You know, we all talk a good game about keeping job positions in America and stemming the tide of illegal immigrants who pour through our borders at an alarming rate. But are we really willing to change our lifestyle, to put our money where our mouth is?
We love bargains so we buy the lowest priced goods from clothes, to electronics, to household furnishings. We have tags on everything we own: "Made in China," or "Assembled in Mexico." We could insist on only purchasing items manufactured in the United States but then we would have to pay more, a lot more.
For Americans to be willing to take the jobs that go to illegal immigrants, pay rates would need to be substantially increased. If a living, above-the-poverty-line, wage was paid for such work as restaurant helper, motel maid, farmhand, day laborer, swamper, furniture assembler, airplane ramp crew, custodian, and fast food worker, all of our goods and services would cost more, meaning that we'd have to give up many of the things we take for granted.
Companies have to maintain a robust bottom line to stay in business. They adjust their prices according to the cost of the goods produced. It may not be very philanthropic or humane, but it is plain, basic economics.
When decent jobs are hard to come by, it is very tempting to blame employers for sending their jobs overseas. It is much more difficult to look at ourselves and admit that our own consumption habits and needs are the driving force.
Virginia Bola operated a rehabilitation company for 20 years, developing innovative job search techniques for disabled workers, while serving as a Vocational Expert in Administrative, Civil and Workers' Compensation Courts. Author of an interactive and supportive workbook, The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a monthly ezine, The Worker's Edge, she can be reached at www.unemploymentblues.com |
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