Note the title: that's "Mexican laborers", not "illegal immigrants" nor any of the goofy euphemisms in common use.
Gene at Say Anything offers an anecdote which, if true, runs counter to the canonical VRWC assumption that illegal immigrants, owing to their illegal status and consequent exploitability, are working below minimum wage and without benefits, thereby eliminating minimum-wage positions for our native pool of unskilled labor.
According to Gene's tale, many Mexicans, who are likely here illegally, are actually working for decent (or at least well above minimum) wages, sometimes with benefits, and presenting all the required documentation for employers to hire them legally. (Whether the documentation will stand up to careful scrutiny is another question, and not the employer's problem.)
So, why are they taking these jobs away from the native labor pool? It's 'cause they're willing to work hard, and Bubba ain't.
Makes sense, when you think about it. If somebody's gone to all the trouble of sneaking across the border and buying a new identity, he's going to be a motivated worker.
This also suggests that a guest-worker program of some sort may actually make sense... if jobs that pay more than minimum wage are indeed going begging for want of capable workers, then there's a need either to (a) import such workers, or (b) motivate Billy-Bob to get off his duff and do an honest day's work. Maybe both.
There's a lively discussion in the comments. Again, I don't know how much of the tale is true, or to what extent it's representative.
Certainly, there's a large class of jobs that don't require any
particular skill, but do require a modicum of physical fitness and a
decent work ethic. Thinking back to my own experience... growing up in
middle-class white suburbia, I earned a considerable amount of pocket
money doing weekly gardening work for various people. The key to
satisfied customers? Unlike any of the other teenagers they'd
employed, I would - get this - show up on time and get the job done.
It seems the middle-class white-boy work ethic was terribly weak back
then; if it's gone downhill since, is it any surprise that furriners
are stealing our jobs? Hardly counts as stealin', if they've been
abandoned....
(Link via Classical Values.)
Meanwhile, Capt. Z has gone off his meds again, and has his own thoughts on the matter.
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