Re: day laborers/illegals
I understand and agree with the social support costs for illegals, I mean I live in one of the highest taxed communities in the USA!! and it really hurts to pay as much as we do.
I place the responsibility for the problem on the current politicians and I think it is their respnsibility to address the issue. And I do support the politicians who SAY that they will work on it.
Yet, I have this small community here of illegals. They have suffered at the hands of local law enforcement and snobby locals. The treatment they were subjected to and the harassment they got was so bad that our town was fined close to $1 million and had to pay the attorney fees for the illegals. And all they want is a decent days work. The crime in their area is extremely low, their housing is overcrowded and poor conditions yet very clean and maintained to a surprising degree despite their poverty. I may be adding to the tax burden by hiring them but I think the solution is more in the hands of the politicians. Maybe I'm rationalizing here. But I gave this worker a wage of $350 for 11 hours of work - a pretty decent wage. I bought materials at a cost of 120 so we spent $470. To hire a professional, the job would have been $1200 and we could not have afforded it. The worker that I hired did a beautiful, professional job, took no breaks unless I told him to come out and have some food and he brought the money home to his wife and baby. He took a look around our house (which is old so there's much that could be done) and he is hopeful that we can have him return to do more. I'd hire him back in a flash and will do that as we can afford.
Anyway, till the laws and regulations change, I'm still paying hefty taxes which in part support them so I might as well help them right? Wrong? I mean, yeah I could just let things go, not hire them and hope that the politicians we vote in do the right things to fix the problem. But in the meantime, they ARE here and they need to live.