Re: [privacy] Social Security Card to be National ID?

["Alex Eckelberry" <AlexE () sunbelt-software com>]

Brian -- the problem is it's virtually impossible to enter this country
legally. 

I run a fairly well-sized company.  In a state with basically zero
unemployment (Florida), getting good people is virtually impossible.  I
do not like the offshoring model, insisting that our core teams are here
at our head office (call me old-fashioned, but I believe it works better
that way).  This puts me at a significant disadvantage in terms of
getting high quality employees.  Often, we get people in other countries
who want to come to Sunbelt and work. However, the gauntlet you have to
run in order to get them here makes it an extremely difficult
proposition.   And forget it if they don't have a degree, or a graduate
degree. 

I also live in a state where getting legal talent for blue-collar jobs
is beyond difficult -- it's basically impossible.  Again, the
zero-unemployment problem.  All of the construction is done by Mexicans.
Legal, illegal, whatever, the general contractors just require the subs
to have their basic paperwork.  And that is not a guarantee of legality.


But the Mexicans do contribute economically, at least in this state,
since the state has no income tax (Florida relies almost exclusively on
the sales tax along with taxes on cigarettes, booze, and gasoline and
lottery proceeds to pay its bills). Hence, the Mexicans pay sales tax
when they buy stuff and contribute to the economic system to the same
degree that anyone else does.   And if they use a fake social, well,
someone else is going to get a nice retirement benefit, I suppose.  But
they are paying into the system. 

Yes, when they go in for emergency treatment (which is quite a bit rarer
than one might think, as they exhaust their home remedies first and use
the hospital as a last-ditch effort), the state pays if the immigrant
can't afford it.  Well, guess what, it's the same as for many other
low-wage earners in Florida. 

As regards "felons", that is a broad generality. While bad people come
over, I find little evidence that the number is any larger than the
felons-at-large we have in our own system. 

I'm not "pro" illegal immigration.  We do need reform.  We need to make
it possible to bring in the low-wage earners that keep this country
going.  And we also need to be able to bring in the high-wage earners
that help us remain competitive.  

The solution so far is for companies to go offshore, which most mid to
large-sized companies have done to some degree.  That doesn't really
help anyone.  I'd rather have illegals than that. 

Alex

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Loe [mailto:knobdy () gmail com] 
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 12:15 PM
To: Alex Eckelberry
Cc: Randy Abrams; C Q; privacy () whitestar linuxbox org
Subject: Re: [privacy] Social Security Card to be National ID?

On 5/21/07, Alex Eckelberry <AlexE () sunbelt-software com> wrote:
> You know, don't ask me.  Talk to contractors.   They'll tell you the
> American's aren't showing up for the jobs.   As an example, there's a
> local contractor trying to do a job at a local air force base, and 
> since the rules are so strict on immigrants, he has to use Americans.

> That project will take a _long_ time.  For every job he posts, he gets

> 100 Mexicans and 1 American.  But don't take my word for it.  Ask the 
> contractors for yourself.

The contractors around here have no difficulty in getting workers - they
call 'em employees.

> And these aren't menial jobs, either.

Yes, they are. They're dirty, hard labor jobs. Anyone can do them, not
many can do them for a long time.

> If you're in California, try to find some Americans to pick 
> strawberries, artichokes and all the rest of the food that California 
> produces.  It's all migrant labor.

And its seasonal. There's been a very long tradition of immigrant
workers performing those jobs. The pay isn't great but that's okay since
they're RETURNING home, and the money is incredible for back home.

> Or try to find an American girl to
> be a nanny for your kids.

Raise you're own kids and a) you won't need a nanny; b) your kids won't
think themselves better than ever doing a hard day's work.

But to be honest, a friend of mine had a nanny. She was foreign and she
was legal. What's the big deal?

> The best possible thing the illegals could do is stop working for just

> one day.  And then people will have an eye-opening experience.

They tried that, no one cared. No one cared so little that half the
illegals didn't even bother showing up the next year.

> I just think we've lost our sense of pragmatism here.


No, we're getting fed up. I will be the last to say we need to close our
borders. The stories of our embassies around the world becoming
barricaded prisons for its employees sickens me. But, I want you to come
here legally. I want you to be documented. I want you to NOT be a
convicted felon and I want you to NOT live off our welfare system or get
on our social security system without ever having paid into it.
That's not unreasonable. My great grandparents did it, why can't anyone
since?

....
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