It's not a perfect analogy of course, no doubt our relationship with Latin America allows us to have one of the most liberal immigration policies in the world, but the key factor is that immigrants are often brought in to fill lower-level jobs that ethnic natives won't. And that's just Germany; Poles got to enter the UK with ease thanks to the EU (though that obviously may change soon), and filled in those same jobs.
"Brought in to fill jobs ethnic natives won't..." for shit wages and crap work conditions isn't a legit argument to me, and that's often the case.
It not being the case doesn't even make an ounce of sense, if you actually think about it. What it says is, people actually think Americans are superior and foreginers are naturally inferior. Hence, they will just naturally do things that native citizens won't.
That's a complete crock of shit, and you have to know it. Fly over the damn country some time, and look out the fucking window. MOST of the country is farmland. All you'll see mostly- anywhere- is endless farms and feilds. There are PLENTY of Americans doing whatever needs to be done to manage that land and grow things on it. No, it's not *all* flooded full of exploited Mexican workers.
Farming is not something rural Americans ever really had an aversion to- it's something spoiled, idiot, city-born nitwits who never venture out of their bubble think everyone else in the country is unable to do. The problem is, the family farm that used to exist doesn't work as well any more with the increasing expectation of corporate farms full of illegal labor.
And another thing- working class Brits out of work don't think its a wonderful thing Poles are being exploited doing the work their parents used to make good livings doing. Most think it's an outright crock of SHIT- and it is.
I didn't say anything about agriculture specifically, and agree that there are many types of employment where employers are happy to save on wage payments.
This is amazing- so an employer BREAKING THE FUCKING LAW to 'save on wage payments' is perfectly acceptable because... because the fuck why again?
When did people become such suck-ups for whatever business wants? What's next? If it's cool and socially acceptable to dump a company's waste in the nearest river- that'll certain save on some payments' should we allow that too?
There's all kinds of way businesses can cheat and 'save on costs' but if they break the law, why the fuck would anyone cheerlead for that? Why do we even have labor and immigration laws then?
I'd imagine that the jobs you mentioned have a lower delta between illegal wages and minimum wage if anything (I could trust a guy to pick berries for $3/hr maybe but probably not to put in new plumbing), and on top of that, you can probably find plenty of illegals freelancing outside of your local Home Depot or tree orphanage.
There's no reason to hire someone illegally vs. legal labor unless you're paying them below what the legal labor should expect to make, and/or working them in conditions that legal labor wouldn't put up with. I don't care what the amounts are. Do business in this country, and benefit from the advanced infastructure, without outsourcing so some shithole? Then operate within the LAWS. Hiring illegal workforces should be punishable with stiff fines and jail time in this country, as it is in many others that haven't fallen for the stupid ruse of all this.
Based on your $15 wages comment I assume you're not a fan of raising the minimum wage?
It's not about what I'm a fan of- I'm just saying you can't even reasonably HAVE that conversation if you're willing to turn a blind eye to business skirting the current labor laws!
It's like me saying, forgive people who drink and drive- they just want to get home.... allow them sanctuary zones... and in the next breath being outraged that people get killed by drunk drivers and trying to argue why the hell don't we crack down on this?? One position shoots the other right in the ass.
One of the big problems is that there's no incentive to do menial labor for low pay when you can just collect welfare as an American citizen.
Whole seperate issue, but why the hell would I argue for businesses to be able to exploit illegal labor and be happy someone's exploited and working for 'shit'... and then think that EXPECTATION of that work being a 'pays shit' occupation somehow helps the problem of Americans collecting welfare rather than work jobs that pay shit?
So if a citizen once made their living as say, a nanny... suddenly that job is turned to shit because people only want to hire a constant stream of illegals for fucking peanuts, work them half to death, and if they quit, no problem, another will be along. (by the way I know a bunch of people who were in exactly that situation).
Then the citizen finds it better to collect welfare than compete for shit in what used to be a job they could make a living at...
... my solution is to cheerlead for more of the same, and more occupations to be made similar? THAT's how I'd combat that problem?
I guess only if putting 2+2 together and figuring out that supporting that would just be shooting in the ass any of my arguments about people finding welfare better than shit jobs, was too hard for me.
Also, it's not always that welfare is the solution for people displaced from occupations by illegal labor- they just are forced to compete in other industries, adding competition for jobs in those industries, which also drives down wages.
Who likes to show up at an interview for a job vs. 100 other desparate candidates... vs. do 10 interviews for jobs where each is desperate to hire you and willing to outbid the other? Stupid people in this country think the first option is better. Gotta suck up to what employers want afterall, because situation #1 is AWESOME for them, and situation #2 means whining to their government puppets that they need to bring in someone for those "jobs that they can't find Americans to do, boo hoo!" (ie: no one is flocking to the peanuts they want to pay, and the third-worlder 'outsourced-yet-in-country' crap work conditions they want to have).