Los Angeles Protests: A Symptom of Capitalism
Stan Grimes
March 28, 2006
Approximately a half-million people demonstrated peacefully on the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday. Thousands of others demonstrated in cities across the United States protesting the bill before the Senate making it a felony to be in the United States illegally and would penalize employers for hiring known illegal immigrants.
Most Americans realize we have a major problem on our hands with immigration and that some logical and fair solution must be realized. What that solution is, has yet to be determined. Such uproar from grassroots America has not been heard or seen since the protests of the Vietnam era. It would be a statement of the obvious to say that something must be done. Unfortunately, this problem runs much deeper than simply a matter of people, millions of people, entering our country illegally. It runs deep into the pockets of Capitalism.
How much would you rather make, $1.00 an hour or $8.00 an hour? That’s a question that many Mexican immigrants (legal or illegal) ask themselves. Is crossing the Rio Grande at the risk of dying in the desert on the other side worth the risk? Why do people from Mexico take the risk?
Capitalistic countries wish to make money. They devote their entire existence on making money, production...production...production. If industries can’t make money by paying its citizens $15.00 an hour, they will search for someone wishing to work hard for $8.00 an hour. It’s as simple as that, nothing complicated. Capitalism has invited our neighbors from the south to risk their lives, leave their families, and pay (that’s right...pay) “coyotes” to lead them through the deserts in the land of prosperity.
How would you like to pay $15.00 a pound for hamburger? Meat packing plants all over the U.S.A. are hiring legal and illegal aliens. None of them are screaming, “Keep those Mexicans out of our country.” Heck no, would you if you were running a business? Let’s see now, I could hire American citizens for $18.75 an hour, union wages, or I could maybe turn my head at the green card-less immigrant. What should I do? To pay union wages I’ll have to raise the price of hamburger to $15.00 a pound and lose my business to the chicken plucking industries. What should I do?
We want our government to stop the massive influx of illegal workers. That’s a laugher. Why would our “lawmakers” (politicians) want to disenfranchise themselves from Capitalist big spenders, big contributors? Is it because they are just a bunch of real nice altruistic Thomas Jefferson wannabes? No. Politicians do not want to stop the wheels of Capitalism. It’s how they get elected. Without millions of dollars, no one gets elected.
Solution? How about opening up the borders? Do we not live in a global economy? No? Our leaders tell us it’s a global economy and we need to get used to it, NAFTA and CAFTA initiatives prove it... right? What’s the difference between sending our businesses and industries to a foreign land for cheaper wages then allowing foreigners in and letting them work here for a cheaper wage? At least if they’re living in this country legally, they’ll have to spend some of their money here, e.g., rent, food, clothing, gasoline, and microwaves.
The wheels of Capitalism, or Calvinism, have kept our rich, rich and our poor, poor. That’s just the way it is. After all, “Ye shall be known by the fruits of your labor” (I think I paraphrased some kind of biblical thing there...not sure).
About Stan Grimes: Stan is a regular writer on Useless Knowledge Magazine, an author of three books soon to be published, and a social worker in real life. He leans to the left politically and leans towards the Midwest when he heads home.
Most Americans realize we have a major problem on our hands with immigration and that some logical and fair solution must be realized. What that solution is, has yet to be determined. Such uproar from grassroots America has not been heard or seen since the protests of the Vietnam era. It would be a statement of the obvious to say that something must be done. Unfortunately, this problem runs much deeper than simply a matter of people, millions of people, entering our country illegally. It runs deep into the pockets of Capitalism.
How much would you rather make, $1.00 an hour or $8.00 an hour? That’s a question that many Mexican immigrants (legal or illegal) ask themselves. Is crossing the Rio Grande at the risk of dying in the desert on the other side worth the risk? Why do people from Mexico take the risk?
Capitalistic countries wish to make money. They devote their entire existence on making money, production...production...production. If industries can’t make money by paying its citizens $15.00 an hour, they will search for someone wishing to work hard for $8.00 an hour. It’s as simple as that, nothing complicated. Capitalism has invited our neighbors from the south to risk their lives, leave their families, and pay (that’s right...pay) “coyotes” to lead them through the deserts in the land of prosperity.
How would you like to pay $15.00 a pound for hamburger? Meat packing plants all over the U.S.A. are hiring legal and illegal aliens. None of them are screaming, “Keep those Mexicans out of our country.” Heck no, would you if you were running a business? Let’s see now, I could hire American citizens for $18.75 an hour, union wages, or I could maybe turn my head at the green card-less immigrant. What should I do? To pay union wages I’ll have to raise the price of hamburger to $15.00 a pound and lose my business to the chicken plucking industries. What should I do?
We want our government to stop the massive influx of illegal workers. That’s a laugher. Why would our “lawmakers” (politicians) want to disenfranchise themselves from Capitalist big spenders, big contributors? Is it because they are just a bunch of real nice altruistic Thomas Jefferson wannabes? No. Politicians do not want to stop the wheels of Capitalism. It’s how they get elected. Without millions of dollars, no one gets elected.
Solution? How about opening up the borders? Do we not live in a global economy? No? Our leaders tell us it’s a global economy and we need to get used to it, NAFTA and CAFTA initiatives prove it... right? What’s the difference between sending our businesses and industries to a foreign land for cheaper wages then allowing foreigners in and letting them work here for a cheaper wage? At least if they’re living in this country legally, they’ll have to spend some of their money here, e.g., rent, food, clothing, gasoline, and microwaves.
The wheels of Capitalism, or Calvinism, have kept our rich, rich and our poor, poor. That’s just the way it is. After all, “Ye shall be known by the fruits of your labor” (I think I paraphrased some kind of biblical thing there...not sure).
About Stan Grimes: Stan is a regular writer on Useless Knowledge Magazine, an author of three books soon to be published, and a social worker in real life. He leans to the left politically and leans towards the Midwest when he heads home.
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