"What language is Los Angeles, San, Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Ana, San Simeon, Chula Vista, Mission Viejo, Bakersfield" English language. Open any English Language Dictionary....you find them all. America is a melting pot, but the racists and bigots don't like that reality.... By the way.... from Canadian Fr. form of Algonquian word meaning "place of the onion," or "place of the bad smell." http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Chicago
The problem is the living wage was maybe 20-25 hour for the legal - albeit probably white guy- doing say drywall. Now it's 8 or 9 for the Mexican guy? Imo, a lot of the public is going to stay politely quiet on this due to racism protocols and all that and then go out and hang Republicans or anyone else towing W's line on this issue in polls and voting booths. The pictures from Los Angeles were VERY alarming. Bush desperately needs help and advice -- from other than corps. or lobbyists or whoever it is that has his ear. He'll see new lows in his #s.
Just imagine how many protesters we would see if the illegals themselves joined in. Of course, they were too busy working to protest..... In the follow the money theory, who profits the most from the current condition, and who would lose the most if we actually did something about it?
Obviously the losers would be those who get the sack and sent back to the abyss of the Mexican economy.
If the US government took all the money lost via illegal aliens being in America, in the form of lost IRS revenue from these people not paying taxes, health care costs for illegals, money that is earned here by illegals that is not spent here, but rather goes back to Mexico, cost of incarceration, my guess is that we could...if the Mexican government were cooperative, help to stimulate that economy. The problem, as I see the real problem which is not being dealt with, is the fact that Mexico is one of the more corrupt countries on earth, and their government is not doing its job to stimulate economic growth or provide for their own people. We see US corporations exporting jobs to China, India...but not Mexico? Why? As long as we allow the situation to continue, the Mexican government will not deal with their problems, holding out the carrot of America as a way to appease the problems they have. The people of Mexico should revolt against their government, but instead they are told to dream of America. People are coming here for opportunity, true....but they would rather be in their homeland if opportunity were there, if they thought their country could actually develop beyond its current miserable conditions. We would do well to help Mexico develop themselves, but in doing so, the companies and businessmen that generate profits for themselves, and in turn donate to the campaigns of politicians to keep it that way...would have to pay higher wages and make less profit. The greedy capitalists will do everything they can to perpetuate cheap labor, legal or not, as long as it satisfies their greed, and the Mexican government will continue to avoid their responsibility to the people of Mexico.
I agree with just about everything you said until you get to the the "greed" part. Why do you have to couch economic reality in terms like that? If your competitor is taking advantage of a situation (i.e. lower labor costs, locating to an area with less taxes/regulation etc..) isn't that more a function of competitive survival? You seem to think "profit" is a four letter word. Everyone talks about the big bad American corporation, but look who works there. It's your neighbors, and for some, your family. Why is it such a fucking surprise that a company will do what it percieves to be in it's own best interest?
In the absence of secure borders, any program offering illegals a path to citizenship will become an invitation to others to violate U.S. immigration laws. Therefore, we must first close our borders to illegal immigration, and only then debate what to do with those who are in this country illegally.
Why do I say greed? Because greed is what generally motivates most business people to violate the law. Don't forget, that most businessmen know they are violating the law when they hire illegals.