[Rhodes22-list] Katrina Update

[Slim]

Brad,

This goes back to the discussion of undocumented workers and that's a thread
by itself.  Briefly, my thoughts on that are that we should adhere to the
law, period.  Change or amend the law as we wish (granted, no easy solution)
but then hold everyone accountable--workers and employers alike.  You break
the law, you go to jail or get deported.  "Guest workers" "work visas" call
'em whatever you want.  Set the quotas at whatever rate we can agree on and
then enforce it.  If EVERYONE had to be accountable, then "illegal" jobs
would be much harder to come by and there would be no motivation for illegal
workers to cross the border.  The wall across Mexico won't work.  They tried
that in China and Berlin and......you know.

I'm trying to make a case for the government putting boots on the ground to
aid its own citizenry.   No, I don't think a natural disaster automatically
qualifies every individual for complete assistance, but what's wrong with
this picture?  We're fighting the war on terror overseas for what?  Isn't it
for the benefit of our citizenry here at home?  What could be more
advantageous to us as a nation?  Should you poor sots down south have to
suffer so we can protect you from the perceived forces abroad?  You would
know, Brad, are those people down there worried about the terrorists or do
they just want a roof over their head?  What if we pulled all the troops
home and assigned them to the gulf coast?  Civil war in Iraq?  Frankly my
dear, I don't give a damn.  If they want to kill each other, why should
Americans die in the crossfire?  For political advantage?  For the oil?  For
Haliburton?  For saving face?        ..... Home is more important.

Slim
P.S. Please don't send me links to 35 long-winded articles that I won't
read.  (Unless it's Molly Ivins,  RIP)

On 2/2/07 5:24 PM, "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:

> Slim,
> 
> Oh boy!  There was a huge surge of carpenters, brick layers, painters,
> drywallers, and day laborers to the coast.  They were known as Mexicans and
> they've since been run off.  One of the first things Bush did after Katrina
> was suspend the Davis-Bacon Act.  The lefties in Congress and the liberals
> went haywire - all  the usual suspects, Kenedy, et al,  made statements
> like, "Bush is hitting workers below the belt just when they need help the
> most!"  Apparently everyone was too encumbered with their BDS to do any
> research on Davis-Bacon.  Davis-Bacon was enacted in 1931 to keep Southern
> blacks from working on federal projects in NY and PA.  To this day it
> discriminates against blacks who are less likely to belong to unionized
> trades (in the interest of full disclosure I belong to a labor union, you
> know that).  But what Davis-Bacon really does is add layer upon layer of
> redtape and paperwork to federal projects.  Bush was right to suspend it in
> the wake of Katrina and wrong to change his decision under pressure from
> critics only a few weeks later.  At any rate, before Katrina the going wage
> for truck drivers along the coast was $11 per hour and $8 for day labor.
> The last Mexican run out of town was making $15 per hour and truck drivers
> are getting $20.  I just spent the afternoon with a health insurance agent
> to try and sweeten the pot to attract and keep employees.  Ahh, the
> marketplace is a wonderful thing.
> 
> I've gotta run or miss the "contractors ball" at the Alibi Lounge but if you
> can do some research for me I'd appreciate it.  The enviro-terrorists have
> labelled every mosquito pit larger than a puddle a "wetland preserve".
> People could really use this land to live on.  Trust me, if you saw it you'd
> ask, "what's the big deal?"  Well, it's a huge deal and we have a job shut
> down right now because of it.  Common sense, anyone?
> 
> Brad
> 
> 
> On 2/2/07, Slim <stevenalm at comcast.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> Everyone is welcome to come to the Gulf and volunteer.  They could use
>> the
>>> help!
>> 
>> Manpower.  That's the solution.  Instead of a surge of troops to Iraq, how
>> about a surge of carpenters to the Gulf?
>> 
>> Slim
>> 
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