MY TURN: Supply and demand
A lot of people seem to blame Mexicans and Venezuelans for lost jobs in this country. A further examination seems to be in order.
Yes, factory jobs have disappeared from the USA. I remember ordering carpet from North Carolina in the '70s. I attended sales where cotton goods were sold which were also made in the Carolinas. Cotton fields abounded in California and the South and clothing was made in this country. However, the demand for cheaper and cheaper goods by Americans sent those jobs overseas where labor was very cheap. This resulted in factories closing here, but the DEMAND for cheap goods sent those jobs overseas.
Ditto for drugs. Think about it. If you were selling a certain article, would you ship it to a place where there is no demand for it? No, and people selling and distributing drugs don’t either. They bring the drugs into this country because the DEMAND is here. If there were no demand, no drugs would be smuggled in. The cartels are another thing. They must be eradicated but it’s not that there were not cartels here before, we just called them by other names. But they were as violent. Some of our politicians went after these gangs, such as Bobby Kennedy, and kudos to anyone who is trying to rid the country of these cartels. Cartels not only ship drugs in but they are involved in human trafficking and other crimes. The cartels don’t deserve our sympathy, but those addicted to drugs do. Some cities and states are trying different things besides incarcerating the addicted.
Let’s look at why people cross the southern border to get into this country. The main reason is jobs. This country offers jobs and immigrants are willing to do many of the jobs that Americans would not consider doing, such as tree planting. In this area of the country, young Mexican men come into this area and are able to land jobs planting trees on very steep mountainsides. This job does not require them to be able to speak English and it does not require hardly any training. Anyone can do it if they are willing to do an extremely taxing job in sometimes difficult conditions. Other jobs that immigrants take that Americans don’t want include picking vegetables and fruit. These jobs also require people to work extremely hard and fast often in very bad weather — rainy, hot, cold. No English is required and no technical skills are needed. But the DEMAND for filling these jobs is here in the U.S. Other jobs that immigrants can do include cleaning, service jobs such as washing dishes and janitorial jobs, and waiting on well-to-do families. Americans don’t want to do those jobs either, but the DEMAND for people to do these jobs exists. That is why people are crossing the border — to fill the jobs that Americans don’t want. They are hoping, of course, that they will progress up the working ladder to better jobs and into the American middle class. Perhaps their children will go to college, these are the hopes of immigrants.
The other day I really looked closely at a film of immigrants trying to cross our southern border. In their faces I saw fear and hope. I expect that if we were able to see the faces of our ancestors landing on American soil, we would see the same thing — fear and hope.
A little compassion is called for, surely. The immigrant, just looking to make a living for himself or his family, is not an enemy. He or she is a human being just trying to survive. As am I. As are you. As are we all. Let’s think and not close our minds, let’s talk not yell, let’s get together and find solutions. Let’s try to really look into the faces of the people we see. Let’s try understanding and empathy, not hate and blame.
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Donna Harvey is a Hayden resident.