Thread: I think that the Guest Worker Program is lesser of 2 evils

Wait. Do you all say no on even farm workers? Seasonal farm workers?

I believe in Europe, most of the farm work is mechanized which greatly reduces the need for manual labor. If Europe can do it, so can we.

"believe in Europe, most of the farm work is mechanized which greatly reduces the need for manual labor. If Europe can do it, so can we."

This is true, Europeans have many very specialized machines for agriculture on any scale. Manufacturing the machines is quite an industry,plus they export them. Called solving a problem and adding value.

Does anyone here think that picking crops and planting them by hand in a mass production manner 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, is a life? Ingenuity is what we want so we can build valuable lives that are fruitful and meaningful, that we can build on. Why do we want to evolve a class and an industry using manual labor as a permanent career that takes up all a mans time? Not this Gringo.

I once processed fish by hand, our crew 140,000 lbs. of salmon a day. Now machines do it. Hoooray!! My life moved on, I'm still here, so are the fish.

I still like to butch my rod caught fish. cheers glenn

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I'd support a stringent guest worker proposal as well once the population of millions of illegal aliens currently in the US started to shrink through enforcement.
Bush is doing all he can to take the hill before we get there but he is paying a HEAVY cost and will pay a heavier political cost yet before the public and us are done with him.
W

Strigent guest worker proposal?!! Hasn't America been down that road before? You cant implement a strict guest worker program with a bunch of lawless invaders who cant follow simple, basic rules of law.
And Bush! He doesnt care. What HEAVY cost will he have to bear? He is outta there!
While Katrina takes up the bulk of the news, Bush is behind the lines of getting all ILLEGALS approved to work here. And his latest announcement when all is said and done will be "the Mexican illegals helped to rebuild New Orleans, and therefore it is only fair that these illegals be given permenant legal status as American citizens of the United States."

Has anyone here ever heard someone from Boston use the word "aint" that "NewEnglandGirl" uses in his/her first post?

Everyone knows that people in Boston aint got no sugar in their tea.

W

I think you should do some research into just how many human beings we need to grow food for USA residents. Not a lot.

The foreign worker/guest worker program has nothing to do with immigration. When I went to England for a convention, I didn't 'immigrate' there. When I went to Canada to work on a book, I didn't 'immigrate' there. One was educational, one was for work.

The problem with guest workers though, is how do you get them to go home once they are here. Well, you can't of course.

And we STILL have the problem of paying their medical bills.

We need to do what Europe does. Raise our own food. The communities and the farm owners need to find a way to get Americans out in the fields. One way is for schools to assign some credit to students for working in the fields. That is, high schools and colleges. There are lots of other ways as well.

We also need to not raise food for other countries. that gets rid of most of the need, if not all of it, for foreign workers. If Mexicans can come here and work in the fields for food to be sent to mexico, for goodness' sake they can work IN MEXICO for food in MEXICO.

Okay Lamb--now that is a good argument. Now--playing devil's advocate--what if we abolished all the programs for illegals like anchor baby citizenship? Would a worker program work?

The only 'worker' program we need, and that I would support, is for immigrants such as Siegfried and Roy, Ahnold Scwarheneggwhatever, the Gabor sisters, and people like that.

They were immigrants that came in legally, brought money with them (eventually anyway), are responsible for unbelievable amounts of money coming INTO the country (especially Siegfried and Roy) assimilated respectfully into our country while still not giving up their own culture and language (and names too), obey our laws. There are tons of other examples like Lucy Lawless and many many others.

There is a wonderful performing group called 'Duchicela' that I try and see wherever I can, they are from Ecuador and Guatemala and their specialty is native indigenous lyrics (yes, ancient Indian language!). The last time I saw them in Las Vegas I asked their leader why there were so few of them this time, teh group was so small. He said that they had all gone home but when it was time to return to work in the United States some of them couldn't get back in.

Siegfried and Roy recently tried to sponsor a Cuban dancing group but then they had problems getting them into the ountry. So the group defected.

These people come in legally, bring money into teh country, probably can pay their own medical bills (we can always hope) and obey our laws ands reside and assimilate peacefully here. THESE are the kinds of immigrants we need, these are the kind we used to GET.

The low-skilled farm workers are needed in their OWN countries, and need to stay there except for visiting like i did Canada, Mexico and England.

Again, it's up to us to entice Americans into the fields like we used to do. Back when we cared what kind of country we were.

Yeah that bothers me too. I do videogames and probably half our staff is here on work Visas from other countries like Canada, India, Israel, ect. My producer is Canadian and told me he's paid more than $25,000 and spend years trying to become a citizen, and so far he hasn't quite made it.
That's not fair. I told him he should have just snuck across the border--and he laughed saying those people are just doing the crappy jobs nobody else wants to do.


Hey Lamb will you go to the link below when you have a minute, and listen to the interview John and Ken did with Tamar Jacoby, who is a pro-illegal immigration type from the Manhattan Institute. She lays out her aguments for us needing this invasion--it's an interesting listen to get the other sides POV.

http://www.johnandkenshow.com/audio.php ... 5&pageID=1

John and Ken tear old Tamar Jacoby to shreds near the end of this clip. Excellent listening.

W

I agree, Alipac. It's one thing to sit in a Manhattan penthouse and spew theory, it's another thing to have to live in reality at ground zero.

The most telling thing, for me, is how Tamar says California residents are right to be angry and frustrated, but then pleads a case to keep the invasion going. That is an easy position to take in a Manhattan Think Tank.