Thread: WHAT JOBS WON'T AMERICANS DO?

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WHAT JOBS WON'T AMERICANS DO?

by Selwyn Duke
April 3, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

One reason we're supposed to rejoice at the pitter-patter of illegal feet is that foreigners are only coming here to "do jobs Americans won't do." It's one of those basic assumptions upon which the argument in favor of forgetting we have borders, a culture and laws rests, and even President Bush mentioned this "truth" while speaking about immigration reform recently. And, undoubtedly, there are certain immutable laws of economics.

Only, this isn't one of them.

The next time someone mindlessly parrots this mantra, just ask, "What jobs would those be?" As you'll soon learn, the answer doesn't really matter, but sometimes we're shamed by didacts who oh-so-sternly say that illegals are the people who "pick our fruit for us." So, fruit picking - something that must be in league with being a rat catcher in Victorian London or Wile E. Coyote's stunt double - is as good an example as any.

One amusing aspect of the fruit picking fiction is that millions of people in our country engage in this activity as a form of recreation. Why, there are folks who embark upon autumn ventures to the hinterlands to pick apples and consider it a fun family outing. But I digress.

I have to ask, if I paid you $800 an hour to pick fruit, would you do it? Except for the silk and satin set, I have a feeling most would beat a path to my orchard. And this brings us to what is a true law of economics.

There are no jobs Americans won't do. There are only wages Americans won't work for.

And this relates to a fact of contemporary American life: immigrants, illegal or otherwise, depress wages. Oh, some would dispute this? Well, they're wrong and I intend to prove it.

There's another universal, unchangeable law of economics called "supply and demand," and most of us understand it. Regardless of what product or service is at issue, if demand increases relative to supply, prices increase; if supply increases relative to demand, prices drop. And this phenomenon is relevant here. Why?

Quite simply because, like it or not, within the context of a free market system workers are commodities whose value is determined by supply and demand. For example, a skilled neurosurgeon doesn't make a half a million dollars a year because what he does is so important. If that were the case, he'd earn more than people who hit, kick and throw balls around and sign autographs. No, his income is a function of his rarity; create 100 million more just like him, and his salary will become relatively paltry.

Thus, increase the supply of workers relative to the jobs available and the value of workers decreases. This is not opinion, my friends, but hard, cold fact. Immigrants swell the worker pool, thereby increasing competition for jobs, allowing employers to pay less for the same employees. We've all heard of a "buyer's market" and a "seller's market"; well, high levels of immigration transform us from a worker's market into an employer's market. Big business loves it.

Of course, the immigration lobby has an answer at the ready when this truth becomes inconvenient. "How much do you want to pay for a head of lettuce?!" they exclaim.

What's so ironic about this argument is that its proponents are generally the very same people who'll zealously campaign for increases in the minimum wage, an action that can also increase the cost of doing business and, therefore, retail prices. But since they say they want to help poor Americans, let's discuss that.

The natural, free market way to help low income Americans is to increase their value by making them rarer commodities. How do you do this? You guessed it, by severely curtailing (a moratorium would be ideal) immigration. Do that and America becomes more of a worker's market, forcing businesses to offer more money to attract applicants.

Would goods become more expensive? Perhaps, but while this isn't the focus of this piece, that may be more than offset by the elimination of the social consequences (e.g., hospital, welfare and education costs) of absorbing millions of often illiterate (some can't even read and write their own languages) Third World immigrants into our nation. Regardless, this is the traditional, healthy, free market way of spreading the wealth around. And I'd rather redistribute wealth through the market than through socialism.



Lastly, there's another irony here. Cesar Chavez, the head of the United Farm Workers Union during its heyday, is a hero of Americans of Mexican descent. So much so, in fact, that his name is often associated with the dual cause of promoting immigration and the re-conquest of California and the American southwest, known as La Reconquista. Conveniently forgotten, though, is a very inconvenient fact: when Chavez enjoyed the peak of his power, he was a fervid - bordering on venomous - opponent of illegal immigration. And he not only railed against it but often actually reported Mexican illegals to the INS so they could be deported. He also protested illegal immigration on the border in 1969 and had civilian border guards who were sufficiently heavy-handed to make today's Minutemen seem milquetoasty.



What motivated him? Quite simply, he was charged with the responsibility of keeping his union members' wages as high as possible. And he understood the law of supply and demand.

We have a union called the United States. I just wonder if membership therein means anything anymore.

Of course, there's always cheap lettuce.



© 2006 Selwyn Duke - All Rights Reserved

The fact is the illegals are doing jobs Americans aren't even offered.

My first job was cleaning hotel rooms and my husband cooked in a restaurant, jobs young citizens don't even consider now in my area - you know why...

Omitted, again, and something I seldom read, is the impact of the millions of invaders upon the working poor's ability to find affordable housing.

Imagine, my dear patriotic pals, the scenario if.... poof, all illegals are gone. Somewhere between 12 and 20 million souls back in Vicente Foxville and other locales. Wow!!!! look at all those empty apartments, rental houses and trailers... places to live!!!! Supply/demand will see to it that the working poor citizens paying 50 to 75 percent of their income just to place a roof over their pointed little heads will witness a likely rather large reduction in rent. By golly.... those working poor might be able to buy their kids something nice to wear. Perhaps get a car fixed allowing access to a better job. Maybe a few bucks to pay for a class at the local junior college. Imagine how some of the homeless...and there ARE homeless folks who work for a living, will be able to rent a place to stay, get out of that cat or garage where they have been scraping by.

But, our elite class prefers to spit in the faces of the working poor. Maybe it's time to spit back!!!

There are no jobs Americans won't do.
There are only wages Americans won't work for.

great slogan for a t-shirt

Good shirt to wear to a rally!!

There are no jobs Americans won't do.
There are only wages Americans won't work for.

You're right, Mamie. The MAJORITY of workers are, gasp, Americans and LEGAL immigrants.

Let's see, I'm a female American.
My jobs from childhood : (yep, folks didn't have much, so we worked.) for money so we could buy clothes, food, school supplies. Oh yes, family chores were done because we were part of the family, and it was expected that we would CONTRIBUTE to the well-being of the family. Didn't get money for that contribution. We worked for others.

Gardening, pulling weeds, picking up rocks, raking, watering, planting, then as I got bigger and stronger, mowed yards with a push mower, cut tree limbs, etc. Remember, I live in Miami and not on a farm.
We, as a family, picked tomatoes and strawberries. In Ohio, as an adult picked apples. Also, grew all my family's vegetables, while was a new mom.

Cleaned houses, scrubbed floors, ovens, windows. Walked dogs and picked up their poop. Washed and groomed them.

Babysat, as I got older. Did this a lot, for 25 cents/hr. and that included cooking and house cleaning while I was there. Eventually, got up to$ 1.25 as a teenager!

Worked as a cashier in a men's store at 18, also as a checker for a big grocery store...no bag boys then, did it all. Worked in a library.

Worked as a telephone operator, a service officer, and a clerk at U of F employment office, putting hubby through. After he walked out, (10 yrs later), worked full time/part time as a Nurses' Aide(no set schedule) (really a plush job, but great experience with my education) while I was getting my degree in Nursing, full time, and while trying to take good care of my 2 little girls (3 and 5). You see, I couldn't get help because I "wasn't Black or Cuban". This was told to my face by the school's financial office. So, paid the loans back for 5 years, after graduation. Didn't have time to sue for reverse discrimination. Was too busy trying to survive!

Worked as an ER RN for 28 years. Now full time care of my ill Mom.

I'm missing a few jobs.

Oh yes, Americans are soooo afraid of hard work. WHAT AN INSULT!

Americans must pay for their housing, food, utilities, fuel, medical insurance, medical care, water, education, daycare, transportation, entertainment, and children. This means Americans can't survive on the "jobs that Americans won't do".
Illegals pay nothing for the above and therefore can work these low paying jobs while having new SUVs, sports logo clothing head to foot, and five children.

I was told the amount some people pay for public housing in an apartment complex about 10 miles from here --- $1.00 a month!!!