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Danny’s Gone
Everyone makes mistakes. I’ve made a bunch. It’s the ones that start small and seem insignificant that sneak up on you over time that are the ones that have the biggest consequence. The mistakes that lead to other people getting hurt are hard to confront. But the most pain comes when a mistake ends up hurting a child. I’ve done that.
I’m not writing about this to cleanse my soul (I wish it were that easy). I’m hoping that readers see this story and learn from my errors. I think my mistake has been made a few million times the past decade or so. It’s just time to discuss the consequences of our actions.
About ten years ago I was in need of a big hole. I have enough property to always need something. This time it was a drainage ditch and a dry well. I knew that there were workers looking for jobs in a nearby town. I’d heard about it from neighbors who had gone to a corner in Ossining, NY where day workers from south of the border came in the mornings. I didn’t think much of it at the time.
Sure enough, there were workers. Construction trucks were picking up guys. When I drove up a half dozen came up to me. They all talked a fast Spanish, they all wanted a job. For no particular reason I chose one. His name was Caesar. Two days later what I wanted done had been accomplished. A nice job at that. I paid cash for the work. It was $80 a day, plus I provided food.
I drove him back to where he lived at night; a not so nice apartment that he shared with eight others. I didn’t think much of it at the time.
He had my telephone number and called a few weeks later and said, “I need work”.
I understood that this was a cry for help from a guy who was having trouble getting food money. I had a ton of things that had been left undone. So I said, “Yes”.
So it became a few days a week. That lasted awhile. I introduced him to others. Everyone needed work done. It turned out that Caesar had many skills. He was a good mason and could lay up stonewalls. He was a painter, gardener, a decent mechanic and a pretty good rough and finish carpenter. He was from Quenca, Ecuador (small city outside of Quito). He had a wife, Ruth, and a daughter who was then three years old. He left his family to come to America.
We talked while we worked, I spoke “Spanglish” he spoke broken English, we understood each other perfectly. He, of course, was here illegally. He had made the long trip from Ecuador to NY via the Texas border. He came to the US because (his words) there were no jobs an no future in his home country. We became friends of a sort.
After a year or so, Caesar had saved up some money. He sent $10,000 (via Citi) back to Ecuador. This was the payoff money to the Coyotes who would transport his wife to the Texas border. She made the trip in the back of a box truck. She was raped on the way.
She was dumped, (with 20 others) in the brush country outside of Brownsville, Texas. She walked to the lights of the city and took a bus to NY. Thousands of “Ruth’s” made this trip.
Not too long after she made the long journey she was pregnant. This may have been the result of two devout Catholics and a long separation. But it was also a defensive move on their part. They knew that a child born in America would automatically become a citizen. They believed that if they were the parents of a American child they would never be deported. A common belief that has led to many children being born to illegal workers.
They named their son Danny. A healthy and happy child. Life was good for the family during the early part of the decade. There was steady work for both of them. Housekeeping for Ruth, Caesar worked construction. In 2003 they had a combined income of $60,000. A number that made them “rich” compared to the world they had come from. They were living the same dream that millions of immigrants had when they came to the US over the years. The difference, of course, was that they were illegal and had no right to be here. They bought fake Social Security cards (easy to get back then).
They lived in an area that was exploding in population of men and women who had come from Ecuador. Word travelled back to Cuenca that work and money was available. Over the course of just five years the illegal population exploded in the towns of Ossining, Peekskill and Mt. Kisco. Bodega’s and restaurants popped up.
Danny grew up fast. I saw to it that he had the medical attention he needed and later pulled a string or two to get him into the local schools. There were birthdays and holidays that I contributed to. He came to my home and I taught him to swim. Unlike his parents, he took to the water and swam like a rat. He called me, “Grandfather”. I was okay with that.
Danny was as much an American boy as any you could find. He spoke English perfectly (much to his parents chagrin). He liked American football, he didn’t play soccer. He loved basketball. He did fine in school. He made many friends. He was invited to the birthday parties of his classmates. He was a very happy kid.
Around 2005 my feelings on what was happening began to change. What had started innocently enough was now morphing into something that was no longer innocent. It was clearly a population explosion that would end up with a bad result. I slowly changed my views. I saw the risks that were developing for all that were involved. This change of heart was influenced by people who knew I was helping a family out. Some made it clear that I should not be helping the “Browns”.
I tried to make things right. I hired a lawyer and sponsored Ruth to become a US citizen. Her application was accepted in 2005. The formal notice that she was “in line” to become legal was a source of a great celebration. Six years later her application had still not gone anywhere. Not one single applicant from Ecuador was given immigration status (Green card) in all those years.
I saw to it that Ruth kept a record of all of her income. She paid taxes on what she made, the same as anyone would do. I thought this was important. It would prove that she was playing by the rules. I thought that the tax records would support her request for citizenship. It never mattered at all.
I no longer hired Caesar. I wanted him “on the books”. So he found work where no one asked questions about his legal status. If he had a SS card (illegal or not) there was plenty of work to be had. Somehow that quasi-legal status made it “right”.
Things fell apart for this family starting in 2008. The recession killed the construction industry. With that went the jobs the illegal’s had come for. The unemployment rate for the illegals went from functionally zero to at least 50%. Caesar was only able to find “pickup” work a few days a week.
I saw what was happening. I urged them to go back to Ecuador. I offered them the money to buy plane tickets. They wanted none of that. They stuck it out in the hope (like so many others) that the US economy would turn around. It never did.
Around 2010 there was a new challenge emerging. The local police began targeting the illegals. They stopped the cars they drove in to work. The cops were clearly profiling (they swore they were not). ICE (Immigration, Customs Enforcement) raided a few businesses that hired these workers. Jobs disappeared as a result. To make things worse the illegals were subject to random attacks. One was beat to death while in the custody of the police. A once happy immigrant community was scared to walk the streets.
Ruth, Caesar and Danny stuck it out as long as they could. But Caesar was stopped by the police and was given a summons to appear in court.
I was gone last week. When I got back there was a message on the phone from Danny. He was leaving the next day. He was crying. He wanted to see me before he left. When I got back I went to his home. He was already gone.
Think what it must be like for a ten-year old boy who is American as any of us to be forced out of the country. Think what a strange life he faces in a country that bears no resemblance to what he grew up with. He will not fit in. He doesn't speak Spanish fluently. His parents are back in a place that they know. They are also back in a place that has no opportunity for them and their son.
I know in my heart that I’m partially responsible for Danny’s plight. There is not much I can do about it. I will find him someday. I’ll try to make this right. But the damage has already been done. There is a ten-year old American boy whose life has been ripped apart. That’s a fact that is very hard for me to come to grip with.
**********************************
There is little to celebrate this Labor Day. There are so many Americans who have no work or are doing jobs for little pay and no upside. The illegal workers who came here in the good times are leaving in droves. In 2007 there were 12mm in the country. The endless recession has reduced that number to 8mm in just a few years. The depression we are living through has hurt many families. The ones that are on the bottom of the rung are paying the biggest price. Families like Danny’s have been hurt the most.
I know that many readers will think that my participation in this story was all wrong. That Danny and I deserve the pain we have. I expect a fair bit of criticism for this. Trust me, no words you can write would make feel worse than I do. I think of Danny all the time. I pray that this American child is safe.
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This is such a beautiful commentary on the challenges Americans face today. We have gone from the growth capital of the world to a weak and challenged nation. Welcome to Laborless Day in America.
Immigrants and refugees take risks and move to other countries as their Lives are threatened. Every human being would view country boundries as artificial if there was desperation in their own lives. Humans do what it takes to survive.
Ironically, BigCorp in this country fosters illegals because it is a way to drive down wages. Illegals can be abused from many perspectives. This country is schizophrenic when it comes to illegals. The cheap labor is great but giving these folks anything...no way.
I have worked with a group of sudanese refugees who were resettled to the US (legally) in 2001. They were first to feel the job losses here when the crisis came in 2008. As a result they have migrated in mass to the meat packing plants of the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. The working conditions are appalling but they are proud and need to support themselves and family member back home.
Most people responding to this blog post are judgemental. It makes some people feel better about themselves to put others down as they think that raises them up.
We are all members of the human race. Some of us are luckier than others. We are all trying to make our way.
In my opinion Bruce should do what feels right. If he feels inclined to Contact Danny and the family, do it. After all, what is more important in life than the relationships with others?
It's Bush's fault.
Nice story. How do I know it's true? There's been quite a few liberal bloggers exposed lately for coming up with BS stories in order to influence public opinion.
...eh, you ain't been reading Bruce too long... he doesn't go off-topic like this often
there's a time and a place for skepticism and doubt
assholes like you are all over Fox - better lay off the boob tube for a while
you got a bad habit that prohibits your heart from feeling into the truth
Dear redneck patriot asshat,
Where are your angelic legal white American fuck yeah labor heroes? They aren't in the queue with the evil job-stealing, dog-eating, sister-raping brown laborers when the hiring is being done.
Oh wait, I see them now. They're standing in a different line, waiting for their electronic benefit transfers at the Walmart soup kitchen, like they were trained to.
sincerely, stfu, diaf,
ceg
I grew up not far from your farm Mr Krasting, from a lower middle class family. I'm now in my 30's,
There is an entire generation of American born men (and some women) who have less than a two year college degree, and plenty of tradesmen also, who did not benefit at all from the boom years from the tech bubble through the 2008 recession due to wage supression from the influx of labor supply to our area.
The situation for young men born in your area, who are just a eager to settle down and raise a family around Ossining, is just as challenging as that of your Ecuadorian family.
The number of children born to legal residents/citizens in your area on SNAP cards and other social welfare benefits is at levels unseen in American history.
Those police have to walk around a community seeing their childhood friends and classmates struggling for honest work due to the corner cutting done by the top 10% to 20% of income earners in the area regarding all trades and manual labor. It's real hard for LEOs to walk around town when everyone knows they are keeping a blind eye to the obvious illegal aliens floating through the communities, and to the unscrupulous contractors hiring illegals.
You should read the article by Victor David Hanson on his return to his hometown in the Central Valley of California.
http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson121610.html
December 16, 2010
Two Californias
by Victor Davis Hanson
National Review Online
Similar situation has occured in large swathes of our area, HAVE YOU DRIVEN THROUGH SPRING VALLEY LATELY? Areas that were solidly African-American as little as 10 years ago now have schools where over 50% of the students do not speak English as home.
I now see African-American families fleeing historically middle class black suburbs due tro the influx of illegals. Many of those areas will never again be "American" in any historical or even contemporary sense of the word.
--------------
Growing up lower middle class had me working construction jobs in my youth, I got nothing against many of those guys on a personal level, however there were truly large numbers of sociopaths running around, and the justice system was heavily tilted and still is tilted in their favor. They were getting DUIs with expired tags in south Westchester county and getting summons on their fake IDs, if I were to have committed same crime I would have been immediately arrested and my car impounded and confiscated.
Thanks for the link to Victor David Hanson. I just spent an hour reading some of his very articulate essays.
Perhaps if you had a young son who could paddle around Bruce's pool you could get some work on his farm.
Go into a Chase aka Rockefeller Bank. They no longer hire caucasians even in white areas where there is not a large non-english speaking population. Obama voters and recent immigrants. I think it is called ethnic cleansing.
I am not having a go at Bruce because he is one of the best posters on here and seems like a very decent guy.
Evocative story. The authors conduct and emotions are admirable but a distraction not central to the lesson here. The parents Caeser & Ruth were/are the sole source for these events. The authors role was that of a shill and his role was bound to be filled by someone / anyone. The authors die was cast by the choices of Caeser & Ruth and not at all by himself, as he mistakenly believes. So then, what of the parents Caeser & Ruth? Why would a husband expose his wife to a life-threatening journey where she was raped and could have encountered worse? Why wouldn't Caeser have taken his windfall earnings and return home? Was greed a motive? Why would a couple give birth to a child in a country where they know they have no legal standing?
To me, this story is clear. The parents made poor choices. We all have the choice to make our life the best of what it can be legally, or to break the laws, and seek more through illegal actions. We all have the choice to break the law. Caeser did that. Swayed by greed and poorly educated.
The author is a complete asshole. Instead of spending a few bucks to hire someone legal, he enables more moochers to come leech off of our system (how much did it cost to educate their kid, eh? did you send a few thousand to the local school district to pay for him?) and then cries about it when they finally get deported- and good riddance to them.
What a complete shmuck. Those of who live or have lived in areas overrun by illegals have the quality of our education systems plummet while the cost skyrockets, the hospitals are burdened by their families in the ER, crime goes up, and it makes things a general misery for those living there.
My state (SC) has a law that requires audits of businesses to prove documentation of their workers and it has helped a little. The school district I used to live in was able to drop two ESOL and one special education teacher when the illegals started leaving. The lawn care crew for the complex I lived in at the time was suddenly young guys happy to be making $10-12/hour.
Kick 'em out, kick 'em all out. They arent immigrants, they are invaders and should be treated as the criminals they are.
Must agree, baby.
Typical Country Club Limosine Liberal Guilt.
And said Guilt also fully justifies Bruce breaking, what, 100 different laws?
Just try to imagine how many securities laws Bruce has broken...
And broken then for the "right" reasons, of course.
Bruce, if you really care about Third World people...
Move to Ecuador for 6 months and make a difference...
But please start obeying American laws.
"But please start obeying American laws. "
Nice sentiments. While you're beating Krasting up with your relativistic Nerf bat, can you apply them to oh, say, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, virtually every member of Congress, the liar and anti-Constitutionalist corporate fascist Obama, the Bushes, Clintons, Eric Holder, the creators of MERS...........
...words fail me.
Mean spirited, yes.
Judgemental, yes.
But the US is under a soft invasion, do not shy away from this fact.
Is it lonely on your pedestal up there?
Bruce, well written and touching.
Bruce, thanks for sharing the story.
You left out the part where Danny's grandparents lost their SS when they were deported.
-Just that much more for Obama's illegal relatives.
Is this a great country or what?
I guess Bruce won't be squirting any tears for Danny's grandparents.
You did nothing wrong (other than the illegal part) until you built distance these past few years and then gave up this week. You should hire some people to find Danny and family and continue to give them a leg up when they need it. Finish the damn job man.
Don't be half assed like when you said oh well, if IP goes up in smoke I'm toast, so who cares.
Bruce, Your column on this has touched me. As a child of immigrants I don't believe you did anything wrong. If things had worked out differently they might have made great American citizens. Those who would snipe at you for helping, don't understand.
Thanks for writing this, be proud of yourself. Danny will return one day.
Ceasar and Ruth are odd names for Ecuador.
Don't beat yourself up over the role you played unless you believe that material wealth is the only path to happiness. Ecuador isn't currently Somalia & however unlikely there is no guarantee we are forever immune.
Besides, no one lives anywhere near a perfect life, under close examination, we all only attempt to make others believe that we have it better than the rest by the costumes we wear and attitudes we present.
After all, opportunity is really a function of requisite skills matched to who you know. A lack of menial employment is often a disguise for a criminal history (however minor or guilt by association) or being socially ostracized for whatever reason. A new country served our founding fathers very well for much the same reasons but even your story shows the effects of influence, trust and referral.
In the end, having love, health, enough to eat and shelter (Maslow's hierarchy) are all that are really needed in this brief time we all have on earth, the rest is not a right but a gift. We can look back or around in history to see what a true life of deprivation and burden is like, but we will not be around to see what life will be like when the population of the world exceeds the ability to provide for so many. Feeding, clothing, housing 6 billion people is one thing, but 12 billion, 24 billion? Will what we think of as "opportunity" have the same meaning in 50 to 100 years from now? Will how to achieve it depend more on skill or social standing?
Labor Day is an important holiday to celebrate as it is already hard enough to fit a camel through the eye of a needle without the whole world trying to squeeze through as well. Living as we do under the belief that material wealth is the only path to happiness and freedom is the exclusive domain of a populace that believes that avoidance of hard work is the path to sustainable opulence.
Third,
Caesar and Ruth are pretty typical names in southern Ecuador as are, Wilson, Washington, Jefferson, Stalin, Trutsky, Lenin, etc. This being said, I commend you on your post---well said.
Caesar and Ruth are typical Ecuadorian names. Sid Caesar is the home run king of Ecuador and Babe Ruth was Ecuador's greatest TV comic.
Man, you better hope no one from IRS, ICE, etc. reads this or your next post may be from jail.
No no. ICE would arrest him if he hired a white caucasian.
I used to live in a hurricane area. My house was built in the 1970s by "red necks" aka the liberal slur for working white men. Well during the hurricanes, my home had zero damage. The almost new homes built largely by illegals had a lot damage. During the storm, I had no concerns because I knew the "good old boys" built the house like a bomb shelter.
A few weeks later when they finally got the power back on, it was "red necks" from power companies all over the southeast. These good old boys were working from sun up into the night getting the power back on. No ***king way I am rewiring power lines at night in the dark but these guys were and they did an amazing job. There were also a few awesome Canadian crews who drove all the way down to help out.
Not sure what this post has to do with anything. Things were better made on the 70's we did not for example import drywall from China. I do not think you can blame illegals for shoddy workmanship when just about everyone know that the quality of housing has gone down because of cost cutting, besides even if this was true it would fall on the company's owner\supervisor for hiring or not supervising them
BS. I looked at houses built by Americans versus illegals and there is a big difference. I am not talking about union labor either. Illegals are decent in laying roof tiles and doing pavers but most of the other work is crap.
That is because they are generally not what we would call skilled labor. I'm not trying to argue with you but you would have to agree that the quality of houses back in the 70's beats just about anything being made today. Your post should have reflected an apples to apples comparison like you did with the statement "I looked at houses built by Americans versus illegals and there is a big difference." Now just because I can be a jerk the politically correct statement should read "I looked at houses built by legals versus illegals and there is a big difference." Technically some of those houses could have been build by legal immigrants :-)
I love the type of posts that get the ZH commentariat to reveal their true colors. It's always good to have a reminder of what caliber of people are hanging around here.
Pardon me, but weren't you the same Chet who was angry at Wikileaks for releasing those cables. Wasn't it your contention that they were breaking American laws and putting American lives in jeopardy because of their actions. Didn't you even support the assassination of Assange, as what he had done goes against the legal fabric of America?
Now, here is a case where somebody has surely broken an Americal law by being here illegally and another person is breaking a Federal law by hiring them, and you are okay with that? Where is your moral turpitude now?
Talk about entering the twilight zone.
http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=16665&security=1601...
http://www.mnforsustain.org/immigration_hiring_law_excerpts_from_us_code...
I am the same Chet who argued that Assange was putting people's lives at risk for no better reason than his own aggrandizement. I don't believe I made any arguments based on US law because he is a foreign actor.
My main complaint was that he was risking lives, and spilling national security information for no better reason than to embarrass a country he doesn't like. Seems a weak reason to put people in harm's way.
In my opinion, I was right about Assange from teh beginning and a lot of people here were wrong.
Assange most likely works for the CIA, he has nothing but embarrassing things (no real intel)about the USA but some real intelligence on some other countries, besides if he was a real threat he would have disappeared long ago
It's also a statement on the caliber people who are "American" because unless you're Native American, your folks would have been blessed to meet a man like Bruce when they crossed the Atlantic like so many of our ancestors did to make a great life for us.
The difference is my ancestors came thru Ellis Island LEGALLY.
They learned to speak english.
They did not recieve untold monetary assistance.
I was in California years ago and watched a carload of illegals, who were drunk, drive thru a glass storefront at a gas station, and of course the police came.
The Illegals were allowed to walk away!!
I'm sure they would be blessed just like the Rudkus's were blessed when they found work in the meat packing industry.
parents (such as the illegals) make decisions all the time that impact their children, both good and bad. true, the story of danny is sad. that said, there's an impact to americans as many here have mentioned. so while i feel compassion for danny maybe he'll learn from the mistakes of his parents, and not blame his situation on the usa which is not at fault.
the high school i went to was almost 100% white, middle class workers. today it is virtually 100% illegal alien with esl. the high school and the city changed in 30 years to something unrecognizable that resembles matamoras, mexico. at the same time white folks in texas and other states are minorities because of a tsunami of illegal immigration. most folks already know this, just my two cents, fwiw.
What this anecdote tells me is that there are, as I have iterated time and again, that there are too many people in this world, not just the disUnitedStates, for the work available to be done.
We are short some 2 billion jobs, maybe more. A few hundred illegals not finding work is hardly a dust mite on a flea's ass.
With a growing world population and a declining ability to innovate fast enough to generate industries and services that add value to the global economy, and with it new paying (forget very well paying) jobs, there are decades ahead of misery, deterioration, and regression. It began about 10 years ago, and is now accelerating.
This isn't the time for soft headed feelings. It is a time for each individual so affected by the reversal to invent his or her own way out of the malaise that is going to catch more and more in the net.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", is a great primer on what must be done when one is 'stuck'. It has the only prescription that works, and government never enters into it.
Sorry you are having a meltdown over it, but this is as predictable as the tides and if one is at the shoreline during the incoming tide, mistakenly thinking that it is neap, then woe 'betide' him.
your view of the world as a finite resource is one of the causes of the problems the world is facing
why do immigrants need to come to the US for work?
is there not resources in Ecuador? is there not a need for housing? a need for roads? a need for medical care?
the US economy didn't magically appear. through hard work, vision, luck, and yes murder, crime, and cheating, it was built from nothing.
the idea that wealth is a finite resource is a cultural failure that is being encouraged to keep the world's population in poverty. it is the same lie that perpetuates the ponzi and gives value to fiat.
anony,
Sorry, but from my side we are not short any jobs----too many of us is the short answer. In this New World so many are afraid of----the lack is not jobs, but food, clothing, and shelter.
We are too productive and yet unproductive at the same time. What about paying people for not being obese or anything but healthy? How about paying them for producing clean food and not polluting our mutual habitat? How about not sending a bunch of idiot kids off to fight for the banks and pols, killing, maiming, and destroying people and societies we do not understand?
Sorry, anony---nothing personal against anyone, but when do we wake up to changing the stupidity we have been conditioned by? I'm too old to listen to this sos-------let's just learn to live together, please.
om
Well Said Sir. Thanks for sharing the story.
Funny things about borders, one day your borders may not be yours. Ever think about that? Or that 300 years ago, a blip in some peoples' history, the United States didn't even exist and the land belonged to other nations and tribes. Can you honestly say what will happen in the next 300 years?
So, I don't thnk you did anything wrong by helping out fellow human beings in need, even though they are "illegals." What is "legal" and "illegal" is mostly full of shit. Just look at Wall Street and your CIA/Pentagon, they have made a mockery of laws. Look at this living zombie called Dick Cheney parading arround without a heartbeat.
Another thing, as we head straight into GD2 this October (that's when the sheeple will finally realize the mess they are swimming in), countries like Ecuador and the other "third-world" nations in South and Central America, without the menace of the Yankees to meddle in their affairs, will do much more than just survive, they are going to thrive just they did before the "Washinton Consensus" or "neoliberalism" or the co-opted "Monroe Doctrine" blighted these countries. A case in point: Honduras used to be the breadbasket of Central America that is until the U.S. and the IMF and the World Bank showed up.
And for those of you dumb enough not to know what they are, it's the modus operandi whereby the EEUU keeps 5-10% of the population rich and happy . . . to control and rape their resources and the rest of the 90% people.
Well, the good news in the words of Malcolm X, "The chickens are coming home to roost."
Well I guess it not right to exploit nations’ populations but when it’s done on an individual basis you call it "helping out fellow human beings." Please explain the difference in exploiting a country's cheap labor and driving to Home Depot and exploiting the immigrants?
Please explain how entering into a voluntary economic exchange is 'exploitation'.
The person did not have the right to get paid minimum wage. We can debate the law but the law is the law. Also by using your example of "a voluntary economic exchange" then how does "the menace of the Yankees to meddle in their affairs" be considered exploitation after all what he is talking about is in your view point "a voluntary economic exchange," and coincidentally the point of of my post.
No, the person didn't have the right to get paid minimum wage - he got a paid a wage, instead of being unemployed.
This is a common fallacy even amongst ZHers. If the government insisted (say) that all chairs had to cost at least $100, do you think there'd be more, or fewer, chairs sold? The same applies to wages - raise the price of labor above its natural clearing price and there will be less labor consumed.
Frankly, I'd rather be paid less than minimum wage than be unemployed. More to the point - it should be my choice, not the government's, whether I choose to accept that job or not.
"Frankly, I'd rather be paid less than minimum wage than be unemployed. More to the point - it should be my choice, not the government's, whether I choose to accept that job or not."
Been saying that for 10 years. What the minimum wage has done (at least in the UK) has curtailed wages/salaries for the folks on the next couple of rungs of the ladder. Minimum wage has gone up, if admittedly not much, every year. At this stage, my significant other is now effectively doing 50 hours a week of skilled, mentally challenging work for barely £0.90 an hour more than the idiots (and I know all of her employees personally, so I feel secure in saying that) moving the inventory from place to place and working a cash-till, for 40 or less hours per week.They get wages, she gets a salary.
The problem, of course, being that we, and most of the former 'overseer/middle manager' class that made semi-decent money a few years back have mortgages. While all but one of my wife's underlings live in social housing. So they pay only a nominal rent, avoid a number of taxes, etc that we as 'home-owners' cannot avoid. The upshot being that we actually have a lower standard of living than many of these minimum wage buggers. And we have NO other debt other than that mortgage. No credit cards, no car finance, nothing. Can't fucking afford it. Not that we'd borrow the money to buy shit we don't need even if we could, of course. Both of us have a semi-religious aversion to paying interest on a pile of worthless paper and have had for 10+ years.
I see you ignored the second part of my post but oh well. I will go further on this post and I agree with you about the minimum wage law, but what Bruce did when he went to find the illegals for work was to get a cheap source of labor. I feel that this is no different than a corporation moving it's factories to South America. no2foreclosures states that when these companies\countries do that they are exploiting the population but ignores the same behavior of the author (Bruce). By your statement you would agree with my original post which is if Bruce's arrangement with Caesar is a good arrangement and mutually beneficial, why is the same arrangement in mass exploitative? Is it not also a choice and beneficial after all I get paid and I'm not unemployed if I work in a South American factory? What is the difference? Why is one so beneficial and the other exploitative, both provide a source of income to the worker and the hiring agent gets cheap labor?
I suspect we are talking past each other at this point.
I don't think there is anything wrong with companies moving operations offshore. These companies are going offshore because our citizens have repeatedly elected governments that promise them the moon, and then those governments have enacted ruinous legislation in their attempts to deliver. Either these US companies move offshore, or offshore companies will out-compete them and they will go bankrupt. The only way to prevent this is to enact full-blown protectionist tariffs - and we saw how well that worked with Smoot-Hawley.
We need to slash the size of government if we wish to bring manufacturing back to this country. We simply cannot compete with countries that do not tax their citizens and businesses into the ground.
It seems to me @no2foreclosures point was more about US government meddlings in other countries by overthrowing their governments and installing right-wing despotic kleptocracies, which to my mind really IS exploitation, and quite different from hiring cheaper overseas labor in mutually beneficial exchange.