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| "Shipyard Worker, Richmond, California" (c. 1943) by Dorothea Lange |
In part two, chapter one, Soni describes a challenge faced by U.S. businesses that struggle to make a profit because of high labor costs and governmental regulations that limit their ability to hire skilled workers willing to work for lower pay.
Consider the perspective of the business owner. Why shouldn't the market, the employer, and the available workers be allowed to determine what is a fair price to pay a worker?
Why shouldn't the business owner be able to hire a qualified worker from another country to do a job if workers from the United States are demanding too much money?
Should the U.S. government have the right to restrict the freedom of a business to hire whomever they want to do a job?
Respond to these questions only after you have read part two, chapter one and all the preceding chapters.
On the one hand, it *is* the employers who pay their workers the money. It isn't necessarily unfair that the employers would want to avoid overcompensating laborers if it meant getting more labor.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's clear that Malvern and Pol wanted to profit off of cheap labor. Though they claim to be trying to help the "foreigners" out, judging from their links to neo-Nazi forums and websites, it's clear that they have little regard for the wellness of those they hire. When people say that employers are "people, too," they often forget that people are often corruptible, impressionable and opportunistic. It is literally confirmed in the text that they do have "labor" available in the States, but they don't want to pay their workers the wages they demand.
Personally, I believe immigration would be a lot less of a problem if the restrictions focused on the employers, rather than the immigrants who are trying to provide for their families and/or *survive.*
I feel like we need to look at this scenario from the perspective of the government. If the government lowers and raises labor costs there is a reason. Most of this time it is because people are not making enough money and spending has gone down. With the spending going down, so will the money being brought in by businesses. I do not feel like regulating how much workers make is necessarily a bad thing. With regard to bringing in workers from another country, it will also slow down our economy. Yes, the business owner may be making more money, but they are also taking jobs that should be available in our country and giving it to people in another country.
ReplyDeleteI do understand that the business owners want to make more money and the people in other countries do as well, but that is not always what is best for the economy here. If we just go around hiring people from other countries because it is cheaper, then there will quickly be a money and job shortage in America.
I feel as though the worker and the employer should be allowed to have an opinion and a say in how much they get paid. It will depend on how the market is looking as well. No one can really control that. If an employer is demanding too low of a price for a worker then the worker should find another place to work. If an employer can’t find any workers they should raise the hourly wage. I also do think they should be allowed to hire legal immigrants if they want, but I believe their intentions were to take advantage of the less fortunate. I also think that takes away from the opportunities to the citizens who were already here.
ReplyDeleteThe business owners need qualified workers, but the workers in the United States who are qualified need to make enough money to live comfortably. If business owners were allowed to freely bring in workers from other countries that are equally qualified but take a lower wage due to economic differences in their home country then local skilled workers would either be out of a job or have to take a lower paying job that cannot support their families. This can place a strain on the local economy and cause those workers out of jobs to need governmental or other kinds of assistance.
ReplyDelete