Tomatoes and Cheap Labor
- From a California school teacher
"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:
I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large
southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school,
meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.
Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High Bell Gardens,
Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also
Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free
lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of
milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and
juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is
monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten
(OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK).
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least
moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed teenage pregnant girls
(some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids (OUR
TAX DOLLARS AT WORK).
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding
for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my
budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the
computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been
carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel
humbled and grateful to have a free education in America (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK).
Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc., etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements? To those who want to point out how many these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs. Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes. We need to
wake up.
The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't
have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return? There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right
and legal way.
It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world
culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting
pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to
assimilate, and an American culture that has become too weak and worried
about "politically correct" that we don't have the will to do anything
about it. CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage. Consumers don't want expensive produce.
Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. But the bottom
line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a
lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor." Take, for example, an
illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or
$6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax,
yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an
"earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free. He qualifies for Section 8
housing and subsidized rent. He qualifies for food stamps. He qualifies
for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care. His children get free
breakfasts and lunches at school. He requires bilingual teachers and
books. He qualifies for relief from high energy bills. If they are or
become, aged, blind o r disabled, they qualify for SSI. Once qualified
for SSI he can qualify for Medicare. All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense. He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance. Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.
He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits. Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his. The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up. * Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people. "
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by sharik
