The Liberal Gun Club Forum

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... n-movement

"Smith's problem, which he spelled out in a deep, marbled drawl, is textbook by now: There simply aren't enough people in the United States legally who are willing or able or geographically situated to do the backbreaking work most farms have to offer, a truth that has become increasingly clear as farmers—first in Georgia, where legislation similar to HB 56 passed last year, and now in Alabama—have scrambled to fill the vacuum left by a labor force that evaporated overnight..."

"...And while anti-immigration arguments hang on the idea that if illegal workers were barred from these jobs Americans would eagerly fill them, Smith and other farmers say this doesn't square with reality. Cullman County is 93 percent white. Of the locals Smith has hired to replace the workers who fled, most lasted only a couple of hours he says, before they quit..."

"...And then, he clarified one of the most glaring but least considered faults of the unemployed citizen/undocumented immigrant conundrum: Smith has three year-round positions; the rest are seasonal, 8 to 10 weeks at most. "They help us when we're planting, leave, go do something else, and they come back when we get ready to harvest. The legislators talk about putting these people that are laid off to work. Well, a person would be stupid to quit unemployment and come work for me for four or five weeks. You can't blame 'em."

But hey, at least them damned eeleeguls are outta there, and the Teabaggers are happy!

Reminds me of Colbert's "Take Our Jobs" bit. Even without UE benny's, very few would still do the work.

It is only a matter of time before that good old correction corporation comes up with the idea of prison labor being sold to farmers.

punkinlobber wrote:It is only a matter of time before that good old correction corporation comes up with the idea of prison labor being sold to farmers.

O Brother, Where Art Thou for real. Sadly, you've probably nailed it.

punkinlobber wrote:It is only a matter of time before that good old correction corporation comes up with the idea of prison labor being sold to farmers.

I think you mean it's only a matter of time before the correction corporation reintroduces the idea of convict labor. A day or so ago, I saw a PBS program about "Slavery by Another Name". Records showed that soon after the close of the Civil War and after the Federal government had backed away from enforcing laws enacted during Reconstruction -- laws designed to protect the rights of the newly freed slaves -- new restrictive laws were enacted all across the south which were used to jail blacks breaking what amounts to farcical rules, e.g., walking beside a railroad track, spitting on the sidewalk, being unemployed, etc. Blacks who ran afoul of these "laws" were jailed; and, the jailer would then "lease-out" the prisoners to local business people to be used as they saw fit. The conditions under which these blacks (men, women AND children) were held were worse that slavery. This practice did not officially end until 1942. Sharecropping "rules" were also used to trap people in forced labor arrangements.

punkinlobber wrote:It is only a matter of time before that good old correction corporation comes up with the idea of prison labor being sold to farmers.

I believe they have done that, but the inmates were ineffective and lodged a series of complaints about violation of rights which tied things up in court. I am not condoning the treatment of undocumented workers at all as I see the impact of their labor in my job. I am just saying the prisoners have more rights than undocumented workers.

The US still allows the importation of temporary workers to cut the sugar cane in Florida. They are in every way treated as slaves, but the latter being "property" were treated better than the cane cutters.

Careful what you wish for, eh Alabama?

Progurt wrote:Careful what you wish for, eh Alabama?

lol, just goes to show, don't bite the hand that feeds you, literally.

Well, don't go looking for a sudden surge in poor white southerner applicants for farm work. That would mean they would lose their food stamps and wellfare.

This is just another example of people blinded by ignorance and hatred allowing themselves to be led by conservative political interests into doing things against their own best interests.