Obama's aunt living here illegally

[SueW]

I'm in 100% agreement with you on this

At least this one, anyway (J/K!!!).

No, this is one of the complexities of how to approach it. There's a price for everything...garbagemen make about $60K or more because no one wants to do it. But at that price, you start finding people willing to do it. So I feel like this would be the same with these other industries - money talks. Of course the flip side is that then the business has to pay so much more for the same work that prices will certainly increase - and it could possibly make a service or item too cost prohibitive to produce. It's also possible even more things would be farmed out to other countries for cheaper labor rates. I suppose strawberries could end up costing $6/lb or more. Probably lots of things would cost more....certainly if it all happened at once, it would be a huge impact. But if we had never gotten into the "habit" of hiring illegal immigrants, we might not have noticed the difference - that it costs a lot to get your house cleaned by someone and you pay the price to have those CA strawberries. Probably only the wealthy would get their house cleaned and not just the dual-working families (heck, my neighbor who is a SAHM with 3 kids in school all day pays to get her house cleaned - she has the time, she doesn't want to do it - and for $50, she can get it done).

So I do agree that realistically there probably has to be some sort of guest worker program...but then there needs to be some wage garnishment or something to cover some of the education and healthcare costs that these workers and their families enjoy.

And finally, we've made these jobs to seem so low-life that only a migrant worker or illegal immigrant would be willing to do, but if we Americans didn't have this sense of entitlement, and we really needed a job, maybe we'd go out there and clean some homes and pick some strawberries. It seems now there's so many people sitting around collecting unemployment because they're "too good" to work for that kind of pay. I wonder if people felt that way back in the 1700's...sometimes you do what you need to do to make some money.

This whole post may open a can of worms....I by no means am trying to claim "expert" on this one....but growing up in AZ, now living in TX, it really is a huge drain on the system. Don't get me wrong...I do believe Mexican workers are very hardworking individuals....they are out there in extreme conditions not making a whole lot (although it's a lot of money compared to Mexico's economy and oftentimes they send it home to family)...but not paying any taxes and overcrowding the schools and healthcare systems really affects US as Americans - our children aren't getting educated as well and of course our healthcare is a mess - this doesn't help the situation.

SOMETHING needs to be done - we can't just keep sitting around watching it happen...I don't think Amnesty is the answer, however.

OK...I've rambled....

you haven't rambled (and I can't ramble with only my left hand) and I agree with all that you have said here. I'm just jealous of your SAHM neighbor!

However, as much as illegals tax america through use of social services, they also help the nation by keeping costs down. one way or another, we will pay. I'd love to see a cost analysis. I'd also like to see a legal way for these workers to enter the country and not be prey to the human cargo smugglers and exposed to dangerous work conditions that legal workers would be protected from through OSHA.

Sue

[RachelK]

One of my college majors was sociology and it really opened my eyes to how messed up this country is in terms of the labor force. One of the books we read in my "social inequality" class was Coyotes. I am rereading the book right now to refresh my memory but basically migrant workers come up, sneak over the border, and do these jobs that no one else wants to do because the pay is too low and the work is too hard. Then they go back when the "fruit picking season" (or whatever) is over. They send money to their impoverished relatives in Mexico. The $6 they make per hour here pays for a lot in Mexico, but it does not pay for anything here. The min. wage that so many large corporations pay is absolutely pathetic and I do not blame people at all for not wanting to work these jobs. Who wants to work a grueling full time job if the income doesn't pay for decent housing, food, childcare, medical care anyway? Who can really support a family with $6 an hour? There are a large number of working people who actually live below the poverty line (meanwhile CEOs rake in billions for themselves). It's an outrage. I don't understand how, in the wealthiest country in the world, we have so many people struggling. The level of income inequality is higher in the US than any other industrialized country. But people gripe about Obama and "socialism" and "redistributing the wealth." If corporations actually paid people fairly and gave decent benefits to workers at the bottom, then maybe we wouldn't have to talk about taxing them more.
And BTW, social services is approx. 1 percent of the federal budget so I don't understand why some people gripe so much about "welfare." If people want to gripe about tax dollars being wasted, then gripe about the war in Iraq, which is a much higher percentage.
However, I will agree if TX has a very high percentage of illegal aliens who need social services, yet the whole country is benefiting from the work of the illegal aliens, then something should be done to relieve TX from this burden. More federal money going to TX for social services?
Sue--i agree with you. If Mexicans come here to work and benefit our society by their work they should not be treated the way they are.
Rachel

[renate]

Well, they are a drain on our society .........

is Obama responsible for his half-aunt? Did he sponsor her or even know about her situation? You know, my retirement fund dropped 30%. My wrist/arm surgery was denied coverage by bcbs - $17,000. people and businesses are leaving town. I don't give a rats ass about someone's deadbeat aunt right now.

Sue

And if we did not have to educate, feed, house and give them free medical care, maybe more of taxpayer money would be available to help you.

renate