Grapes of Wrath

In our country, it would seem that with our current economic climate that those who are protecting our borders and professing that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from our unemployed must have envisioned a renaissance of the Joads.  But the reality is that fields are being plowed under with crops unpicked throughout our country, whether Visalia onions in Georgia, or strawberries or cherries in California.  What were we thinking?  Did we think the unemployed would rush to work in the hot sun for the wages the migrants worked for?  Did we think that the economy of these towns where immigrants would spend their hard earned dollars would continue to thrive without their labor? Talk about cut off your nose to spite your face. 

Is it racism that fuels the drive to not have this workforce present?  America was built on slave labor and then immigrant labor, so let’s be honest, we are not doing so well that we can shut our borders.  Better to continue to allow this workforce to persist and grow, have them pay taxes and become part of the communities with their children.  Right now it does not look that anybody is benefiting from the current policies.  I would ask the farmers to speak to their elected officials to stop the current policies.  Would we rather import our food from Chile or other places when we know America can feed the world?

We don’t want to educate our young to be competitive and they don’t want to do manual labor.  What does the future hold?  I had a friend express that if the Latino community decided to discontinue working the restaurant or hospitality industry, many business would suffer or go under.  The next time you enjoy your favorite restaurant, take a look at who is working there, at the front desk, at the bar, busing tables, in the kitchen cooking and working throughout.  I don’t say this to be negative or profile, but the survival of this industry is dependent on this workforce and we need to recognize and appreciate the contribution not strive to eliminate the workforce.

And while Republicans focus on food stamps to needy families when the research shows that the benefits support and help families, the real entitlements go to large farms and their subsidies.  Maybe the farms don’t care if their crops get picked or not since they get paid to grow and not sell. 90 Billion, yes a B, is spent on farm subsidies!  What a help those funds could be for education, or infrastructure.