Stephen Colbert Trolls Congress
- Thread starter Verd1234
- Start date
Give 'em visas, I say!
I would happily go fruit-picking in the States.
I would happily go fruit-picking in the States.
Guiltyofbeingtrite
Vault Dweller
This is funny, and US politics have been a joke for 50 years, and a HUGE joke since 9/11.
hahah @ the one joke everyone laughed at. priceless
Guiltyofbeingtrite
Vault Dweller
I think he's actually making really strong points, which he always does. Plus he's bringing spotlight on the issue.
I also can't wait to attend the March to Keep Fear Alive.
I also can't wait to attend the March to Keep Fear Alive.
Faceless Stranger
Board Drifter
Man's a genious wrapped up in a sarcastic, narcisisist, best was the dinner when Bush was still in office though.
It seams these day's I'm the only american born seasonal worker left, I go to work every summer for almost below minimum wage picking fruit hauling mulch and all sorts of other things, yet my fellow americans don't see fit to do the same, it makes me frown at the thought of how lazy most of my fellow americans have gotten.
Faceless Stranger
Board Drifter
You should run and use that as you're opening at the debateJohn B. said:
I must say I do understand them and I am happy that you pick my breakfast fruit so cheaply so I don't have to. Thank you.Faceless_Stranger said:You should run and use that as you're opening at the debateJohn B. said:
DarkCorp
So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
Something needs to be done to increase the wages of these kind of jobs.
Other folks who work and toil in the sun including the people you see working on the side of the freeways get paid much more than a farm worker does.
I truly believe that your average american would do such labor (they already do as park rangers or maintenace staff for the city) if the wages were competitive.
Its great business to pay people so little for such hard work but it also creates a work demand only the desperate would take. Hence the problems many southern states are facing today.
Other folks who work and toil in the sun including the people you see working on the side of the freeways get paid much more than a farm worker does.
I truly believe that your average american would do such labor (they already do as park rangers or maintenace staff for the city) if the wages were competitive.
Its great business to pay people so little for such hard work but it also creates a work demand only the desperate would take. Hence the problems many southern states are facing today.
thegaresexperience
Water Chip? Been There, Done That
It's a sad state of affairs when I can't find one politician I "like" enough to vote for. IMO there are none (maybe Ron Paul, I'm considering writing him in in 2012)
Call me cynical, whenever one of them gets up to speak all I hear are lies and half-truths, and its funny that we get the best news from two comedians on Comedy Central of all people and channels (hell even South Park dishes out something noteworthy things every once in awhile).
But despite all that, theres still no place I"d rather live that right here in the USA (until the shit hits the fan: WW3, tyrannical govt, a coup gone wrong)
Call me cynical, whenever one of them gets up to speak all I hear are lies and half-truths, and its funny that we get the best news from two comedians on Comedy Central of all people and channels (hell even South Park dishes out something noteworthy things every once in awhile).
But despite all that, theres still no place I"d rather live that right here in the USA (until the shit hits the fan: WW3, tyrannical govt, a coup gone wrong)
Alphadrop
A right proper chap.
It's fairly common to vote for the politician you least hate, it's how the EU president got elected. 
SimpleMinded
Vault Fossil
Sadly he made great points and delivered them in an effective manner that should have brought a ton of attention to the issue and been a big success. Instead, people cry about how stephen colbert is wasting our government's time.
DarkCorp
So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
@John B
Are you an illegal doing farmwork for a wage that would be totally outrageous and in-appropriate to your average american?
If you truly are doing farmwork as an illegal alien, I would love to know how much they are paying you and to compare it to a very similar job such as construction or being employed by the city as a "landscaper".
Do the illegal immigrants that take these jobs consider their wages inferior as their standard american counterpart might? If so, why would illegals risk crossing the border and go through all the trouble to do these jobs?
Honestly I truly believe your average american will not take these jobs is because the wages are horrible for the amount of labor involved. I do not know if it is corporations or the average farmer that is taking advantage of cheap illegal labor, but it has to stop.
Fair wages for fair work I say.
Are you an illegal doing farmwork for a wage that would be totally outrageous and in-appropriate to your average american?
If you truly are doing farmwork as an illegal alien, I would love to know how much they are paying you and to compare it to a very similar job such as construction or being employed by the city as a "landscaper".
Do the illegal immigrants that take these jobs consider their wages inferior as their standard american counterpart might? If so, why would illegals risk crossing the border and go through all the trouble to do these jobs?
Honestly I truly believe your average american will not take these jobs is because the wages are horrible for the amount of labor involved. I do not know if it is corporations or the average farmer that is taking advantage of cheap illegal labor, but it has to stop.
Fair wages for fair work I say.
DarkCorp
So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
John B. said:
Well in a way it is desperation. Why work for such shitty pay when the jobs I mentioned above takes the same amount of hard work yet pays much better. Just because the economy is bad doesn't change the fact that the wages of that kind of work is not equal to the effort put in. Average pay working for the city is about 10$ an hour picking up trash in the hot sun. The maintenance guys I see in the mall get average pay of $9 an hour. And thats a privately owned company.
People love to play the "americans won't take those jobs card". Have they ever bothered to wonder why?? Illegal immigrants often work for cheaper wages. Well, to them its probably not really cheap at all, compared to their home countries.
Again I think its the wage descrepancy for the average american. Whats good for illegal immigrants or even legal migrants is un-acceptable for others. If people want to end the illegal immigration problem, they need to focus on the wages being paid.
I had a similar experience in New Zealand. Working for 'minimum' wage was not a problem - in fact, I think that unlike most New Zealanders, the travellers actually enjoy a few months working in the sun. I could also be as stoned as I wanted to, all day long 
The problem was that most (all) contractors were set to rip people off, because they knew very well there was always more people willing to work. Even though it was all 'legal', the pressures were the same as being an illegal immigrant (there's always more immigrants/backpackers ready to jump on the shitty job opportunity). They knew you had very little chance to get your money from them (most people just got pissed off and left), and they knew you'd work for a lot less than New Zealanders - to a point where they wouldn't employ Ozzies or NZ people, but rather Koreans and Japanese, as they knew Asians wouldn't complain or wouldn't be aggressive enough to fight for their rightful wages.
It's a stupid little vicious circle, as that makes everyone work less or worse than they would for honest wages. Most contractors are foreign and they send all the money they steal home, so none of it actually returns to the economy. The farms start looking worse and worse, the farmers can only lower wages, which means contractors rip people off even more, which means that people don't do such a good job picking/trimming/whatever.
The problem was that most (all) contractors were set to rip people off, because they knew very well there was always more people willing to work. Even though it was all 'legal', the pressures were the same as being an illegal immigrant (there's always more immigrants/backpackers ready to jump on the shitty job opportunity). They knew you had very little chance to get your money from them (most people just got pissed off and left), and they knew you'd work for a lot less than New Zealanders - to a point where they wouldn't employ Ozzies or NZ people, but rather Koreans and Japanese, as they knew Asians wouldn't complain or wouldn't be aggressive enough to fight for their rightful wages.
It's a stupid little vicious circle, as that makes everyone work less or worse than they would for honest wages. Most contractors are foreign and they send all the money they steal home, so none of it actually returns to the economy. The farms start looking worse and worse, the farmers can only lower wages, which means contractors rip people off even more, which means that people don't do such a good job picking/trimming/whatever.