Work for minimum wage

[Snide]

With no further clues as to what is meant by "the American way of life", I can only guess that it refers to that idyll where all men work hard, and come home to their beautiful wife and humble house, eat beef and potatoes and read the bible in English with their respectful and obedient children. In other words, a way of life that never existed.

Sure it did.

You never watched "Leave It To Beaver?"

 

[shanek]

Noone.

I used to resent the influx of illegal labor until a guy who was building an apartment complex told me a dirty secret. I was younger and more foolish and tried to guilt-trip him about using the mexican illegals. He said "if I dont hire them, I can't get it done, If I hire blacks or whites (whom this city had about 51/47 percent of) they no-show, don't work when they are there, and quit soon". Basically the mexican workers actually worked.

American's dirty secret is that home construction (painting, flooring, framing, roofing, landscaping) in some parts of the country is only viable because of illegal immigrant labor.

Repeat after me: illegals are taking jobs that we have stigmatized as not being good enough for the average american

Not only that, but the illegals are not only a work force, they are consumers as well; they demand consumer goods and so raise the level of total production in the economy.

 

[shanek]

Sure it did.

You never watched "Leave It To Beaver?"

I take it that's a sarcastic remark...but I have actually heard people seriously point to LItB as an example of how different things were then. The thing is, when LItB was first on the air it was panned for being unrealistic and not indicative of normal families...

 

[Snide]

I take it that's a sarcastic remark...but I have actually heard people seriously point to LItB as an example of how different things were then. The thing is, when LItB was first on the air it was panned for being unrealistic and not indicative of normal families...

Sarcasm indeed...I shoulda used a smiley.

I've seen the same, from Father Knows Best to Brady Bunch, and I'm sure there is a plehtora of other examples available out there.

 

[Chad Noles]

originally posted by phildonnia

With no further clues as to what is meant by "the American way of life", I can only guess that it refers to that idyll where all men work hard, and come home to their beautiful wife and humble house, eat beef and potatoes and read the bible in English with their respectful and obedient children. In other words, a way of life that never existed.

With no clues,why guess at all?Your speculation is entirely your own invention.

orginally posted by ShaneK

Not only that, but the illegals are not only a work force, they are consumers as well; they demand consumer goods and so raise the level of total production in the economy.

This is only looking at one side of the ledger.What about the added cost to the economy from displaced workers on unemployment?
I don't believe that an economy currently engaged in deficit spending needs to increase that spending due to unnecessary unemployment.

 

[shanek]

This is only looking at one side of the ledger.What about the added cost to the economy from displaced workers on unemployment?

Again, what workers on unemployment? Again, these immigrants are spending in the economy as well, and that spending and demand would not be there if not for them; that simply creates more jobs.

I have not seen any evidence that immigration increases the long run natural level of unemployment.

 

[phildonnia]

With no clues,why guess at all?Your speculation is entirely your own invention.

Ok, then I'm still waiting for you to explain what the American way of life is, and what facet of it is being destroyed.

 

[Solitaire]

Why do employers ever offer jobs above minimum wage?

I don't know. There was a professor from some college down
in Atlanta on the other day said that their grads mad $64,000
a year. What! That's outragous. I can get just as good engineer
from India for $8000 a year with some experience. Why the hell
would I pay more for an American? The Ivory Tower Mentality...