Tuesday, September 13, 2005
The American Dream?
I read this article about Biloxi being rebuilt by largely illegal immigrants. It made me think about immigration and labor in the United States. Using illegal immigrants is such a cheater way to get something done. Don't get me wrong, I live in the corporate world, so having the bottom line bumped up a little (or a lot) is not a bad thing. I'm all for maximum output for minimum input. But rebuilding your town on the backs of immigrants and exploiting them is not the way to go about it. For one, I am a firm believer in the idea that if a person is proud of his/her work they will do a better job. The converse is also true: if a person doesn't care the work they do suffers. An example I think about is Alcatraz Prison, in San Francisco Bay. You know who built Alcatraz Prison? Prisoners! And you know what? The place fell apart! It is a prime example of shoddy workmanship by people who literally couldn't have cared less about what they were doing and were probably actively sabotaging the buildings (when they could).
Now I understand that illegals still get paid, and I don't think that they are sabotaging buildings in MS. But you can't tell me Manuel the day laborer is going to do as good a job as Mike who has a business and a reputation to uphold in the community. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but I think that when you have your reputation on the line you'll tend to put a little more "sweat equity" into your job.
There's also this issue of putting legal citizens to work. I know that the work is difficult, but let's not forget that for all the illegal immigrants in MS (or elsewhere for that matter) there are also unemployed legal citizens in those areas. For every illegal that gets hired at $7 an hour there's a legal citizen not doing the same job for $10. Sure the $7 is "under the table" but the $10 is taxed and still buys the same honest labor. It is also a slap in the face to all the people that immigrate to the U.S. each year and actually take the time and perform the efforts to become legal citizens here to have jobs handed out to illegals. What's the incentive to follow the law when they can be flauted and one still profits?
I say if you're here illegally then you're taking jobs from legal citizens and undermining the honest economy. You don't deserve any protections afforded to you; you knew what you were doing when you crossed over here in the first place. I won't fix you tea if you break into my house, even if you do fix the leaky faucet. But yeah, you should still be able to purchase insurance. I won't keep you from spending your money here.
I'd also like to point out that I don't blame illegal immigrants for this problem. Because really, they're just following the jobs and that is totally natural. The problem is the people who hire the illegal immigrants. They create an atmosphere of tolerance and they perpetuate the problem. The issue is capitalism at work, which is quite a tickle for me to witness, really. ¶ 3:57 PM
Now I understand that illegals still get paid, and I don't think that they are sabotaging buildings in MS. But you can't tell me Manuel the day laborer is going to do as good a job as Mike who has a business and a reputation to uphold in the community. Of course, there will always be exceptions, but I think that when you have your reputation on the line you'll tend to put a little more "sweat equity" into your job.
There's also this issue of putting legal citizens to work. I know that the work is difficult, but let's not forget that for all the illegal immigrants in MS (or elsewhere for that matter) there are also unemployed legal citizens in those areas. For every illegal that gets hired at $7 an hour there's a legal citizen not doing the same job for $10. Sure the $7 is "under the table" but the $10 is taxed and still buys the same honest labor. It is also a slap in the face to all the people that immigrate to the U.S. each year and actually take the time and perform the efforts to become legal citizens here to have jobs handed out to illegals. What's the incentive to follow the law when they can be flauted and one still profits?
I say if you're here illegally then you're taking jobs from legal citizens and undermining the honest economy. You don't deserve any protections afforded to you; you knew what you were doing when you crossed over here in the first place. I won't fix you tea if you break into my house, even if you do fix the leaky faucet. But yeah, you should still be able to purchase insurance. I won't keep you from spending your money here.
I'd also like to point out that I don't blame illegal immigrants for this problem. Because really, they're just following the jobs and that is totally natural. The problem is the people who hire the illegal immigrants. They create an atmosphere of tolerance and they perpetuate the problem. The issue is capitalism at work, which is quite a tickle for me to witness, really. ¶ 3:57 PM
