Thread: African-Americans sold out by immigration non-enforcement

June 24, 2010

Sold Out

By Fred Pasek

Once you accept the premise of minority set-asides in government contracting, it becomes clear that African-Americans are being sold out by current immigration non-enforcement.

Ask an African-American to choose between allowing a policeman to check Americans' immigration status so he can get a fair shot at being awarded a contract and having his "civil rights" protected by not allowing the policeman to check and losing the contract because of it, and chances are excellent he'd choose the former. The Obama administration is asking African-Americans to choose the latter.

The states and federal government typically set aside 12% to 25% of all construction projects for minority business enterprises (MBE). That number is determined by dollar volume, so a $1,000,000 project will typically require that at least $120,000 of it is awarded to an MBE. Consider how many of these kinds of projects flooded the streets with the implementation of the stimulus bill, then add the total of all the other non-stimulus projects budgeted over the last few decades, and you realize that the dollars being awarded to MBEs are astounding.

Due to language limitations, illegal aliens in the construction industry are typically hired by Hispanic small businesses. African-American owners typically hire African-Americans. Since some Hispanic small business owners often are paying the illegal aliens under the table to avoid paying the unemployment insurance and other taxes, they have an inherent advantage when they bid on contracts -- a very big advantage. In essence, they cheat.

Some people claim that illegal immigrants only take the jobs that other Americans don't want, but that's not true. While the flood of illegal immigrants is primarily laborers, the MBE requirements don't specify what type of work gets awarded; they simply specify what percentage of the work is to be awarded to an MBE. By taking the labor-intensive installation contracts, Hispanic businesses scarf up the lion's share of the MBE percentage of the contracts and leave the African-American subcontractors, the electricians, security system providers, etc. to battle over the MBE scraps.

They don't have to compete head-to-head for the African-American-owned business to be cheated. The African-American-owned business may be bidding on the plumbing against white-owned businesses, while the Hispanic-owned business is bidding on the drywall installation against white-owned businesses. Let's say the African-American-owned business puts in a bid that is slightly higher than the bid of a white-owned business, while the Hispanic-owned business is the low bidder because of his inherent advantage. The Hispanic-owned business gets the contract, and that may be all that project requires to meet its MBE requirements. But had the Hispanic-owned business been forced to compete on an even playing field by paying its employees as it should, it would have bidden higher than the white-owned business. At that point, the contractors would look at the difference and select whichever MBE was closer to the white business's bid in their respective scopes. If the African-American-owned business was closer, then it gets the contract, and the Hispanic business is on the outside looking in.

If the Hispanic small business owners were forced to pay their employees full wages, then the number of contracts African-American businesses close would increase exponentially. They would have to hire and train new employees, and since African-American owners tend to hire African-Americans, unemployment in the African-American community would fall. Not only that, but by shrinking the pool of illegal immigrants, the Hispanic and other owners who hire illegals would be forced to pay better wages. It would be better for the employees.

The notion that this would cost us more in the long run is absurd. Look at how many unemployment benefit extensions have been passed by this administration alone. Those dollars don't even begin to measure the cost to our economy, because they don't take into consideration crime, school taxes, and that illegal aliens tend to send a large portion of their wages home. Instead of urban areas like Baltimore or Detroit getting a much-needed infusion of cash, some other country gets it.

Of course, it wouldn't be enough to simply deport illegal aliens, or to grant citizenship to the ones we feel have earned the right to stay. MBE requirements would have to include far stricter verification that the work is actually being done by the MBE contractor's own forces. As it is, it's far too easy to skirt the requirements. It's common for contractors to hire white companies and to simply run the paperwork through a minority contractor, who gets a 5% fee for processing it. If we're going to insist on this sort of social engineering, which adds countless dollars to the bids on federal and state projects, we may as well get the full benefits of the program. Currently, far too often, a rich minority owner gets a little richer, but since he's not required to do the work, he doesn't have to hire and train new employees. It's a farce.

The Obama administration, the NAACP, and the ACLU have sold out the African- American community. As they press on with their lawsuit against Arizona, they don't do it for anything so noble as the desire to prevent racial profiling. The administration does it to garner the Hispanic vote. Everybody knows it. And the Hispanics you see out there protesting the law are protesting out of simple greed. They know that if the United States did something about the illegal immigrant situation, they would lose that edge in price that the illegals give them.

The mystery here is why the African-American community plays along in silence. Perhaps they hope that once enough Hispanics enter the country, the evil Republicans can be vanquished from power forever, and then America will become some sort of land of milk and honey for them. If they do, then they're fooling themselves with childish daydreams. What they need to ask themselves is whether or not they want a fair shake at contracts and a chance at urban employment, or whether they truly have become the Democrats' dogs.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/sold_out.html

AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN (AFRICAN-AMERICAN) I'M NOT AT ALL PLEASED AT WHATS HAPPENING IN MY COUNTRY (U.S.A.). ITS TIME FOR ALL AMERICANS TO COME TOGETHER AS ONE AND STOP OUR COUNTRY FROM FURTHER RUIN AND EROSION BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. ITS UP TO US TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK AND TELL MEXICO AND ITS GOVERNMENT TO GO STRAIGHT TO H**L ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Thank you for speaking up Lady. I can't even discuss Obama or Arizona with my African descent relatives. They have been soooooo insanely and emotionally attached to Obama and what he represents, not what he is and does, that we have a mutual unspoken agreement to not even try to discuss. Without even asking me they of course dissed Arizona instantly as totally racist (on a blog and on Facebook.) I think that now more news and opinion is coming out and the Gulf has happened they are starting to have a painful awakening - but we still cannot discuss it yet.

I was so offended by Al Sharpton (no surprise) and Danny Glover (that was a surprise that angered me) coming to Phoenix and stirring the pot with their name calling. Then suddenly he shut up and disappeared - which I am glad for - but what about a retraction or an acknowledgement that the situation is much different than what he thought? I am just really curious and want to know what happened.

Living in Florida there are 2 things that I have noticed. First alot of the African Americans who used to work in fast food places are no longer there and have been replaced by Hispanics and the gorcery store has hired more of them. In fact I had a cashier speak Spanish to me on more then one occassion so if have to go to that store closest to my place for the few items I buy there I go to the African American cashiers. Another thing many people fail to realize is that there are alot of illegals here from Haiti, Jamaica and other carribean countries especially in Florida. If you look at those with immigration holds in the Broward County jail many times you will see almost the same number of illegals from the carribean as you do hispanics.

I think its time the African American Community gets some answers

I agree with you, but it will not happen. When 95% of our black citizens and a large number of white liberals still feel Obama is doing a great job--there is no chances. Hispanic voters who support illegal immigration also know that supporting Obama will keep the rest of the country in a divisive mode.

I have, after more than seven decades of life come to, sadly, realize that the majority of voters do not know or care to know what is good for our country. They vote blindly and emotionally. Except for the Civil war, I do not believe that our country has ever been more threatened.

I agree misterbill. A friend of 35 years called me "really white" a couple of months ago. These comments have been consistently surfacing since Obama was elected. She claims to be a liberal Dem. What is it about this administration that has brought out the division among us? He seems hell bent on giving the country away. Why can't the average American see that? I don't see him promoting African-Americans. I see him doing anything he can to put a wedge between everyone in this country in any way he can.

Divide and conquer.

I've noticed WAY more divisiveness between races than ever before since BO was elected and I think that is just what his handlers had in mind for us...

African-Americans usually vote for democrats. What have the democrats ever done for them since Kennedy?