadows of America would welcome the opportunity to pay to be legitimate. They are young, hardworking people who will defuse our demographic time bomb.
Would we be overrun with immigrants on this “pay to play” plan? I hope so because it is immigrants who were willing to pay the price (back when it was legal to do so) that made this country what it was before our current descent into statism.
“If you make it clear that all applicants must have verifiable documentation, you will get that documentation, and you have no way of knowing if it is real or fake.”
The ability to inexpensively and easily check I.D. is mandatory. Employers have indeed been forced into an unfair situation. Leftist lawyers will sue at the drop of the hat if companies check only the identifications of those appearing to be “Hispanic.” Investigating everyone thoroughly applying for a job is utterly unrealistic.
Isn’t that Navarrette on the left in that street sign? /s
(THANK YOU for this article!)
“Liberals” and “left” is an oxymoron when used with “intellectually honest” or even “honest” for that matter.
Want to see the startling level of hypocrisy in this debate? Ask someone who advocates open borders if they have a front door on their residence. If they answer yes, then ask them if there is a lock on that door. If they again answer yes, ask them why?
We have arrived at a point where any time the word ‘racism’ is brought up in just about any matter, one can safely assume that they are dealing with a dishonest person (either dishonest with you or dishonest with himself).
It is beyond absurd. These people are not to be taken seriously, yet they must be resisted nonetheless.
Let’s stop being intellectually dishonest here and also stop blag employers. Th guilty culprit for illegal “immigration” (a dishonest word in itself) is the Federal Government, and the people storming our borders. A government which shirks its responsibility loses its legitimacy.
Article 9, Section 4. of the U.S. Constitution states:
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion.
Our government has betrayed us and betrayed its explicit constitutional obligation. Blaming employers can easily be used (and always is) to scapegoat the serious issue at hand, and whitewash the actions of the staggerong, crippling criminal invasion. Those storming our borders to escape their corrupt malfunctioning societies should not be called illegal “immigrants”. The term “immigrant” deftly concedes half the battle to those brazenly scoffing at US law, and hands them the weapon they (and their abettors) use to defeat efforts to expell them from our sovereign territory. If we do not expell them, then that sovereignty is significantly eroded.
Perhaps this sovereignty issue is the real motive behind the elite (both Left and Right) refusal to enforce their US Federal constitutional obligations. If they can weaken US sovereignty under the pretexts of “globalization” and massive illegal immigration, then they elevate themselves into a form of unaccountable global aristocracy similar to that which we see emerging in the sinister EU supranational boondoggle. Under such a scheme, the elite’s power aggregates, and their obligations to account for their actions mitigates. For them, what could be better? For the U.S.A., nothing could be worse. It is tantamount to treason.
sorry for typos — posting on tiny iPod screen does not allow proofreading. Techs at PJM may want to check this bug. Once typed, my screen won’t scroll up to check what has been written. Again, apologies for typing errors.
Since when did speaking spanish or being mexican become a ‘race’.
“Since when did speaking spanish or being mexican become a ‘race’.”
Blame the Richard Nixon. He literally forced the census bureau to to employ the Hispanic designation. The bureaucrats rightfully warned him that this was pure madness. But he refused to listen. Nixon foolishly thought that he was going to impress Mexican-Americans and others and persuade them to vote Republican. It’s been all downhill since then.
All you have to do is read PJM to see how important racism to the opposition to immigration.
Accusing people of racism whenever the topic at hand has anything at all to do with people of color or immigration is so pathetic. A lot of my best friends and former girlfriends are hispanic and I like some aspects of hispanic culture like their love to throw huge parties at the drop of a hat. Yet I’m a racist simply because I think it’s damaging to our country to allow 100+ million low skilled, under-educated, criminals to just flood into our country without any rhyme or reason? I’m more of a “nationalist” – not in a facist way – than a racist. I care about the well-being and livelyhoods of Americans first and foremost regardless of skin color before I care about the citizens of another country. Especially when it comes to immigration policy and job oppurtunities here in our own country.
You simply can’t have tens of millions of illegal aliens invading your country without there being hugely negative effects upon your own nations and its citizenry. Somebody has to provide for the welfae of all these people and who do you think is going to shoulder that burden? That’s right, you and me and every other hardworking American who’s just trying to live the American dream. And somebody is going to have to lose their job to make room for the illegal aliens. And guess who that’s going to be. That’s right, you and me again and tens of millions of other Americans. Especially people of color who are more in direct competition with these illegal aliens. So far from being a “a racist redneck white” issue it’s something that all Americans are outraged over across the board. Including hispanic Americans.
Not to mention that a lot of these illegal aliens take over entire neighborhoods and whole cities and then try to actually ethnically cleanse all non-hispanics from them through gang violence, harrassment and discrimination. In other words, a lot of these illegal aliens are RACIST themselves who only care about fellow hispanics and who openly hate everyone else. Clear evidence for this is the name of some of their advocacy groups like La Raza which literally means “The Race”. And you can see it in the monuments they make here in our own country that say disgustingly racist things like “It was better before the Europeans came here…” and other kinds of similar racist nonsense. They’re hispanic nationalists who are no different than white supremicists who are concerned with the purity and advancement of their own race without regard for any other group of people.
Not to mention there’s a huge national security risk for BOTH countries by allowing illegal immigration to continue. For America we see increased drunk driving deaths, more child kidnappings and molestations, more murders, more gangs, more drugs and crime, more welfare abuse, and the risk of islamist terrorists slipping through these same gateways and organized border invasions. In Mexico they have drug cartels that are out of all freaking control who are murdering thousands of people every year, beheading hundreds of people, hanging their decapitated bodies from bridges, dipping people in acid baths, and are taking over large parts of Mexico. And why is that? Because they have easy access to the largest drug market in the world – America, since we won’t deal with this illegal alien/open borders nonsense because doing so would be “RAAACCCIIISSSTTT!!!!”.
And to top it off there’s huge infrastructure, cultural, and economic damage being done to our country every day. Califonia alone is having to build new schools, hospitals, sewage treatment plants, etc, EVERY day just to keep up with the millions of illegal aliens who flood into their state every year. And hospitals, welfare programs and local/state/federal budgets are being completely and utterly DESTROYED by this illegal alien invasions. Countries and states are now having to make dramatic buts to their education, police and medical funding because across the country we’re wasting hundreds of billions of dollars every year by providing general welfare benefits to illegal aliens.
We simply can’t provide free healthcare, free education and free general welfare for tens of millions let alone hundreds of millions of people who don’t even speak out language or even particularly like our country. And that gets to the next point. Culturally you simply can’t have tens of millions of people illegally invading your country who don’t even want to integrate or even learn to speak the same language as the majority of the population. A lot of them still fly Mexican flags and run around brazinhly insulting America like a bunch of drunk ingrate morons. Not to mention illegal aliens are here for one thing and one thing only – money. Your money. American money. They make 10x what they make back hope riding a motorized lawn mower or painting a deck and they illegally SMUGGLE 80% of that money back home to their families who living it up since now their income is way above that of their neighbors. That’s like taking atleast $1 trillion out of our economy every year and sening it to Mexico. And DON’T tell me those are jobs “Americans simply won’t do.” Give me a break.
We simply cannot allow our government to put the concerns of illegal immigrants – who make up roughly 40% of our prison population – ahead of the concerns of American citizens who have lived here for generations. The welfare of American citizens should ALWAYS come first. It would be like illegally entering New Zealand and expecting the New Zealand government to put your welfare and concerns above those of the New Zealand citizens who their government is supposed to be accoutable to and look out for. They’d put you in a detention facility and ship you right back home as quickly as possible as they should do. Afterall they’re simply making sure you don’t steal a job of a New Zealander, you don’t overwhelm their infrastructure or you could be a low life up to no good who might murder or abuse a native New Zealander. It’s called sane managment and government… We should have the SAME EXACT attitude as New Zealand when it comes to illegal immigration. And people that cry “RACISM! RACISM!” just tell them to go shove it.
The whole construction industry has been taken over by hispanic workers-if you don!t speak spanish on a construuction job you!re not welcome. Construction jobs were wellpaying jobs lost to mostly Mexicans who underbidAmerican ,more skilled workers.
“The intellectually honest should recognize that opposing illegal immigration has nothing to do with racism.”
The intellectually honest admitted that a long time ago and are, therefore, opposed to illegal immigration.
Let’s say for the sake of argument that he’s right, we don’t want to live in a latino country. What right do Hispanics have to change our nation’s population without our permission? I thought liberals were against countries imposing change on other countries. Yet, they are demanding that the desire of foreign individuals be placed above the will of our citizens.
If white rich Americans started pushing into Mexico buying up huge swaths of land and poor neighborhoods to make a rich community, would not LIberals accuse them of colonialism? How is this any different? We have an external force whose actions are forcing a change on our nation. How is this not colonialism? How is this allowed? Because they aren’t white?
Isn’t that racism?
Those who claim they have no way of knowing if someone is illegal or not and once hired cannot change the circumstances for fear of repetition are full of it. And those who say refuse emergency services to all illegals are just as naive.
First they should read Hanson’s book “Mexifornia”.
Second they need to merely utilize the already in place E.Verify, and make sure the the I-90 is filled out correctly before hiring.
Sadly these people think that by giving opportunity to someone who is willing to accept less than $10.00 an hour they are helping them, they are not. There are many high school level students that used to fill theses jobs, and still would especially now during these times.
The ILLEGALS and that is what they should be called, are stealing low level entry jobs from those who are already here and would eventually be replaced by up and coming additional entry level youth. We are stealing from our youth the American experience of climbing the ladder. Yes the employers are to blame but over all government is more to blame. The taxes are simply to high for employers to pay on employees and make a profit. Taxes need to come down, to spur expansion of employment by legal youth in this country and those of lesser skills (legal those) who need to work more than one job to make ends meet.
We need to enforce our present system of immigration and stop letting the flood gates remain open. Because of its proximity to our border the actual quotas for Latin America should be reduced by a factor of 10 to compensate for illegal entry not increased. There are many other countries including some in Africa who are much more worthy of getting a chance at legal immigration than merely the sad faced poor little brown people to our south for whom I honestly do not hold much sympathy . Those of us who live among the newly arrived or consistently returning illegals know all to well how they increase pollution, crime, costs. This must stop. Even the illegals are fleeing from their own neighborhoods and states out west to seek out a safer place to raise their children away from those of their own kind who pray upon them with impunity. In Mexico there is a saying “cara de mensa” or “stupid face”, this is how they look upon the “gavacho” “white guy”.
The latin all to often knows how to manipulate the system better than the white poor or black poor and they utilize this to their advantage while projecting this image of poor unfortunate here in America. If you think that the average latin is ready and willing to start paying his fair share of taxes into our system of government think twice they are not.They have developed a system of circumventing the legitimate taxation here and legal or illegal they are not about to change that system in support of a promise for a better life. They have heard promises in their own country before and know the shallowness of such things.
What they get from America is the opportunity to take advantage of everything they can with the least amount of sacrifice incurred and visit their homeland appearing as a “big fish” in a “little pond”. If you think that the majority of illegals want to remain here when they grow old you are wrong. They want to take their money and run only to be replaced by others of a younger generation to do the same. Their mind set is that of the migrant worker. Pick, Pick , Pick and move on. Leaving behind the waste, and remnants of what used to be a decent place to stay. Why live here and struggle with no education for a lifetime when they can grab what they can go home and live more comfortably among their poorer neighbors at least for awhile and be gentry? What Americans must learn is that the Latin has no real desire to assimilate they cannot project that far into the future a place for themselves they think only in the present. I refer to the majority not the minority of them.
Ruben Navarette is a classic example of the “Latino cum closet liberal”. I have yet to read one of his articles that he is not subliminally planting the seeds of reverse racism within.
I appreciate many points from this article, since I think it’s true we can’t solve immigration if we keep clouding the issue with “racism” and all the emotions that term sparks in people.
Nevertheless, there is racism and many Latinos have to deal with it. To be fair, I find liberals can be worse than conservatives on racism, because liberals blend old-fashioned bigotry with paternalism and a need to control minorities by claiming to help them.
But I think it’s good that Pajamas Media and other right-wing outlets still publishes pieces from time to time giving conservatives a perspective on how many insults and outrages Hispanics in America have to put up with. I am a Republican, voted for McCain, rallying behind people like Palin and Romney, listen to Rush Limbaugh each day & think he’s great — the whole shabang.
Republican values are my Latin American values. But there need to be more conservative writers who confront anti-Hispanic racism. In that regard, there need to be more Ruben Navarretes — or people of any race who can at least talk about racism. Yes, some people will call you racist if you are pro-border-enforcement, and that’s not fair.
But it’s also true that people will call you racist if you say a lot of crude and insensitive things against another race. So if that’s you, don’t complain about being called racist, just stop being racist.
Once we control the border we can deport the criminals and integrate those who aspire to the American dream. Prices in many areas will rise as the free market adjusts. Some employers won’t like it but if they can’t be undercut on prices they make out in the long run. Living in fear of La Migra is like living in fear of the narc who will get you fired for your joint and ruin your employment future. The police become the enemy instead of our protectors. We need to get our legal applicants’ backlog cleared and then go whole hog sorting out those who are good prospects for good citizens. This does not require “comprehensive” reform, just the common sense and fairness that threaten special interests.
Tom: I live in a town where the USDA and other agencies provide taxpayer-funded housing and even subsidized mortgages to the farm laborers who can thus work for cheap because their childcare and housing and house-owning (!) and medical needs and food and education are being entirely subsidized by the rest of us. We pay and pay and pay, and the farmers AND the laborers reap the benefits. Yes, the laborers.
I’d happily pay more per tomato if I did not have to underwrite the lifestyles of the people I see in the grocery store using food stamps to feed their six kids, who trot back out to the parking lot to climb into trucks more expensive and newer than the car I can afford. In a town like mine, you see this every single day. And I know too much about social services to believe these folks are paying taxes yet still qualifying for aid, as so many people seem to think. Many work for cash – and you’d be quite surprised to see how “few” people are on the books compared to in the fields.
I’ve worked in service provision, and so I can tell you with authority that those who pay nothing for their medical care get better medical care, and more of it, than people who pay but are less than wealthy. I’m astonished by the twinned spineless of both parties on this issue.
I’m sorry for the business owners who have to compete in this system, but, tough luck. You are the problem, and the only viable solution is to support change. We have the poll numbers, but apparently not the political will.
One way to quickly solve the problem? Require women to identify the fathers of their children, and force fathers to financially support them, instead of subsidizing single parenthood for legal or illegal residents. On the books. That would change the face of problematic illegal immigration (and lots of non-immigrant problems) overnight. And I do not doubt that most non-dependent legal immigrants, and not a few of the otherwise law-abiding, non-dependent illegal ones, would quietly applaud the results.
Tina: Great comments. Look, everybody knows this is going on. Just like everybody knows the idea of an “anchor baby” is also being abused. But the politics of the problem outweigh the common sense and rational reasons to fix the problem.
I don’t think the problem will be addressed unitl we have rioting in the streets by illegal immigrants who are not getting their “fair share” by some level of government. Take for instance, California: a state that is bankrupt but still you see nor hear of any politican calling for a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Why not??
I see a problem much like what happened in France a few years ago. But by then, the Dems will be ensconced in government and the Hispanic demographic will be too much to remove. If nothing has been done by now, nothing will be done in the future. We are headed for a Mexican-like third world nation. And nobody care especially the progressive elite.
The U.S had racist immigration policies for about the
first 350 years. It restricted immigration to mainly
white europeans. Look at the result.
A country that produced more scientific advances and
inventions, nobel prize winners, and 9 of the 10 best universities in the world. A country that invented vacuum tubes, radio, television, computers, creating the electronics industry. A country the created the auto industry. A country that produced more two thirds
of all advances in medicine in the last 50 years.
The only country to land a man on the moon.
If our immigration policy had been more fair and
open to non white europeans the U.S could be a
wonderful third world country.
It could be famous for illiteracy, poverty, high
illigitamcy.
Re: Phil.
Oh wait. “[America] could be famous for illiteracy, poverty, and high illegitimacy.”
“could be”? Try “is” now that 20-30 million illegal invaders have flooded our nation. Next? Citizenship and bankruptcy for our treasury to bail them out of their self created sewer predicament.
viva la RACISTS!!!
If you have jobs that pay less than $10 an hour anywhere in the Southwest that do not require communication skills the only applicants you will get are Hispanics.
So what happens if you pay more than $10 per hour? You get undercut by businesses that aren’t going to use E-verify because the like cheap labor, and don’t want to ask too many questions. A consistent policy of requiring employers to hire legal workers would mean that you might have to pay a bit better–but you also wouldn’t be damaged by competition from unscrupulous employers.
But there need to be more conservative writers who confront anti-Hispanic racism. In that regard, there need to be more Ruben Navarretes — or people of any race who can at least talk about racism.
I’m not sure that Navarrete is helping. A big chunk of what drives anti-Hispanic racism, I think, is that a very large fraction of the illegal aliens that are here are single young men–who, regardless of race, aren’t noted for their good behavior. (Look at the conditions just off-base at U.S. military bases almost anywhere in the world.) David Courtwright’s Violent Land: Single Men and Social Disorder From the Frontier to the Inner City is worth reading on this matter.
Why are so many of them single young men? Because that’s who is most likely to immigrate on a permanent basis, and especially for the relatively short-term intervals common to many Mexican illegal immigrants.
Long-term immigrants–the sort who are likely to bring family with them, or who expect to be here long enough to form families–aren’t going to generate quite the ill-will associated with the misbehavior of single young men.
In addition: while a tiny fraction of illegal immigrants (who are coming here to get jobs), there are some pretty serious problems with people coming here who may be one step ahead of the law at home, or engaged in organized criminal enterprises (such as MS-13). Without question, the presence of such troublemakers reflects badly on the vast majority of Hispanics who are U.S. citizens–just like the actions of the Mafia created a bad image of Italian-Americans.
If white rich Americans started pushing into Mexico buying up huge swaths of land and poor neighborhoods to make a rich community, would not LIberals accuse them of colonialism?
We don’t have to wonder. How do you think Texas and California became part of the U.S.? American immigrants rapidly became a dominant force in Texas politics, leading to the secession of what had been part of Mexico. Sometimes lost in the victimology-based narrative is that many liberal Texans of Mexican origin originally supported secession, because of the policies of President Santa Anna. Most people don’t know that the Provisional Vice President of the Republic of Texas was Lorenzo Zayala, who wrote a very perceptive account of the U.S. intended for his fellow Mexicans before the the secession.
In California, American immigrants were at the core of the Bear Flag Revolt that overthrew Mexican government just ahead of General Fremont’s column.
In both California and Texas, immigrants took Mexican citizenship, and pretended to be Catholics, in order to acquire land titles. But their hearts remained not with Mexico, but with America, and it showed.
The U.S had racist immigration policies for about the
first 350 years. It restricted immigration to mainly
white europeans.
This isn’t accurate. We imported large numbers of Africans until 1808 and allowed unrestricted immigration of Chinese and Japanese into the late 19th century. Even the “white Europeans” restrictions of the 1921 and 1924 immigration acts really meant “north and western Europeans.” It isn’t clear that America was weaker for allowing non-white immigration.
The examples of the astonishing and wonderful things that America has done were not because we were white, but because we had a relatively laissez-faire system that rewarded invention–including inventions by some pretty astonishing black guys that you probably don’t even know about, like the inventor of the stoplight and the gas mask, Garrett Morgan.
Some possible solutions to this CRISIS:
A $10,000 fine per instance for any business that knowingly hires an illegal immigrant. In other words, the business didn’t even attempt to determine the legitimacy of said immigrant’s SocSec#, etc.
Any illegal immigrant caught by the US ICE has all assets taken by the government (car, bank account, furniture, etc.) Then they are summarily deported. Furthermore, that person is NEVER allowed to immigrate legally.
You say you have an anchor baby? The baby can stay and go up for adoption or be placed into the foster care system or you can take your baby with you back to your home country.
No government services without verifiable ID. This includes welfare, medicare, education, food stamps, etc.
No sanctuary cities. It’s against the law in the first place and secondly is enhancing the CRISIS.
If the police pull over someone who doesn’t speak English and/or is suspected of being illegal (doesn’t have documentation/green card, etc.) that person is arrested and reported to US ICE.
No driver’s licenses for illegals.
ICE needs to be staffed up. Maybe doubled in size?
Harsh treatment, I know. But let’s all keep in mind that THEY broke OUR law!
regards
Clayton Cramer states well a viewpoint I’m in concert with. I have been living at ground zero – truly the gateway county -Maricopa Az – for illegal immigration for almost 10 years.
That experience is starkly divided between ’99-’02 Jane Hull & ’02-’08 Janet Napolitano. From 1999 thru 2004 – I enjoyed the best earning years of my life. By 2008 my field – financial services – had shed easily 250K – HUNDRED THOUSAND -or more jobs. Banking is a big sector out here – it’s hardly limited to mortgages – lending of all sorts – collections is especially huge in Phoenix – 3rd & 1st party. We rivial other states for the largest concentration of call centers – mostly customer service.
I moved from Ohio, a state that had about a 7% unemployment rate in Cuyahoga co in ’99 – to a virtual full employment situation. I was just past 40 w/a BA (English) pieced together in the late ’80′s. The listed unemployment in ’99 – thru 9/11 – was 1%. That is full employment folks – something I had never enjoyed in my lifetime – to quit one job and walk right into another in a day if one so desired was a common occurance. Even with 9/11 we never got up over 3% and got back down below that until the start of the credit burst in ’05-’06. We hover a tab below the national average now, 6-7% last I looked.
Without a doubt the best opportunities were for qualifed professionals. But there were vast opportunities also available to those with little or no college – and not just limited to construction or burger joints.
I worked in sales (lending), credit analysis, & collections – and I worked with many people in some six organizations – & at least a dozen who never spent a day in college who brought home six figure incomes – in what was a very different modern blue collar world from my youth; you didn’t work in a dirty machine shop but instead at a computer while on the phone.
I don’t much care for Mr. Navaratte who often incits here, but I do conceed one argument he often puts forth. That is, that EMPLOYERS LIKE TOM ABOVE & politicians like NAPOLITANO (thankfully gone to a ‘higher calling’)promoted and facilitated a ‘surge’ in illegals pouring in – which many on sites like this refer to as an invasion. (which it is)
Tom the ‘employer’s’ talking points are absolute bunk. I’ve seen such ‘employers’ out here. It boils my blood. Wage theft is common, like a feudal entitlement – quit & you don’t get paid or if you do it’s a F.U. pittance. Another trick that began cropping up regularly – claiming a former employee for tax purposes a year AFTER LET GO. Accounting tricks to cut wages when commission is involved. It isn’t about the disriuption or if you gave proper notice – nothing like that.
Employers do it because they believe their entitled to it – and there is nothing to stop them.
Coming from the Midwest I never encountered this kind of crap. It’s a right to work state here with no history like the Midwest or Northeast. There is no established legacy of Trade Unionism – with higher wages & workplace standards – concerning safety and fairness. It’s a ‘bad attitude’ bad apple kinda senario when you view your labour as a viable commidity as well – not just the employer as providential divinity providing employment and substeance….’oppertunity’.
Instead there is the long established legacy of cheap migrating labor. And we’ve all heard the chorus’ of hosannas – they are all mythical beasts of burden – great workers, with great attitudes, and just the best employees you could ever hope for…bla..bla..bla. Yeah – they are CHEAP. They don’t complain because if they do – since they snuck in like a thief in the night – ….
How often have we as americans heard some chamber of commerce nitwit or business luminary complain about the ‘level of education’ for their entry hires? Or the 1 out of every 3 Black men is dead or in prison before hitting 25 echo? (just catch Tavis Smileys upcoming ’10 STATE OF THE BLACK UNION.) Or the health care debate now taking place – or the Social Security viability debate that been ongoing?
Everyone with a wit of intelligence or education tells their kids to get an advanced education to have a shot at a good life with economic oppertunity & security – but with Hispanics dominating immigration its convienetly ‘misforgotten’ because most arrive with half as much an education as my great-grandfather in 1890!
So, if you demand immigration reform that includes locking down the border & reducing illegals coming and those already here? It’s impossible and racist.
Thirty years ago when I first went to college as a wide-eyed freshman – after growing up a pipefitters son in greater cleveland – it was inconceivable to believe I would enter my middle age in an America were it was both respectable and legal for an employer to call themselves an employer and yet not offer medical benefits as part of their wage package.
Today it is commonplace. That is a blatant message – you and your labor are NOT WORTH ENOUGH to include medical care for you and yours if and when you should get sick.
That was a battle that my grandfather and HIS FATHER fought on my behalf. It was part of my legacy to be blessed to be born free in the right geography – part of the currency of my citizenship. NOW I HAVE TO FIGHT THAT BATTLE AGAIN!
Name calling is irrelvent given what Pol’s like Janet Napolitano and race hustlers like Mr Narvarette are selling.
Immigration remains a volitile and intractable political problem because it effects our quality of life today and the futures we envision for our children. Its as live wire as it gets – about life and liberty – bread and butter.
Nativist anger and politcal push back has made a difference, in my opinion. Both here in Az and through out the country.
I detect a palpable despiration on the part of the Race Hustlers – much like after 9/11 when Bush brushed off the guest worker idea – and again now when we have a world wide recession & maybe even worse.
People see California – how poorly it has fared since becoming the #1 destination of the Latin Invasion – and take note. That massive Latino immigration didn’t CAUSE CAlI to become a broken state with a failing economy – but it did contribute.
These are just a few reasons why I mistrust the Race Hustlers and voted for the anti-immigration Props here in the past few years. This is a different world we live in today – with global competitiveness the absurd comparison to prior eras of immigration are bogus arguments that need shot down for good.
And by the way – those same anti-immigration props carried almost idential pro/against HISPANIC numbers. La Raza and the Ruben Navarette’s don’t speak for a plurality of Hispanics any more than Al Sharpton does Blacks or Joe Arapio Anglo-hybrids.
There is no suitable answer to satisfy everyone. But I do believe we can take back our country and demand orderly immigration that controls our border, leverages Mexico to be a co-operative partner ON OUR TERMS, and requires assimilation of those wanting to be here and stay here.
I don’t share the pessimism. We have made a difference will continute to.
You guys are confusing Racism with good ole’ Ammurrican Ignorance. You’all furthermore don’t give a rats ass what race is handing you your BK Burger, because you don’t care!!! Let my brethren continue to migrate here and you will be fat and happy with our subservient attitude. Too bad you are talking about something that HAS happened, and not something that MIGHT happen in the future. I can’t wait for the local grocer in Gopher Town, USA to run out of White Bread so that you are all forced to eat TORTILLAS! Bwhahahahahah!
I remain yours the Mexican American next door ( that you are trying to ignore)
Maybe we should invade Mexico, about 30 million Gringos and African Americans should do the trick.
A little tit for tat.
It will be a big economic boost to Mexico, the Mexicans should love it.
#30,
Assuming that you are who you claim to be (rather than /sarcasm), thanks for providing even more evidence of Leftist contempt and bigotry.
And, Mr. Lopez #17, Ruben Navarrette’s writings, should you ever make the effort to see the cr*p he puts online here at PJM, are hardly anything close to what you make them out to be.
What is really funny about this is that whoever the whitest person on this blog might be, he’s no more white than 90% of the Mexican ruling elite. The people who run Mexico don’t give a damn for brown or black people, and the darker they are, the less they like them.
Obama’s kinfolk are being run out of SoCal by Mexicans who haven’t the slightest qualm about ethnically cleansing them. All the American blacks who voted for Democrats did was make it easier for their replacements to come across the border. Google “Varrio Hawaiian Gardens Gang” for just ONE example of what’s going on.
I keep wondering when the group that gets hurt worst by illegal immigration–blacks–is going to realize that the people they keep voting for are literally facilitating their economic marginalization. Whites and Hispanics often work well together. Blacks don’t seem to work very well with either of those two groups. It doesn’t take rocket science to see where that road leads.
I’d happily pay more per tomato if I did not have to underwrite the lifestyles of the people I see in the grocery store using food stamps to feed their six kids, who trot back out to the parking lot to climb into trucks more expensive and newer than the car I can afford.
This assumes that even a substantial rise in labor costs from reduced competition from illegal immigrants would substantially increase costs. How much farm labor is there in a tomato? If it takes even 15 seconds for a farm worker to pick a tomato, I would be surprised. Even if we managed to send all illegal immigrants packing, I doubt that it would raise farm worker wages more than a dollar an hour. Even it was $2 per hour–that’s less than a penny per tomato.
Ditto for fast food restaurants. How much actual labor by cooks, dish washers, and table clearers goes into a meal? Is it even two minutes? An extra six cents for a fast food meal isn’t going to make a big difference for a consumer: but an extra $40-$80 a week to minimum wage workers might be the difference between needing government assistance and not needing it.
I you research the history of science, mathmatics, and inventions going back 2 to 3 thousand years most all advances came from white people. Cars, trains, airplanes, steam engines, gas engines, diesel engines, jet engines, light bulbs, vacuum tubes, transistors, sewing machines, radio, television, telephones, computers, internet, …..most anything you can think of was invented by a white american or european.
How can this be true if all races and cultures are
equal.
I have researched inventors and did know about the inventor of the stoplight and gas mask and most
other black inventors and scientist.
So that wasn’t really news to me.
I you research the history of science, mathmatics, and inventions going back 2 to 3 thousand years most all advances came from white people. Cars, trains, airplanes, steam engines, gas engines, diesel engines, jet engines, light bulbs, vacuum tubes, transistors, sewing machines, radio, television, telephones, computers, internet, …..most anything you can think of was invented by a white american or european.
Off the top of my head, Hindu-Arabic numerals, the concept of zero, and a number of considerable advances in surgical technique, such as for bladder stone removal and split nose repair, come from the East Indians. I consider the idea of place numbering rather a dramatic invention. Can you imagine doing long division or calculus using Roman numerals?
Oh yeah: gunpowder. Invented by the Chinese.
How can this be true if all races and cultures are equal.
1. I don’t believe that all cultures are equal. Western civilization (which includes Latin America) has some real advantages. But that doesn’t prevent other cultures from adding some useful stuff, too.
2. Western civilization has some real advantages–and you will notice that blacks who were fully integrated into American culture made important inventions that they might not have made had their ancestors stayed in Africa. This argues that the difference is culture, not race.
If you research the history of science, mathmatics, and inventions going back 2 to 3 thousand years most all advances came from white people. Cars, trains, airplanes, steam engines, gas engines, diesel engines, jet engines, light bulbs, vacuum tubes, transistors, sewing machines, radio, television, telephones, computers, internet, …..most anything you can think of was invented by a white american or european.
Off the top of my head, Hindu-Arabic numerals, the concept of zero, and a number of considerable advances in surgical technique, such as for bladder stone removal and split nose repair, come from the East Indians. I consider the idea of place numbering rather a dramatic invention. Can you imagine doing long division or calculus using Roman numerals?
Oh yeah: gunpowder. Invented by the Chinese.
How can this be true if all races and cultures are equal.
1. I don’t believe that all cultures are equal. Western civilization (which includes Latin America) has some real advantages. But that doesn’t prevent other cultures from adding some useful stuff, too.
2. Western civilization has some real advantages–and you will notice that blacks who were fully integrated into American culture made important inventions that they might not have made had their ancestors stayed in Africa. This argues that the difference is culture, not race.
Lisa, Your SO right-if it were white’s who were immigrating illegally into another groups nation, the leftards would call it colonialism, but because white’s are seen to be the race at the root of all evil (inequality) in the world, it’s o.k. for it to happen to us. I have long felt that many white liberals are self hating.
This is an easy one (regarding invention). Asians (racially speaking) in America are much more productive inventors than Asians in Asia. That alone shreds the racial theory to threads. It’s culture that makes the difference.
And we’d better all understand this, because culture can be changed, and when it does, we’re going to get our butts kicked.
Fifty years from now, all of this squabbling between American identity groups will be a luxury we can’t afford, because we’ll all be in the mother of all economic battles with the Chinese. And it ain’t looking good for us.
#33
Whats going on in SoCal is revenge for us US Steel- and Ford- working 2nd and 3rd gen Mexican Americans being run out of South Chicago and the South Suburbs into BFE parts of Indiana.
And we’d better all understand this, because culture can be changed, and when it does, we’re going to get our butts kicked.
Isn’t that the objective of the last 40 years of cultural change? If it wasn’t, then liberals have a death wish.
The largest group of racists in Florida are the hispanics; They evidently believe that since they are hispanic, they are immune to being racist.
Evidence abounds in the contracts, workers, and employment practices used every day. They believe they are the ONLY minority.
There’s years of documentation and experience.
I’m greatly entertained by the direction this racist/racial equality is trending; In the not too distant future, the U.S. will have a president that is a pygmy muslim woman with only one leg and one arm, and has 17 children all of different races and languages; Congress shall have a similar makeup.
With complete racial equality, who needs education; Look at the money saved on college!
Read the book “Backfire” by Bob Zelnick.
Also this problem isn’t “theoretical” to me personally. One of my best friends was MURDERED by illegal alien gang members simply because he was white and his girlfriend was hispanic. He was 22. So don’t tell me this is no big deal or it’s all about white racism. If you want to talk about racism how about we bring up the illegal alien racism for once? Because a lot them certainly ARE racist. It’s like we’ve let millions of hispanic Nazis into our country and are too afraid to do anything about it out of political correctness. Screw that. Save our young people. Stop allowing them to be raped and murdered by people who shouldn’t even be here.
46. Blackwater,
AMEN.
#10 David Thomson: “Blame the Richard Nixon. He literally forced the census bureau to to employ the Hispanic designation.”
And that designation is only used for certain purposes. In the annual Hate Crimes report, there is no “Hispanic” designation; Latinos/Hispanics are lumped into the “white” category.
Sorry, Mexicans who come here are not unemployed, they just want better jobs. There is plenty of low wage labor needed in Mexico, but obviously they want higher wages and the free housing and medical care that government here provides.
This is all easy. Why the long tirades?
1> Enforce the law when people break it. It doesn’t matter who it is, whether they are from a poor country, just want to work, or a business owner etc. Enforce the law! Don’t like the law? Change it through legal means. Not enough votes? Too bad, enforce the law.
2> Any excuse made by any business in regards to illegals and employment for a dinky wage, is (oddly enough) the same argument the South made when freeing the slaves was suggested. Yes, whether you like it or not, even if paid a minor amount, modern day “wetbacks” are today’s form of slavery. There’s no excuse from either side.
I’m what you call a conservative Constitutionalist. Obey the law or suffer the consequences. Great need fuels ingenuity. The “cotton gin” was, oddly enough, invented by a former slave. Suddenly all those slaves were unnecessary. A machine could do the work faster and without the large overhead of feeding and housing slaves.
Illegal behavior will minimize when the incentive is removed. No jobs unless you are a LEGAL visitor, and no free medical unless you are a LEGAL visitor. Anything short of life threatening medical, should not be treated for free by the hospital. Have charities for such medicine.
When you remove the government from the equation, the private sector does the job much better. Charities have always done a better job than government “freebies”.
People, especially the Marxists, socialists, and even Fascists don’t ever think ahead and use common sense.
Sure, send all the Mexicans home, and then watch as the restaurant and hotel industries collapse. Watch as the fields go unpicked. You ain’t gonna find no white folk that will do that work. This ain’t a lefty or righty issue. It’s an uppity whitey is lazy issue. You don’t care if they are here, as long as they are invisible and keep your nice green yard mowed and your tables bussed. America is the most hypocritical and hateful of nations.
“Sure, send all the Mexicans home,”
WE aren’t suggesting that. We’re only suggesting that the Mexicans who are here illegally be deported. I myself am a LEGAL immigrant, who went through the process of naturalization.
“and then watch as the restaurant and hotel industries collapse. Watch as the fields go unpicked. You ain’t gonna find no white folk that will do that work.”
The unemployment rate is still quite high (no thanks to Obama), so I am pretty sure that if white people were desperate enough, that they would start to do such menial tasks.
“This ain’t a lefty or righty issue. It’s an uppity whitey is lazy issue.”
And lazy whiteys are part of the problem, I do admit. However, there are also hard-working white people in many places, but let’s not make race an issue, shall we?
Most all modern science is a result of the scientific revolution in europe that
started a few centuries ago and spread to the U.S. by european immigration. Most of the major inventions in the world resulted from the industrial revolution that started in europe and spread to the U.S. Every form of transportation in the world was invented by europeans or european americans. They created the auto, aircraft, and railroad industry, They invented the telegraph and telephone and created the telecomuunications industry. They invented the generator, motor, transformer, and light bulb and created the world first electric utility systems creating the electric utility industry. They invented cement and the process to mass produce
steel, xray, radar, aspirin blood pressure meters, EKG, most anything you can
think of.
They created modern chemistry and the pharmcuetical and chemical industries.
The invented radio, television, computers, and created those industries.
They created three fourths of the 1000 largest companies in the world like GM, IBM,
AT&T, Chrysler, Ford, BMW, Mercedes, INTEL, Motorola, Marconi, Rolls Royce,
ExxxonMobile, Pfizer, GE, Texas Instruments, …. you could go on and on.
The other 25% were mostly created mostly by asians.
Mexican have contributed very little to the advancement of science.
They have no inventions of any significance.
Only a mexican oil company and a telecomunication companies are on the list of the worlds largest companies. The U.S. and Europe have about 400 of the 500 largest companies in the world. Immigration is about race. They want what european
and european americans have created but are to disfunctional to create the same
thing in Mexico.