Q, you have a lot to offer on many issues.
I agree with you that the illegal worker debacle has allowed industry to undercut wages and lower the floor for working standards. I'd like to see the problem addressed and the fix is apparent...if we penalize those who hire illegals severely enough they'll stop hiring illegals and the problem will be solved.
Of course that would require that our legislative representatives brace powerful agri and other industries who benefit from the existence of a cheap, politically powerless and illegal work force. That hasn't happened yet because evidently all the screaming "reform illegal immigration" hypocrites seem more interested in gaining political advantage than in solving the problem. And guess who the biggest hypocrites are???
The rest of your post wasn't very thoughtful, i.e.;
"To earn a decent living in the USA you only need a few traits and capabilities, show up to work on time and be interested, be able to read and write, be willing to work hard and be flexible, continuously learn whatever you need to get ahead.
Many of the people I see struggle the most in life do so because they are stupid and or lazy. There is not much you can do for them.
I dont recall ever seeing a skinny poor person in this country, at least not a legal one. I have spent plenty of time in the checkout line with fat ass families using government funds buying all sorts of crap I would never eat. Cash used to buy smokes and alcohol and food loaded into a vehicle I would not put so much money into..."
If you truly believe that any person willing to work hard can earn a decent living in this country and that it's the fat and lazy who struggle then you need to open your eyes.
Even if you ignore the fact that millions of people who are willing and able to work hard can't find jobs, the REALITY is that some of the hardest working people in this country DO NOT earn a decent living. What I'm saying is that many times there's actually a negative correlation between hard work and compensation.
If you don't believe me then step into the kitchen of the last busy restaurant you ate in and look for the person cleaning leftover food off the plates you left on the table, reaching into the steaming hot dishwasher to pull out the clean plates and stack them, loading the dirty ones and sweating like crazy, red faced, chapped hands, moving hard to keep up with the never ending buckets of dirty dishes. Ask how much he or she makes. In busy places that person will be the hardest working and lowest paid in the business. Now why is that?
And why is it that poor people are often fat? There are probably many reasons but one of them you should understand well. High fructose corn syrup types of foods are probably the cheapest foods on a per calorie consumed basis.
"I grew up in a house that struggled paycheck to paycheck through the recession in the 70's."
Then by my standards you weren't "really poor."
We have a fundamentally different view of poverty. I see people overwhelmed by circumstances and you see people fat and lazy. I know that there are people who are fat and lazy but do you understand that there are millions of people who are well motivated but ill suited to survive in a competitive work environment? It's going to get worse for them, not better. Ed |
