Friday, March 31, 2006

Another Immigration Angle

Apparently, I'm not the only one with this viewpoint:

Today's Immigration Battle - Corporatists vs. Racists (and Labor is Left Behind)

by Thom Hartmann


The corporatist Republicans ('amnesty!') are fighting with the racist Republicans ('fence!'), and it provides an opportunity for progressives to step forward with a clear solution to the immigration problem facing America.

Both the corporatists and the racists are fond of the mantra, 'There are some jobs Americans won't do.' It's a lie.

Americans will do virtually any job if they're paid a decent wage. This isn't about immigration - it's about economics. Industry and agriculture won't collapse without illegal labor, but the middle class is being crushed by it.

The reason why thirty years ago United Farm Workers' Union (UFW) founder Caesar Chávez fought against illegal immigration, and the UFW turned in illegals during his tenure as president, was because Chávez, like progressives since the 1870s, understood the simple reality that labor rises and falls in price as a function of availability."

(My bold above.)
Supply/demand. Remember.

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