Mickey Kaus makes some good points on immigration but…

Mickey, the question is, are we suffering a labor shortage or are we suffering a shortage of people who will accept below minimum wage. Are we suffering a labor shortage or are we suffering a shortage of people who will work without Workman’s comp and other workplace niceties that legal workers must by law be provided? Are businesses like Tyson foods and Mohawk Carpet employing illegals simply because no one will work for them or because no one can work for them on their terms aside from illegals? What will businesses like Tyson Foods and Mohawk Industries do after the current crop of illegals are brought forward into the system and those businesses are forced to treat them as legal employees with all the attendant costs?

Is it possible that these companies having developed this addiction for employees who cannot run to the E.O.C. and who cost so much less to employ through direct costs of wages and insurance and indirect costs in the form of workplace safety, will suddenly see the light and hire legal employees?

Additionally if those illegal employees see their advantage in the workplace over American workers vanishing should they become legal will they desire to price themselves out of the market just for the privilege of paying taxes?

Enforcement in the workplace and a border fence must come first. Real enforcement carried out over the course of years against multiple companies where executives find themselves in jail for violating all sorts of labor laws. That might go a long way to assuring the American public that this latest amnesty program isn’t merely some smoke and mirrors dog and pony show by politicians looking out for the most important person in the world, themselves.

Tony’s got a deal for you! By Mickey Kaus: “I agree that this is the deal that can be cut–in part because there seems to be nothing all that terrible about a legal guest worker program, as long as it draws its workers from those waiting in line outside the country (and not those who’ve jumped the queue and already snuck in). Guest workers aren’t illegal immigrants, after all–and one way to discourage illegals is to give opportunities to legals. A flexible guest worker program could offer some insurance against a labor shortage, just in case border security measures actually work. “

Other posts on immigration
Mickey Kaus makes some good points on immigration but…
The Reason Amnesty won’t work even if President Bush hoodwinks us into passing the “comprehensive bill”
Call your senators, ask them why they are condemning the Republican party to minority status!
Congress
Politics
GOP
conservatives
Corruption
The Washington Post
The Washington Examiner Immigration border Illegal immigration

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One Comment

Part of it is, in fact, a legitimate labor shortage. I work about 500 yards, as the crow flies, from a large Tyson plant. A good proportion of their employees are illegal, but a good proportion (15% +/-3%) of those at my employer’s place are, too.

They are getting the going rate for entry level common factory labor, which is about $10/hr after 90 days.

They get the same benefits I do, at the same price. Medical is $20/wk, and Dental about $5, family coverage. And so on and so forth. After 1 year of employment, if they want a 401k, they can have it. I punch the timeclock too. Granted, I’m hardly “general labor”, and I do get paid a bit better. But they get the same chances I do at everything, and it’s all quite affordable.

For the record, in spite of the fact that I want the illegals gone, and I don’t like the way our .Gov is pandering to them, I probably wouldn’t have my job if it weren’t for them. If the labor shortage had continued, and my employer was having to pay $15/hr or so for general labor, they’d probably have just outsourced the whole thing to China or somewhere.

There is a need. It needs to be controlled, and regulated. I’m no happier with the open borders thing than anyone is.

But when you have manufacturing going on in semi-rural areas, help gets scarce. We do need some. Emphasis on “SOME”.

And that’s a fact.

2. jefferson101 on May 20th, 2006 at