When times are tough (many seem to think those times are now—a topic for another day) people in general and
especially Americans look for a scapegoat. The whipping-boy du jour is
illegal immigration. The state of Arizona has claimed that illegal immigration is a special drain on their economy and recently enacted some yet-to-be-tested-in-court laws, which appear to be blatant racism.
In Arizona (when/if the law goes into effect) if you are unable to understand the police officer speaking to you in English...you're under arrest. He may not have had probable cause before, but he does now. A city in Nebraska has
followed suit. (Apparently, elderly republicans fear the whipping-boy du jour more than the rest of us; I wonder if FOX "news" has anything to do with that.)
Years ago, I worked for a brief period of time—in Arizona—for a hotel. I was their handyman. I replaced broken toilets, rewired light fixtures, maintained the pool, cleaned fireplace soot, built a table to fold sheets and towels on...stuff like that.
The new management instructed the old housekeeping staff to provide proof of work-eligibility. Within a week, half of them collected paychecks and never returned. The remaining housekeepers provided Non-Resident Alien cards (green cards). Several appeared altered. One was legitimate and the picture could have been
maybe Maria's face (but was probably her sister) however, the name wasn't close—it didn't even begin with an M. When asked, Maria said, "I go by Maria. Ever since I was a little girl. But if you make my checks out in my real name, that's OK."
The hotel management turned a blind eye to the probable infractions because there wasn't many other people wanting to clean hotel rooms for minimum wage and they had complied with the letter of the law.
But if they are illegal (the complaint goes) they're not paying taxes.
FACTS: Every employee was paid the same way—by check—FICA, Medicare, Medicaid, Sate taxes, Social Security, workman comp, unemployment comp...all deducted. The illegal immigrants would (will) never be able to file a tax return nor obtain a refund, never be able to apply for medicare or medicaid, and never be eligible for social security or unemployment or workman comp. All their money went (is going) into the Federal and State treasuries and never being withdrawn.
Over
43% of American citizens pay no taxes but 100% of the illegal immigrants do (if not being paid under-the-table).
Employers paying cash off the books are the true law violators. Employers of this ilk are not only un-American but are acting like communists—and not in a '
everyone contributes for the benefit of all' way, but more in the manner of the '
bourgeoisie sucking the lifeblood of the proletariat'.
SOLUTION: Financially cripple every employer who hires from the parking lot of Home Depot, who pays migrant workers in cash at the end of the day, and who never deducts taxes/social security from their "contract" employees wages. Extremely heavy fines (sufficient to drive these violating employers to bankruptcy) will cause those who are not caught to alter their practices.
RESULT: It'll cost you $8-$10 for a package of berries or nuts and $200-$500 a month to have your lawn maintained. All the places where illegal immigrants have been "invisibly" working will have to raise their rates in order to compensate (car wash, construction, kitchens, etc). Oh, and the immediate drop in un-refunded/un-claimed state and federal monies will obviously have to be rectified...I suspect with an large increase in everyone's taxes.
Toleration—
the greatest gift of the mind—
requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle. — Helen Keller (Born 130 years ago today)
For sixteen weeks of infantry basic training my unit exercised and ran in combat uniform and boots. The Army soon changed its policy. Trainees began wearing running shoes and a temperature-specific training uniform when they exercised. I recall disparaging comments I made about these new recruits—they would, obviously, not be as tough as I.
