Scotch Files: Immingrant Catch-22
Unless you are living under a rock or just unresponsibly oblivious to the world around you, you know that one of the hottest topics in this country is ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. I have been having an internal debate on this issue- going back and forth with the pros and cons.
I have come to the conclusion that, just like most other things in the capitalist society in which we live, Corporate America is the real culprit in this issue. And as is customary, they are hiding behind the govt. to keep their hands from actually getting dirty in this matter. Why, you ask? Well look at this main point of debate:
- "Illegals" take the jobs that Americans "don't want"
Looking at this point on face value, you see that for the most part this is true. But looking underneath the surface, I ask the question: WHY? The real issue is not that American's don't want those particular jobs, it's that Corporate America prefers to pay sub-standard American wages for the work. Everyone knows business is always about the bottom line, regardless of what they say. So if I am the CEO of a corportation, regardless of size, I am always going to be looking for a way to increase the bottom line while keeping my costs the same. And America has always moved on the backs of the lower, working class. It started with slavery and continues today with hiring the cheapest labor possible to get the job done. Outsourcing anyone? The thing about the "illegals" is that these corporations didn't have to look far for their next victim. Especially if they couldn't necessarily send the work to India like they do with call centers.
So the next best choice became taking advantage of the "American Dream." Immigrants, both legal and illegal, aren't coming here because they heard the U.S. is the best place to get apple pie, watch baseball and find out if Britney Spears is pregnant again. No, this is the land of gold-plated streets of opportunity and we have been handing out "get in free" passes like they were those annoying AOL cds. The hook was, "Come on in. We'll turn a blind eye and it would help if you keep your skin color on the lighter side of things (Ask the Haitains about that?). The reward was you get a job and you get to live your so-called "American Dream." The catch was, "We'll pay you what we want and without health benefits. But hey, it's better than what you have going for you in your country. And no one will care here cause, 'No one wants these jobs anyway.'" Maybe it is just me, but if I am in their position and someone offers me this deal, I am taking it without asking any questions. And let's face it folks, is the "American Dream" any less of a facade than the "War On Terror" or "No Child Left Behind?" Nope!
So this scenario is playing out and these people are telling family and friends, so the word spreads. Next thing we know, there are upwards of 10 million "illegals" working and living in this country. And there was no real problem until the American public realized that more and more of latino culture was becoming engrained into our society. Read as, no longer just confined to where "they" live. Who hasn't heard this before: "For English, press one. Para Espanol...." For some time, it was just what this country was becoming, people dealt with. But times have changed. It has now become an issue at the forefront of the American concious and it has created one big avalance headed straight for the border like Taco Bell.
I hear Americans complaining about the potential terrorists that can be coming through the border. Or the fact that Spanish is becoming U.S. language 1A. Or that they are eating through public funding with out putting tax money back into the system. But, what is it about European "illegals" that gives them a free pass? Am I really to believe that Latinos are the ONLY "illegals" living in this country and living off the work of someone else's struggle? Or does it really come down to handing out the free pass and not looking forward enough down the road to see that it would cause an influx problem because of the proximity of our respective countries? It's akin to going to the park with the intention of feeding one bird and then being surprised when every bird in the general area is standing at your feet waiting for their piece. How could you not see it coming? Unless you didn't care.
So I am left pondering, "What are the 'illegals' thinking?" My best guess is: They are looking at Corporate America and saying, "Wait a second, you asked us to come here. How come you aren't saying anything to help us?" How could they? Why would they? It would be admitting to the country that they purposefully have been low-balling our citizens. Ken Lay is proving, right now, that "lying to the end" is the credo of doing business. Especially, shady business.
The funny thing is, Bush actually tried to use the "illegal" population to win the last election. Anyone remember that registration bill that he introduced. Basically, he said, "You can stay here, we just need to know who and where you are." It didn't work but, the point was to try to persuade the latino community that Bush "understood" and "was on their side." Now fast forward a couple years. Same situation, but I am hearing a completely different tune. Although, who expects Bush to sing the same tune in back-to-back minutes, let alone years.
Moving back to the main point, Corporate America, the help of the govt., has put the "illegals" in a catch-22 that they probably won't be able to get out of. Regardless of how many times they protest, it won't be enough. It may cost Corporate America a little more to do business in the midst of strikes, but ultimately that cost is going to be passed on to the consumers anyway. Whick leads to an interesting aftershock that I don't think many of the general population recognize. If the country were somehow able to remove all of the "illegals" from our country, how much of an increase in costs would be tolerated before we start complaining about that too. The point is, everyone is happy when someone else is braking their back for them. No one wants to break there back for themselves. If a crew of "illegals" are building houses for sub-standard wages, what happens when those companies have to pay more for the labor to build those houses? The result is it will cost more to purchase it. What happens when farmers start to charge more for their crops because the cost of cultivating and harvesting them has risen? What happens to the businesses whose goods and services are heavily purchased by these "illegals?" What happens to the children who are born here and have every legal right to stay here, but their parents do not?
This issue is so much deeper than them being here or not being here. I originally set out to prove my theory of Corporate America being the reason for the influx in "illegal" immingrants. But there are so many contributing factors that I am not really sure if I did that or not. I would spin a little more time on this, but I have invested all that I can today. I just hope people realize this now because no one will want to remember the things being said today, if the tide turns later.
As with all of my entries, post a comment. Maybe you can bring a different angle to this that I can't see right now.
posted by Scott Scotch @ 09:55
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