Dear Mexican:
People talk about the costs of illegal immigration on our society. What about the savings? Has there been any research into how much more a meal at a restaurant would cost without Mexicans cooking and washing dishes? What percentage increase would we see with supermarket produce if migrant illegal laborers were paid a fair wage?
El Mojado Acaudalado
Dear Wealthy Wetback:
There are some studies out there, but the ones most publicized are usually authored by Know-Nothing groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies, and their stats and findings are as twisted as the trenzas on a fine Mexican lass. Conversely, the ones stating that the Reconquista is fab usually originate from Aztlanistas, so one must proceed with caution around the bevy of papers on the subject. The hard, boring stats: Out of the 2.2 million U.S. farms counted in the 2007 Census of Agriculture, only a quarter reported hiring workers. And out of the 1.42 million farmworkers reported in the Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey, foreign-born Mexicans made up only 35 percent of the population and just 10 percent of the food preparation and service industry. A 2006 report by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that nearly 39 percent of every dollar spent on food en los Estados Unidos went to labor costs. Conclusion: Any pay raise for illegals toiling in factories, fields and kitchens would undoubtedly affect the bottom line of farmers and restaurateurs, which would force them to raise prices to recoup the cost — but probably not as much as we'd like so Know-Nothings would shut up once and for all.
Dear Mexican:
For the past 15 years I've been periodically working en el campo of southern Veracruz, with both local campesinos and Mexican academics from the cities. After an incredibly hot, sweaty day in the sun, all I want to do is take a cold shower immediately. My Mexican colleagues (both rural and from the city) refuse to take a shower for at least a couple of hours so that their bodies cool down. When asked, they say that a cold shower when you're hot is very unhealthy and may even lead to sudden death. Now, my ancestry is Northern European, and it's my experience that there's nothing more invigorating than jumping in an ice-cold pool of water while being extremely hot — like, say, after a sauna. Is this hot-plus-cold-equals-death idea I've encountered in Veracruz widespread throughout Mexico? Is there a history of Mexicans dying from cold showers? What's the basis for this? Or is this just due to the fact that I'm not caliente enough, as my Mexican friends say?
Wannabe Jarocho
Dear Gabacho:
A 1964 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology discovered that taking an ice-cold shower substantially increases blood pressure and pulse rate — but you know this. Some people like that rush, but others know that putting instant stress on the cardiovascular system isn't the wisest of decisions. Mexican men know this, so they avoid las regaderas for a bit. But the more important reason for not taking showers so soon is because hombres also know that sweat contains pheromones, and we will use any possible angle to get into a woman's chonis.
E-mail The Mexican at mexican@pitch.com, follow him on Twitter, or find him at myspace.com/ocwab, facebook.com/garellano and youtube.com/askamexicano, or write to him via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433. Letters will be edited for clarity, cabrones. And include a hilarious pseudonym, por favor, or we'll make one up for you!
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Let me clear this up a bit. The open borders advocates have been using the excuse that we need all this slave labor or we will be paying $5 a head for lettuce. That is such a lie, I have to almost laugh at how gullible the public is. Let�s break it down. First, less than 3% of the illegals actually work in the fields. Second, the cost of produce is not in the labor, it is in the marketing. Marketing is the cost for the land, water, seed, advertising, packaging, shipping and placement. The labor is a miniscule part of the cost, because the taxpayer pays most of it. The taxpayer provides for the migrants: housing, medical, food, education, discounts on utilities, childcare, legal representation, transportation and complete use of the infrastructure. The growers often pay minimum wage, which is subsidized by the taxpayer. Third, much of the harvesting can be done by machine, which the growers don�t want to invest in because they require maintenance and storage plus the cost of the machines themselves. Cheap stoop labor the taxpayers pay to maintain. Fourth, most of the produce sold in our markets here in Californian is grown south of the border and often in contaminated fields using sewer water. What is grown here, mostly strawberries, is sold to countries that will pay top dollar for it, like Japan, because those counties know we control how our crops are grown. Fifth, many of those laborers are not even working full time or even part time. I know because I speak with them directly in their homes. They aren�t getting the work because many of the fields have not been planted because of the lack of water due to the dying of the fish up in Northern California and a bill pass by Senator Dianne Feinstein to restrict the water to the farmers. The water is being used to water the fruit trees, not the annual crops. But they are planting strawberries. Which are the most profitable and most labor intensive, but as I said, the labor costs are miniscule, but the profit is the highest of all the annual crops because they�re sold to other counties. That should tell you something. Those same growers are the ones spending billions to lobby both Boxer and Feinstein for more cheap labor visas, and they�re getting them. Yet, Fresno has a 50% unemployment rate among the farm laborers. Feinstein asked Congress to fund the food banks because they were broke. These are the same food banks that are supporting the farm laborers, and our tax dollars are restocking the shelves. I have spoken with Americans who have tried to get some of the work in the fields and they said they�re not hiring, especially Americans. So don�t let anyone use that line �Why don�t you go work in the fields,� because it�s not true, American will work in the fields and are trying to. I live in an agricultural area and my work requires that I go to the migrant�s homes and speak with them directly. I see first hand what is happening and what the truth really is. Even they want the influx of illegals stopped.
Sorry folks, but Mr. Arellano has it absolutely right. Mexican workers work harder, longer, faster and put out a better product. They show up for work, don't gripe and b**tch because they didn't get time off for being sick, pregnant and so on. The employer usually pays into the social security and does withhold taxes which the workers never recover. Those funds go into the general fund. A study in Texas by the, then, Texas Comptroller showed that having undocumented workers was a net gain to the state's treasury. As far as I know, no other state has dared to make such a study or, if they have, have not made it public. If you look at the influx of undocumented workers you will see a direct corralation to the other great influxes this great country has benefited from (British, Irish, Italians and so on). The fabrication that undocumented workers do not assimilate is simply and demonstrably not true. The temporary workers that come to work for a short period of time and return to Mexico do not assimilate, that's true. But the immigrants that come to stay are fully "Americanized" by the third generation. The first generation (the immigrants) have an assimilation of language and culture around 20%. The second generation speaks and acts more americanized by 80%. By the third generation it is difficult to find any that speak any spanish and know of their ancestor's culture (what a shame since the Mexican culture and language is very rich and well worth knowing and keeping.) So, sorry folks. If you need someone to blame for the ills of this country, don't look south. Look north to Washington DC
Let me clear this up a bit. The open borders advocates have been using the excuse that we need all this slave labor or we will be paying $5 a head for lettuce. That is such a lie, I have to almost laugh at how gullible the public is. Let’s break it down. First, less than 3% of the illegals actually work in the fields. Second, the cost of produce is not in the labor, it is in the marketing. Marketing is the cost for the land, water, seed, advertising, packaging, shipping and placement. The labor is a miniscule part of the cost, because the taxpayer pays most of it. The taxpayer provides for the migrants: housing, medical, food, education, discounts on utilities, childcare, legal representation, transportation and complete use of the infrastructure. The growers often pay minimum wage, which is subsidized by the taxpayer. Third, much of the harvesting can be done by machine, which the growers don’t want to invest in because they require maintenance and storage plus the cost of the machines themselves. Cheap stoop labor the taxpayers pay to maintain. Fourth, most of the produce sold in our markets here in Californian is grown south of the border and often in contaminated fields using sewer water. What is grown here, mostly strawberries, is sold to countries that will pay top dollar for it, like Japan, because those counties know we control how our crops are grown. Fifth, many of those laborers are not even working full time or even part time. I know because I speak with them directly in their homes. They aren’t getting the work because many of the fields have not been planted because of the lack of water due to the dying of the fish up in Northern California and a bill pass by Senator Dianne Feinstein to restrict the water to the farmers. The water is being used to water the fruit trees, not the annual crops. But they are planting strawberries. Which are the most profitable and most labor intensive, but as I said, the labor costs are miniscule, but the profit is the highest of all the annual crops because they’re sold to other counties. That should tell you something. Those same growers are the ones spending billions to lobby both Boxer and Feinstein for more cheap labor visas, and they’re getting them. Yet, Fresno has a 50% unemployment rate among the farm laborers. Feinstein asked Congress to fund the food banks because they were broke. These are the same food banks that are supporting the farm laborers, and our tax dollars are restocking the shelves. I have spoken with Americans who have tried to get some of the work in the fields and they said they’re not hiring, especially Americans. So don’t let anyone use that line “Why don’t you go work in the fields,” because it’s not true, American will work in the fields and are trying to. I live in an agricultural area and my work requires that I go to the migrant’s homes and speak with them directly. I see first hand what is happening and what the truth really is. Even they want the influx of illegals stopped.
Sorry folks, but Mr. Arellano has it absolutely right. Mexican workers work harder, longer, faster and put out a better product. They show up for work, don't gripe and b**tch because they didn't get time off for being sick, pregnant and so on. The employer usually pays into the social security and does withhold taxes which the workers never recover. Those funds go into the general fund. A study in Texas by the, then, Texas Comptroller showed that having undocumented workers was a net gain to the state's treasury. As far as I know, no other state has dared to make such a study or, if they have, have not made it public. If you look at the influx of undocumented workers you will see a direct corralation to the other great influxes this great country has benefited from (British, Irish, Italians and so on). The fabrication that undocumented workers do not assimilate is simply and demonstrably not true. The temporary workers that come to work for a short period of time and return to Mexico do not assimilate, that's true. But the immigrants that come to stay are fully "Americanized" by the third generation. The first generation (the immigrants) have an assimilation of language and culture around 20%. The second generation speaks and acts more americanized by 80%. By the third generation it is difficult to find any that speak any spanish and know of their ancestor's culture (what a shame since the Mexican culture and language is very rich and well worth knowing and keeping.) So, sorry folks. If you need someone to blame for the ills of this country, don't look south. Look north to Washington DC
So being paid in cash and not paying taxes is justified by inflation.
Using false social security numbers and not paying into social security in justified by inflation.
Is this your point?
So being paid in cash and not paying taxes is justified by inflation. Using false social security numbers and not paying into social security in justified by inflation. Is this your point?
Let's see. A restaurant offers "cheaper" meals because of the illegal alien "Mexicans" working for it. Of course, illegal aliens don't only work for restaurants, but in sundry jobs that blue collar (and even white collar) Americans hold, thus driving down wages in those jobs and displacing Americans--and also causing those Americans who are working to have to pay higher taxes to provide social services to illegal aliens. So, Americans don't even have the money for a restaurant meal, so don't buy from the restaurant with the "cheap" labor--that all of us are paying for.
Let's see. A restaurant offers "cheaper" meals because of the illegal alien "Mexicans" working for it. Of course, illegal aliens don't only work for restaurants, but in sundry jobs that blue collar (and even white collar) Americans hold, thus driving down wages in those jobs and displacing Americans--and also causing those Americans who are working to have to pay higher taxes to provide social services to illegal aliens. So, Americans don't even have the money for a restaurant meal, so don't buy from the restaurant with the "cheap" labor--that all of us are paying for.
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