Originally posted by GtoRA2
fd ski,
I have nothing against people trying to provide for their families, I just think they should be able to do it legally, IE through a program that brings them in legally to do these jobs.
I think it sucks we let corporations exploit people, and I think its OUR fault for allowing it.
I agree with your second point as well, there is a demand, the demand is not going to go away, but I think instead of looking the other way for cheap lettuce we should have a program to let them come and do it legally, that way we can at least screen for criminals.
Legal programs already exist: it's how my family got here. I'm not sure of total numbers but there is tens of thousands green cards drawn each year for different nationalities. My mother won one and moved the family. Problem is that for every card won, there are 100s of people who lost and really wanted to win.
So unless you increase such programs ( and remember that greencard entitles you to same benefits as citizen - welfare, unemployment and all ) that's not a solution.
Problem is as follows:
Illigal jobs in US :
Company can pay half to an immigrant then what it would have to pay to the citizen. Minimum pay, conditions, taxes all that.
Even at that piss ant pay, illigals can live much better lifes here then where they are from - Mexico, whatever. We look at them and see poverty. Lots of them are living better then they ever had before.
As long as companies are willing to hire illigals - they will come. Sealing borders isn't going to help. They are very immaginative and they will find their ways in.
Now: if there was no jobs to be had, they would have no inclination to come here anymore. They can be in Mexico with thier family who will help them - or here homeless on the street hiding form police. They will stay home.
I'll give you an example from my own nation:
20 years ago if you could weasel a tourist visa to US somehow, your famliy was golden. If you send back to poland 20$ a month, it would provide for a family with some left over. It's true - I know it doesn't sound right
Jobs were avaiable and pleanty.
Today it isn't the same. Two things changed:
Stadard of living in poland went up and 20$ ain't worth crap
Now you'd have to send 400$ and that's hard to do on illigal pay.
Secondly, illigal jobs aren't as pleantiful as they used to be. It isn't as easy as before and rewards aren't the same - as stated above.
To round up: we have to deal with those who are cheating us of tax monies and cheating the system by hiring illigals. Once demand of them goes down - they will be less likely to immigrate.
