Illegal Immigration: It’s the Wages, Stupid

Mike the Mad Biologist

Some brilliant Republican solons from the great state of Missouri have released an official state report that argues that abortion has led to illegal immigration. The ‘argument?’

Abortion has eliminated U.S. workers, leading to a need for illegal immigrants.

Clearly, these brilliant minds have never heard of the meat-packing industry. The meat-packing industry used to be unionized, and, consequently, virtually all of its workers were either legal residents or citizens. Then the unions were busted, resulting in crappy pay and dangerous conditions, and many people–rightfully so–did not want to be meat-packers. So who would take these jobs? Desperate people, including…wait for it…illegal immigrants.

In many industries populated by illegal immigrants, documented workers won’t take those jobs because they are awful jobs. Improve wages and working conditions, and you’ll see more legal workers in those work sectors.

Is there anything other than gays and fetuses that the Republicans think about?

Comments

#1 Barry
November 21, 2006

Please note that there are workers for a reasonable wage; offer a job for $10/hr, and you will have your pick. $7-8, and you’ll keep reasonable well-staffed.

What these guys want is a lot more workers, so that a minimum-wage, dirty, unpleasant job will have a waiting list of applicants. Of course, these guys do assume that *they* won’t be among those applicants.

In ‘What the Matter with Kansas’, the author finds some hard-core GOP right-wingers who are very ‘religious’. I don’t say ‘Christian’, because they seem to find lower wages to be an admirable goal. They look at the large meat-packing areas of Kansas as a model for the future – low wages, no benefits, no job security, frequent injuries, workers burned out/broken and discarded after a few years.
#2 JeffW
November 21, 2006

Have you read “Freakonomics”? The authors of that book make the argument that legalized abortion led to the precipitous drop in crime that the U.S. experienced in the mid-1990′s. It’s an interesting argument (and book).
#3 Joshua
November 21, 2006

The Republican Party: Gays, guns, and gametes.
#4 Jeff
November 21, 2006

Actually it would be gays, guns and zygotes. I can’t recall even the most crazy religious coots calling for sperm or egg rights.
#5 Joshua
November 22, 2006

What about their attempts to restrict access non-abortive contraceptives like Plan B or the Pill, then? Sure, they’re only interested in female gametes (funny how they never think to ban condoms), but they seem to care an awful lot about what happens with those.
#6 Deep Thought
November 25, 2006

While you guys indulge in a hate fest, consider this – if immigration and employment laws were actually enforced, the meat packing industry (and construction industry, and large-scale commercial corporate farming) would be forced to increase safety (at least) and wages in order to stay in business. The ability of these businesses to hire illegals allows them to articificially decrease wages and safety, creating hellish conditions that are largely ignored.
#7 GRUMPY OLD MAN
November 25, 2006

Not really a very Deep Thought if you want my opinion. (And even if you don’t) Higher wages, organized labor, better conditions, better safety? You got to be Joking man. Why do you think there are more people of Irish descent in the US than there are, or ever have been, Irishmen in Ireland. They were brought over by the boat load to stop improving conditions for the American Worker. And just how much would you be willing to pay for a pound of steak or a head of lettuce to see the conditions improved? The only way to stop this is put the bastards who hire these people inside for about 5 years for every infraction of the law. You can build a fence 100 feet high all along the boarder and it will not stop these people from coming. Hell, the California farmers would be chartering ships to bring them in. Make it possible for them to live in their own country and not starve and you will solve the problem. Utopia anyone?
#8 mirc
March 26, 2009

thanks