To her credit, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano is trying to address the problem of hiring illegal immigrants, with strict penalties up to losing the right to do business in her state. I think there’s a bit too much stick and not enough carrot in this plan, but she has already acknowledged amendments are needed.
I don’t think anybody has to be driven out of business. We can be very civil about this and…being the capitalist nation that we are…even make some money off the problem along the way.
If employers say they absolutely MUST have access to non-American* workers, I think we must take them at their word. At the same time, those employers need to acknowledge that were it not for the sacrifices of AMERICAN men and women through the years, their business would not exist in the home of the brave and the land of the free. So what should we do?
When America feels imports of a certain foreign nation’s product have an unfair advantage over the same product produced in America, we don’t ban the foreign made product. We simply even the playing field by applying a tariff. Maybe even give the Americans a slight edge. Market forces take care of the rest.
That’s the solution to our immigration situation and non-American* labor used in the United States. Simply even the playing field:
For example, if the lowest paid American framing carpenter (citizen or legal green card holder) in a market gets $18 per hour, all non-American* framing carpenters in that same market must also be paid a minimum of $18 per hour. On top of that, employer must also pay a 30% tariff of $5.40 per hour for the non-American* labor. This is unrelated to income tax & FICA which must also be paid.
If contractors are hiring illegals “because there just aren’t enough Americans to do the job”, then let them. But they must also pay a tariff on all wage dollars paid to those illegals. Same goes for those super-smart non-American engineers here on an H1B visa.. If the lowest wage for an American engineer is $100,000 per year, the least you should be able to pay an Indian engineer is $100,000…plus a $30,000 tariff.
All tariffs would go into a fund providing grants to learning institutions that could determine where America is lacking in professional or labor talent…then train Americans to do those jobs
The plan would not place an undue hardship on the employer if he’s telling the truth. If “there simply aren’t enough Americans to do the job” in that market, he would not be at a competitive disadvantage since all of his competitors would also be in a position where they also “had” to hire illegals and thus pay the same tariff.
Now if there IS enough American labor (citizen or legal green card) to do the job, but that employer believes the non-American* workers can do a better job, (like the Congressman with the illegal nanny) by all means let him employ them. At the same time, make sure he is treating those employees with the same safeguards that American workers enjoy, pay them no less than American workers…and pay the 30% tariff.
Rather than the current methods of determining legality which seem difficult and discriminatory, this method would give the employer a competitive advantage if he could prove that all his workers were legal American citizens or green card holders.
Non-American/ “illegal immigrant” workers win by finally getting treated like human beings. American workers win by not being low-balled by foreign slave labor. Employers win by not having to compete with unethical competitors who have been employing low-cost illegal labor. America wins with funds for training in the jobs that we need to be number one in the world again. With economic immigration off the table, we could then direct our attention to the more sinister aspects of illegal immigration.
This is a really fair, soft handed approach to a very difficult problem. It addresses the needs of employers, the concerns of American workers and the dignity of illegal immigrants. No doubt some employers will still try to skirt the law and avoid the tariffs, but at this point we would have very good reason to first fine them severely and THEN take away their business license. Some may even need jail time. And for those immigrants who go along with such unscrupulous behavior, simply deny their access to the American dream, permanently.
...isn’t it interesting that we never hear a cry for access to low cost foreign CEO or top level executive labor.
*There are American Citizens who are of course legal AND “American Persons” who
are here legally and who can work here legally. In most cases, these would
be described as permanent residents or “green card holders.”