Those who are opposed to the Bush proposal claim that employers will preferentially hire illegals by offering below market low wages and, when there are no domestic takers, will hire foreign workers at the low price, swelling the ranks of the unemployed mostly among the unskilled.
There are problems with this scenario. It assumes that:
1. People prefer unemployment to minimum wage jobs
2. Nobody will take these foreign workers and hire them away at slightly higher wages arbitraging the wage rate and causing the initial employer to actually lose money.
3. No organized labor group will gather and fill and leave in quick rotation any jobs offered by employers who are taking advantage of the system, again, costing employers money.
4. There will be no safeguards against discrimination in favor of foreign temporary workers.
So, if people can't make a buck exploiting these temporary workers, the new national job board better matches the unskilled with local native talent, and watchdog groups keep an eye out to make sure that this remains the situation, what objections are left?
Posted by TMLutas at January 18, 2004 08:33 PM