NO healthcare reform for illegals.....

Let's see. I spent five years in painting and drywall repair before the housing just died. I worked for a legit contractor. We all paid taxes.
When I started we didn't do drywall but as painters complained about the quality enough. Low bids, shoddy work and a lot of illegals so we started doing drywall as well.
When we started you'd have one (usually Mexican) asking for a huge check to pay his workers. No dice with my boss as they worked for him. If you didn't have the paperwork you didn't work for him.

Well, we ended up getting severely undercut as the housing market collapsed. Always by big companies that employed a lot of illegals and did shoddy work.

Painting contracts? Usually legal but inferior paints and quality of work. This is why I now work in a coin shop.

As for the trades doing side work for cash? Rampant and has been for years. I could find you a plumber, trim carpenter, electrician .... you name it right now that will work "under the table". All American born and bred and usually uniion.

Last year I had two side jobs (but I could be lying). Keep it off the books and I work cheaper. Like a kid cutting your grass.

I may have another job lined up this winter. Actually for a good friend. He'll have the permits and I'll "help" him.

Bottom line is cash is king.

Now does anyone want to hear about the trucking industry? It's even scarier at times.

You did this absolutely right Jack. "Illegal immigrants" will work dirt cheap while "illegal citizens" will not. Leave it up to the contractor.

 

Sounds like you are for the most part confirming what I say.

 

Pretty much.

I call it reality.

 

It also sounds like he is confirming that illegals steal work from Americans. Something the illegal alien sympathizers rarely if ever admit. The other argument about illegals is also bull. We are constantly told that if they were not here who would fill the jobs that Americans don't want to do. I suggest that you would have people from other countries lined up to come here and work, legally.

 

I have to point out that to become a fully qualified Landscape gardener is quite some achievment, I have a friend who went that route he is a fully trained horticulturist did a collage degree so to say it is not a trade he is also fully trained in land drainage, topiary understands design, and construction!

 

Illegal entry into the country? Obtaining & using fake ss#'s? Circumventing our tax system? Conspiracy to break US laws?
And you are defending these people why?

How about this:
1) Fine employers who hire these people into oblivion
2) Bill the illegals home country for every bit of public assistance they receive...medical, school, etc

 

My God I am in total agreement with that

 

During the housing boom there there were enough jobs for everyone (here in AZ at least), now that it is over the illegals are leaving. They filled that need for workers and when it was over they left. Why is that a problem?

 

There are supreme court decisions that prevent that.

 

Overturn the Supreme court I say and deport them

 

Even though I am defending most of the illegals here, I do have a major problem with the criminals like human smugglers and drug smugglers. They should be dealt with harshly.

 

Yep shoot them slowly

 

I tend to agree with Danr about the benefit of some illegal immigrants. The problem is right there in the name, though...both in the 'illegal' and the 'immigrant' parts.

The problem of the illegal part is that there is no security, no regulation, no monitoring, no control or anything else. The problem with the immigrant part is that we can't afford the population we have now let alone millions of new people coming whenever they want to.

There has to be a way to make it work without the illegal and immigrant parts. A private run thing that is regulated by federal laws? Monitor it, pay them to do jobs we don't want to do (private sector pays that) but with no expectation of being a citizen and all the benefits that entails, etc. And by the same token, if you aren't working in one of those jobs, you go back to your home country.

Of course, to make that work, you have to be committed to securing the borders and make the punishment for being in the country illegally (ie...not a person in one of those jobs) have actual teeth.

 

I really don't believe it was aimed at me but I, for one, am not defending illegals. Actually David I'd love to see what you suggest put into motion.

I may have "pretty much" backed up DanR but let me make this clear to everyone. If a person is here legally I'm good with it. If they're not I'm not.

I do think illegals will work cheaper than the average American because I've seen it. I've seen it affect my livelyhood. As housing started it's decline in our area companies were cutting EVERY corner they could.
This is when we started losing drywall contracts. One large company in particular with plenty of illegals could just under bid the crap out of us.

Then, as painters, the builders wanted us to take horrible dry wall work and make it look good. No such thing as magic paint. If your canvass is flawed you can only do so much.
Then they wanted US to knock down costs on painting. So we went to cheaper paints.

We were well known in the area as quality painters. Eventually the boss just said enough. We couldn't cut any more costs and still make it look good.

We once had 10 of us on the painting crew and 2 or 3 drywall crews going 6-7 days a week. Now three remain of the painters and that's it.
Still my friends and I still keep in touch. They do mostly remodeling now but quality work to people that realize paying more is worth it.

I was lucky. I stumbled into a coin shop. Many others in many other trades have not been so lucky.
Like I stated earlier. When these people find a side job cash is king which from what I understand isn't exactly legal in itself.
A snowball affect in essence.

I'll still pull out a mudpan or sling a brush and roller on occasion. If I see cash on a table I'll do it cheaper.

This has been going on for years and I don't see it stopping anytimg soon.

 

I don't know if it is fair to say all Mexicans do crap work. They are some of the best cement workers in the world for one thing.

 

LOL
Not too strereotypical.

 

The guy said no illegals. So if he wants to make illegals legal, whats the big deal? If you fined every employer who hired illegals Some would go bankrupt. Or the price of nearly every produce would increase so much only the rich could afford it. So thats a stupid idea. Billing the origin country is also nonsense. Do we go to war if its not paid?During the Civil War, Irish immigrants were made citizens if they served in the Union army. Lets do that. Make illegals serve three years in the military and then make them legal citizens. This way they wont get fake SSNs. The price of fruit and clothing and vegetables and whatever will still skyrocket; but at least we'll have to bitch and moan about something else.

 

Okay the employer might be a lanscape designer or horiticulturist, but the mexicans operate a landmower and a leafblower. They aren't skilled tradesman!

 

I already answered that question. Read the last sentence of my post you quoted.

 

Lehigh You stated and I quote

PS. I wasn't aware that landscaping was a trade

I simply pointed out that it was, I never mentioned Mexicans nor any other nationality, nor did I pass any form of judgment on what you said (Other than it is a trade)