John Podhoretz can be counted on to defend the Bush Administration, that much is sure. But not sure that I would want him defending me if he actually means what he posted here.
The Corner on National Review Online : “Um, Mark Krikorian… [John Podhoretz]
You write: ‘Watching a show with that Honda robot walking up and down stairs and the rest, all I could think of is that the Japanese are developing humanoid robots and we’re importing illiterates from south of the border who’s going to end up with the better deal?’
Gee, which country’s economy grew from $3 trillion to $5 trillion between 1990 and now and which country’s economy more than doubled, from $5 trillion to $12 trillion? The country that did vastly better is the county that ‘imported illiterates.’ Posted at 12:20 PM”
Does he actually want to attribute our terrific economic performance to the fact that we employ people here illegally? Does John really think it is a good idea to attribute our stunning economic growth to the fact that some employers use illegals to avoid the costs of legal employees. You know stuff like the expense of paying them minimum wage, paying workman’s comp insurance, unemployment insurance, observing workplace safety laws (Meatpacking industry’s safety record has plummeted since they discovered illegals) and other untidy little details. Does he want to trumpet the fact that if you employ illegals you get the added benefit, aside from the lower direct costs of insurance and wages, of having a nearly captive audience not likely to run to the Government to complain about safety since on one hand the illegals may not even realize we have laws against that stuff and on the other hand they certainly don’t want to bring legal attention to themselves. Does John consider those sorts of facts pluses?
Is John trumpeting the fact that those illegals are lowering the working conditions for all the workers in those brackets? Is it ok since many of them don’t have a high school education? Is being an elitist snob a pre-requisite of being a Bush Bot.
Finally does John actually believe that cheap/slave labor is the secret of economic growth? Wonder why the South didn’t do so well…? Does John really believe that our productivity relies on the backs of the day laborer who recently swam the Rio Grande?
Mark Krikorian of Center of Immigration Studies does a better job than I explaining the matter to Bush Bot Jpod .
Don’t miss this New York Times article The Worker Next Door
Other posts on immigration
Kabuki Theatre in DC, Fun Facts I Wished I Didn’t Know About Illegal Immigration
Doing the work that Americans won’t do…and other Bush Fables
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!
Technorati tags
Congress Politics 1 GOP conservatives Corruption The Washington Post The Washington Examiner Immigration border Illegal immigration
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