If illegal aliens are deported, who will do the work?

One of Donald Trump’s campaign pledges is to send the illegal aliens back home.  The last serious effort was Eisenhower’s Operation Wetback (surely one of the least politically correct names for a government initiative), and a repeat is long overdue.   There are over ten million in the USA – we can only guess at the exact number – so it’s time we figure out how the jobs they’re doing will be filled.  Currently, they tend to be in several niches of the labor market.

I could explain why the drive for cheap labor has been the downfall of civilizations, but this time I’ll spare you the tirade. In any event, the establishment narrative is that illegal aliens are only “doing jobs that Americans don’t want to do”.  That’s baloney.  People will do any work if a fair price is paid.  Let’s see how these jobs can be filled.

Migrant agricultural laborers

This will be the greatest challenge, yet certainly not insurmountable.  There are over half a million homeless people, who can go far to make up for this labor force.  Some are unemployable for various reasons, but the rest can make enough cash to get themselves back on their feet.  The right infrastructure would have to be put in place, but all told, the government already spends quite a bit on the problem already.  Without strong community ties, they’re not going to mind going from one jobsite to another, away from their home city for long stretches.  Further, they’ll be away from the temptations of drugs and cheap alcohol.

For the homeless, harvesting crops by day and sleeping in a tent at night will be better than spending their days shaking a cup or the squeegee racket and spending their nights under a bridge.  Aside from the money they save, this will give them stability and self-esteem.  If society presents migrant farm work as a viable alternative – and starts showing less tolerance for idleness – then we can do much about this social problem.

Surely some will object that this will cause the prices of vegetables to rise.  Granted, treating them as befitting American workers will cost more than the way illegal migrant farm workers are treated now.  Even so, labor costs are only a fraction of the total price, so we’re not exactly going to get $10 heads of lettuce.  A great part of prices of produce are in transportation, packaging, processing, marketing, the grocery store’s markup, and so forth.

Finally, I recall a conversation in San Francisco with a homeless chick.  It was a few years back, but I remember it well. She actually wasn’t bad looking, other than a lip ring.  Her boyfriend with a tatted up face – likely the major source of her problems – was nearby monitoring the conversation.  They were from out of state, but they came because California paid them a stipend, and they were saving up the money for a car.  (Thanks, California!)  Wouldn’t it be more productive for able-bodied people like them to paid by farmers to pick vegetables in Central Valley, rather than for taxpayers to pay them for existing?

Construction workers

I’ve had personal experience with this.  I got laid off by a pig of a CEO – who was getting paid $4 million a year to run the company straight into the ground, as well as $40 million in stock options as a nice prezzie.  After that, I had to do day labor since there were no jobs in my industry to be found.  For the next two years, I was at a company where the person I replaced was an illegal alien.  I said I’d work for whatever they were paying him.  I certainly didn’t get rich, but it was barely enough to stay afloat, which was better than the alternatives.  There are millions of unemployed according to statistics – no doubt many more million off the books too – so filling demand for construction workers shouldn’t be hard.

Lawn crews

Many suburban homeowners shell out monthly payments to companies that cut their yards.  These companies often hire illegal aliens.  There are two substitutes for this:  1) cut your own damn yard, or 2) find a teenager with a lawn mower, either one of your own or a neighbor.

House cleaners

Again, the solution is simple.  Clean your own damn house.  It ain’t that hard.  If you’re blessed with children, there’s your labor force right there.  Rather than pay the little darlings an allowance, and then they call you a slave driver when you ask them to do chores, instead pay them an agreed-upon amount for each task.  That’ll encourage a good work ethic and promote good habits for cleanliness.  If needed, you can hire a kid from the neighborhood.

Babysitters

Once more, youth is the answer.  Is a teenage girl competent to look after children?  Of course!  In many countries in the developing world, teenagers are starting families of their own.  In fact, this was commonplace in our own societies up until about the late 1880s.

Back in the day, I remember plenty of notices posted by high school girls at the entrance to the grocery store, advertising their services as babysitters.  They got valuable experience in minding young children, surely useful for when they later took on the role full-time as mothers.

Producing more youth

For the last three items, we’ll need more young people.  Here’s how you can do your part.  The first step is to find a compatible mate.  No, they’re not all a bunch of bar girls and chicks fresh out of college with impossible attitudes.  You can still find down-to-earth women out there.  Once you know it’s the real deal with her, make sweet love to her repeatedly until conception occurs.  Believe it or not, this is what sex is actually for!  (Who knew???)  Then you have achieved genetic immortality, and your willing servant is on the way.