Remember the good ol' days, when teenagers had unskilled jobs available simply if they had the gumption to show up? Yes, even know-nothing, lay-about teenagers were valued way back when. Mostly, the jobs involved busing tables, washing dishes, and harvesting food crops.
And particularly during the harvest season, farmers couldn't hire enough teenagers: they sent buses around neighborhoods to pick up the teenagers and transport them to the fields. Young Fredd was one of those teenagers who boarded the Saunder's Bean Farm bus Monday through Friday, (and Saturday's too: we got a 1/4 cent per pound bonus for showing up on the weekend).
Me and my bean picking buddy would pick blue lake beans near Eugene, Oregon in the late 60's and got paid by ol' man Saunders 2 and 1/4 cent for every pound we picked. If we lasted through the entire season, ol' man Saunders would sweeten our entire season's production by another 1/4 cent a pound. This money paid for school clothes and a little something-something for the upcoming year, perhaps 200 bucks for a season.
Not bad for a teenager in 1968.
But one summer, my bean picking buddy and I noticed some Mexicans show up, in their own car, and out-pick us slouching teenagers by two or sometimes three to one. My record for a single day of picking was 212 pounds, and these Mexicans would pick four and five hundred pounds - every day!!
These illegals were just as unskilled as us American teenagers: only they were in their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties, and understood that the more they picked, the more money they took home to Guadalajara. No bean fights, no 'King-Bean' contests, no chitty-chat, like us teenagers were prone to do. Nope, they busted their asses, from dawn to dusk, and ol' man Saunders LOVED those guys.
Before we knew it, the Saunders Bean Farm bus no longer showed up on our block, and it never returned. All of our jobs, ALL OF THEM, the bean picking gigs were given to Mexicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans. Some of them legal, most not. But they snagged every bean picking job available.
And sent lazy ol' Fredd and his bean picking buddy packing. We really never even knew what hit us. Does anyone wonder why the unemployment rate among teenage Americans is now probably around 50%? Is there any question?
No. These illegals have snapped up the formerly widely available teenage labor market gigs, and now our teenagers roam the streets, looking for trouble with no scratch in their pockets, instead of working for ol' man Saunders.
It just ain't right.
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11 comments:
But we've done it to ourselves, haven't we?
Silver:
Yes, we have. The farmer turns a blind eye to the problem, since his problems are solved. The business community in general turns a blind eye to the problem, since their problems are one of labor cost.
The politicians turn a blind eye to it, since they are beholding to business interests, who contribute to their campaigns.
It's the little guy that gets hurt, such as an unemployed teenager, who had nothing to do with the creation of the problem.
I'm on the fence here Fredd.
Half of me wants to say this is the beauty of capitalism and the other half wants to reject illegal aliens entirely.
We would be paying a lot more for beans.
The jobs that the illegals take are pretty focused to bean picking, restaurant back rooms, masonry, and landscaping.
I have a bigger problem with China taking jobs from teenagers. How many kids would be working in a myriad of industries supporting the auto, or just about anything else.
I walk into my supermarket and 90%+ of what is on the shelves comes from China.
Kid:
The Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits kids under 18 from doing most of what Chinese workers do, and so for the most part, the Chinese are not stealing teenage jobs.
Specifically, hazardous occupations, such as much of the manufacturing in China, involves nasty machines, chemicals, etc., and are not teenager jobs, for the most part. Some exceptions are around, but it is not the rule.
Picking beans is pretty safe, but no longer available as a job for kids: illegals snagged them all.
we did turn a blind eye and THAT is 'just not right,' too.
Around here, Latinos rule the construction sites...threatening the guys who hire if they don't hire Latinos.... they have gone to private homes and threatened with weapons. I know on contractor who had a heart attack from the stress and fear of what he was threatened with.
When he had the heart attack, he had to go on disability and had to go downtown to some center to sign up for it...he said EVERY SINGLE OTHER PERSON THERE was Latino and that there were Latino lawyers at tables outside advising people just how to work the situation. awful.
You're right..our American kids need to be flipping burgers and helping mechanics and selling fabric; but that's not happening anymore...they're doing drugs and getting pregnant and think that's cool. why work? grrrrr
Z:
Yeah, it's getting bad, and we let it get to this point.
The illegals who stole my bean picking gig were pretty peaceful, as I recall. Now they are aggressive as hell, and violence is part of their schtick as well.
We gotta do something. Now.
I have a tough time with this. I don't want illegals stealing jobs or threatening owners, etc. However, you pointed out in your post that the illegals worked faster and didn't screw around. I've spoken with people who have worked with Americans and illegals at construction sites. They all tell me that, as a general rule, the American workers are less productive, take less pride in their work, and make more mistakes than their illegal counter parts.
So if I'm an employer and I want the job done quickly, efficiently, and correctly, who would I hire?
Krystal:
Let's try this analogy: You, Krystal, have only two choices as to who will help you manage your soul: devils and angels. The devils are fun loving, devil-may-care (pun intended) good time folk who are just plain fun.
The angels are a bunch of dowdy, wet blanket stick-in-the-mud sorts who want you to sacrifice and do the right things, even though they are no fun.
You choose.
Now real life: you are a contractor, and you advertise for labor, and a bunch of illegals show up, and you know it's illegal to hire illegals. But they work real hard, and yet are still here against the law of the land.
Then a bunch of teenagers show up, and they don't know much, and are all texting, cursing and goofing around. But they are willing to learn (with a little discipline).
Who do you hire? These are your only choices.
Do you make the deal with the devil?
The market has decided. Who are we to question the market?
If you guys really are Libertarian you don't have much choice, do you?
Ducky: valid point -
if you live by the market, you also die by the market.
Get out of the kitchen if you can't stand the heat.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Etc.
I am puzzled, however, by your comment lumping me with 'you guys.' Libertarian? ME? Fredd??!!
Libertarians have more in common with YOU, Ducky, than with me. Libertarians want to legalize pot (as do you), and they are basically God-less (as are you), and are closer to anarchists than Republicans. Ask Ron Paul.
Calling me a Libertarian really misses the mark. Libertarians suck. They have no support. Never had.
But to your point: the market has spoken. True. But the market has been bastardized by allowing illegals to participate. Much like allowing felons to vote.
BEST BARTENDER JOKE EVER!
A puppet, a black guy, an illegal alien, a Muslim, and a Communist walk into a bar.
Bartender asks ....
"What'll it be, Mr. President?"
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