06-29-2018, 10:08 AM
I just happened to see Matt's post in the comics thread after having a long discussion with one of our employees about immigratns, unions and what happened to the american worker.
It started with him lamenting his time in Florida and how the illegals moved in and destroyed the pay scale (in the 1990's)
As we went back and forth he said they would live ten to an apartment...and fill multiple apartment buildings....saving their money and barely spending anything. Then some of them would get legal and they would end up buying the businesses that closed when they couldn't compete with the cheap labor. Now the immigrants are living BETTER than the previous owners because they work hard and know how to do it.
My response was...No kidding! That's how it works. You work, save your money and then better yourself.
But beyond that don't blame the guy willing to work hard for less money: Blame the guy who figured hiring them would make HIM more money and driving everyone else out of business.
He also blamed the elected officials for not enforcing laws and protecting the legal workers.
I told him they don't care about the workers...they care about who is lobbying them to make laws.
He said at the time if there were 50 constructions companies in his area there were five using "illegals".
So I asked why the other 45 didn't band together, fight for strictor hiring laws. Instead they looked at the guy hiring people cheaper and decided THAT was the way to go to increase their own profits and protect their own hind ends.
His argument was that that would have taken time and they might have lost their businesses by the time it was all sorted out.
I answered that they DID lose their businesses in the end.
Business owners saw a hard way (lobby for their employees and keep paying them a living wage) and an easy way (go with the competition and hire cheap labor) and they chose they easy way. That's THEIR fault. The kept screwing everyone from their own employees on up until there was no one left to screw and they ended up screwing themselves.
The reason unions are under attack, the reason living wages are scoffed at, the reason "they're taking are jobbzzz" is a mantra isn't just greed. Nope, It's just easier. The guys at the top will suffer last. So they play the odds that they will never suffer.
Had we had businesses willing to defend the american worker for the last nearly 40 years we'd be a great country still. Instead we are a country divided by the workers wondering what happened and looking for someone to blame and the owners that are really to blame by spend their time deflecting to everyone else.
It started with him lamenting his time in Florida and how the illegals moved in and destroyed the pay scale (in the 1990's)
As we went back and forth he said they would live ten to an apartment...and fill multiple apartment buildings....saving their money and barely spending anything. Then some of them would get legal and they would end up buying the businesses that closed when they couldn't compete with the cheap labor. Now the immigrants are living BETTER than the previous owners because they work hard and know how to do it.
My response was...No kidding! That's how it works. You work, save your money and then better yourself.
But beyond that don't blame the guy willing to work hard for less money: Blame the guy who figured hiring them would make HIM more money and driving everyone else out of business.
He also blamed the elected officials for not enforcing laws and protecting the legal workers.
I told him they don't care about the workers...they care about who is lobbying them to make laws.
He said at the time if there were 50 constructions companies in his area there were five using "illegals".
So I asked why the other 45 didn't band together, fight for strictor hiring laws. Instead they looked at the guy hiring people cheaper and decided THAT was the way to go to increase their own profits and protect their own hind ends.
His argument was that that would have taken time and they might have lost their businesses by the time it was all sorted out.
I answered that they DID lose their businesses in the end.
Business owners saw a hard way (lobby for their employees and keep paying them a living wage) and an easy way (go with the competition and hire cheap labor) and they chose they easy way. That's THEIR fault. The kept screwing everyone from their own employees on up until there was no one left to screw and they ended up screwing themselves.
The reason unions are under attack, the reason living wages are scoffed at, the reason "they're taking are jobbzzz" is a mantra isn't just greed. Nope, It's just easier. The guys at the top will suffer last. So they play the odds that they will never suffer.
Had we had businesses willing to defend the american worker for the last nearly 40 years we'd be a great country still. Instead we are a country divided by the workers wondering what happened and looking for someone to blame and the owners that are really to blame by spend their time deflecting to everyone else.
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
