The Democrats Have Betrayed Labor Supporting unchecked immigration incompatible with standing for working Americans Michael Cutler
http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/the-democrats-have-betrayed-labor/
There was a time when the Democratic Party provided a voice for American workers. The Democrats of the 20th century advocated for higher wages and better working conditions and opportunities for upward mobility for blue-collar workers.
This was the concept behind the “American Dream” — the notion that anyone who got an education and worked hard and, perhaps, benefited from a bit of luck could write the next great American success story.
Today the Democratic Party, still politically backed by labor unions, has become the main driver behind providing millions of illegal aliens with lawful status.
The Democratic Party viewed itself as the counterpoint to the Republican Party — which, for the most part, was aligned with business owners who predominantly wanted cheaper labor and fewer regulations.
Labor laws and immigration laws were enacted to protect American workers from dangerous working conditions and from unfair competition that foreign workers might provide. In fact, prior to World War II, the enforcement and administration of the immigration laws were the responsibility of the Department of Labor. The authority for the enforcement of immigration laws only shifted to the Justice Department during World War II — when it became apparent that foreign spies and saboteurs could pose a national security threat.
There was balance to America’s politics. Both sides had understandable goals and desires, and through compromise America and Americans benefited and the middle class grew. Wages increased and along with those increasing middle-class wages came more disposable income that enabled large numbers of Americans to live the American Dream.
Labor is a commodity. Not unlike any other commodity, dumping huge quantities of a commodity into the market drives down the value of that commodity. Wages for many American workers are being suppressed or even reduced as more foreign workers join the workforce.
This is not only an issue where illegal aliens flooding into the United States are concerned, however.
Today, increasing numbers of foreign workers are being admitted into the United States with visas that enable them to legally work here. These workers are often highly skilled and highly educated. Many are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals who often displace American workers and drive down the wages of workers in these industries.
Incredibly, the Democratic Party is not only not doing anything to counter this deplorable situation — but it’s become an advocate of this betrayal of American workers.
To say that the scales of labor/management have become unbalanced would be a gross understatement.
Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, was one of the witnesses Schumer called to testify at this hearing. In his prepared testimony, Greenspan spoke about how America had come to depend on the work done by illegal aliens that, in his words, only “marginally suppresses wages.”
Greenspan then went on to talk about the need to remove the shields that protect American workers when discussing high-skilled workers. These are the STEM professionals.
Here is an excerpt from Greenspan’s testimony in which he extolled the benefits to be gained by following the demands of Bill Gates who, at a previous hearing, said America needed to greatly expand the H-1B visa program:
First, skilled workers and their families form new households. They will, of necessity, move into vacant housing units, the current glut of which is depressing prices of American homes. And, of course, house price declines are a major factor in mortgage foreclosures and the plunge in value of the vast quantity of U.S. mortgage-backed securities that has contributed substantially to the disabling of our banking system.
The second bonus would address the increasing concentration of income in this country. Greatly expanding our quotas for the highly skilled would lower wage premiums of skilled over lesser skilled. Skill shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. Quotas have been substituted for the wage pricing mechanism. In the process, we have created a privileged elite whose incomes are being supported at noncompetitively high levels by immigration quotas on skilled professionals. Eliminating such restrictions would reduce at least some of our income inequality.
Democrats have not only abandoned their traditional base of American workers — but now openly support policies that drive down the wages of those American workers they used to support.
Consider that the Clinton Foundation, currently under investigation, has partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as noted on the Clinton Foundation website: “Clinton Foundation and Gates Foundation Partner to Measure Global Progress for Women and Girls.”
While Hillary Clinton promises to push for “wage equality” by raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, most of those cheering this promise ignore that $10.10 per hour works out to approximately $21,000 annually. No one seems to have the sense to ask who Hillary wants to make these workers equal to.
Greenspan’s notion of “wage equality” would require that middle-class wages be slashed to, in Greenspan’s own words, “reduce at least some of our income inequality.”
Meanwhile, when boasting about an unemployment rate of roughly 5 percent, the administration blithely ignores the plight of more than 90 million working-age Americans who have left the labor force.
Does anyone wonder why America’s “recovery” has been so sluggish? Perhaps it’s because Democrats have sold out American workers to the interests of globalization.
Michael W. Cutler is a retired INS senior special agent and a senior fellow at CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization). Cutler’s career with the INS spanned some 30 years; he has provided expert witness testimony at over a dozen congressional hearings.
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