What does it mean "they'll do jobs that Americans won't?"?

Question

In the immigration debate, pundits rarely discuss the issue of American-born peasants. Yes, that word seems negative, but we need to have an honest discussion about America's lower classes. How did we ever get to a place where not working is an option? My rural, mostly-white county has 11% unemployment, yet we also have a huge influx of undocumented workers. Many among the US poor are now too obese to work and many who do perpetrate exaggerated workmen's comp cases.

And what of the immigrants' children? They won't take those low-paying jobs: their expectations will be like everyone else here, so within our current paradigm we must continue importing and exploiting workers. It's a pyramid scheme. Isn't this all about economic imperialism and a race to the bottom at the expense of workers worldwide?

What about jacking up pay and benefits to agricultural and other low-wage workers, stop hiring illegals, and insist that America's poor and unemployed actually work? Too Draconian?

Answer 1

You're exactly right!!!!!!!! There ARE no jobs that Americans won't do!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know MANY Americans who wash dishes, bus tables,clean toilets,AND pick veggies!!!!!!

That "line",is just a bunch of BS Propoganda!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

It's stupid. Immigrants do work that Americans just won't do for minimum wage. There is no job in America that Americans won't do... illegals are crippling the free-market economy.

Imagine this: Maybe you would have to pay the guy cleaning chicken guts off the floor $25 per hour, because no one would do it for $24 per hour. So the price of chicken goes up. Tyson foods gets into a price war with some other chicken company. Eventually, tyson is going to have to balance its profits, wages, and prices.

Right now, prices are too low, wages are too low, and profits are too high. It's all going to explode on us soon enough.

Answer 3

It means that they will pick up your garbage, cook for you, clean your house, cut your grass and do any other thing you want to pay them to do.
Jacking up pay and benefits for agricultural workers? HA, that is why employers keep hiring whomever wants to work for cheap, because they don't want to give them any benefits, hence the reason they hire illegals.
Also, have your 11% unemployed go work where the influx of undocumented are so they can work for those wages, it will help the unemployment rate drastically.
Just a word of advice to yours.

Answer 4

You can't arbitrarily "jack-up" pay. Raising the minimum wage causes as many problems as it solves... That said, lots of Americans are just really really lazy (like most of the French who think 35 hours is a backbreaking slave-driving workweek). I say cut the net out from under them and see who can hang on. The rest be damned. Cut welfare to all able bodied Americans. If they're starving (as many able bodied illegals were before they came here) then $6 / hour doesn't look so bad. Hell, in my part of the country illegals frequently take in quite a bit more than that per hour.

If there's no work to be had illegals have less of a drive to come here. When Juan calls his brother Paco in El Salvador and says "I work every day" Juan thinks about coming himself. When Juan says "I can barely get by" then Paco stays home. Lazy welfare dependent Americans GET TO WORK!

Answer 5

No, not Draconian at all, but it won't wash with our politicians, who are in the pockets of big business ... big business pays for politicians, who in their turn make sure that conditions are right for the corporations ... and what suits the corporations is illegal immigrants ... low wages, no extras to pay ... hire and fire at will ... the tragedy is that the Mexican government doesn't give a damn about its citizens, the American government doesn't give a damn about its citizens, and the big corporations couldn't care less about either, as long as they can make a quick buck ....

Answer 6

We need a better unemployment system and welfare system for your ideas to work. If we raise min wage then more people would be out of work. If everyone would stop buying crap at Wal-Mart we would be better off. Most of those people work at walmart and get gov't aide since they still qualify becuase they make so little money. So the worlds biggest corporation get's away with paying people benefits and such and having the US gov't and it's people pay for it. Isn't that great! :)

Answer 7

When I was in high school, I spent weekends and evenings in the summertimes, picking strawberries, mowing lawns and bucking bales.

I hated every minute of it, and I remember breaking my back for 4-5 hours after 8 hours of school for $20 in the late 80s early 90s.

Those jobs taught me alot about the workplace and paid for alot of college.

We're stealing life opportunities from our young people to give to illegals.

Answer 8

Why should they work when they can sit on their fat asses and collect disability, welfare, food stamps, unemployment ect..ect..and all the wonderful ways are government allows the poor to stay poor and unmotivated. They can eat dollar burgers from McDonald's pay their cable bill with their disability and do nothing all day and still live comfortably. Why do you think everyone wants to be an american.........please note the sarcasm.

Answer 9

You know I'm willing to bet theirs ALOT of Americans that have been looking for work for a long time but have been unable to find jobs that would love to do this so call "work that Americans don't want to do", That statement is just another lame excuse coined by GW, so his rich Buddy's can get by with cheap labor.

Answer 10

Your solution sounds good to me,but they would have to overhaul
the whole system to modify it to your specifications. As well,
someone's always going to be around to hire the illegals. Insisting
that everyone work,though-if a way can be found to stop people
from taking advantage of the welfare system,I'm all for it.

Answer 11

Its the truth. There aren't very many Americans who would do the hard labor jobs that they do, and if they would they would want paid double for it! If the farmers had to pay any more than they do now, they would go broke!