No, you can't counter them by being the best. Reason being is, my current wage is about $20.00 dollars an hour. They will work for $4.00 or $5.00 dollars an hour. Who do you think the employer is going to use or hire, if it's an option??

Luckily for me, they can't do what I do, so I'm not worried about them competing for my job.

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I Don't Suffer From Insanity, I Enjoy Every Minute of it

being 'so much better' is not a sure solution...sure, it might just keep you in work, but in the big picture the FACTS I have outlined mean that the general wage rate of a particular field of work gets driven down...simple macro economics...

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So Long and Thanks for All the Files
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Beware of the big 3 insurance companies in Texas! Read your policies carefully (maybe you'll need a lawyer) Allstate, Farmers & State Farm are overextended and their 'coverage' is worthless...a true waste of your money Read This

Remoc

You said:It's quite obvious here that employers are employing illegals, which will no doubt build up into resentment and hatred in the local community. So I've got to ask, where is your local law enforcement to stop this flouting of your laws and this ongoing non-sense. Unlike the UK, you guys can vote for your sheriff (or some such) so why isn't something being done.

I speak as one who's job is likely to be outsourced to India within the next 6 - 12 months, all in the name of paying back the deficit caused by the banks.


Peerless

I reckon you have seen the news that came out of Tunisia and is now coming out of Egypt, i.e. the people out there have had enough of there self serving and corrupt governments.

I guess that you may predict the same thing happening in the US, if it did you would then need martial law to keep the US together and prevent civil disintegration.



UK Bob

you miss a very important point UK...

immigration enforcement is the role of the FEDS...local sheriffs cannot deport people...as I noted in an earlier post, there are already laws about all aspects of immigration that are being totally ignored...

as far as the US...well its all according to how things end up going down...

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So Long and Thanks for All the Files
_____________________________________________

Beware of the big 3 insurance companies in Texas! Read your policies carefully (maybe you'll need a lawyer) Allstate, Farmers & State Farm are overextended and their 'coverage' is worthless...a true waste of your money Read This

Sort of gives a bit of emphasis to the mexican 'wave' as they come over the hills. lol

We send out our steam powered local patrols to catch the illegal immigrant boats as they attempt to float across from indonesia.
It's sort of funny because we have issues with illegal fisherman also. Those from Indonesia .. and other countries also for that matter who come all the way from europe or Sth America or japan, etc. At best our navy can do no more than give them warning shots to make them stop so the navy can board & check them for 'various' purposes.

If a few boats were actually sanctioned to be sunk, heck that would send a strong message to both illegal immigrants & illegal fishermen. And yes, indonesian fisherman even have the cheek to come up & steal our aboriginal sacred shell fish just up the river estuaries. Only the aborigines have permission to touch such shell fish (big punishment for locals to touch them!!'.') Mind-block which ones. But highly valued in Asia. Illegal fishing from other countries is a 'big' issue here.
Asian waters are so over-fished, they come into our waters. It's not because they are starving, it's because they sell their produce to places like China for 'bonus' money.

Well Peerless

As you can imagine, I find it strange that local law enforcement in the US can't enforce the law, regardless of whether it's a national or state law.

I guess that is another cultural difference that does not translate when crossing the Atlantic.


LOTR

As for illegals in Australia, I heard on the news recently that the Australian government was paying Indonesia to take illegals heading by sea for Australia.

Just a thought, though it might be frivolous, has the US ever thought of deporting illegals to one of it's protectorates? (I think there's about 14 but I can't find a definitive list).

Could solve a lot of problems.



UK Bob

Yes Australia has been negotiating with Indonesia re: illegals who have been heading towards Indonesia. Intelligence circles sometimes find out about these planned travels before they even reach Indonesia.

Re: illegal fishermen; some have been known to be armed with both personal guns & bigger weapons. Pirates in a respect. So the navy is always careful.

Birdy probably hears more about these happenings since it's nearer to her.

Re: Mexico's illegals. Something similar could be negotiated between the USA & Mexico. Perhaps Mexico stepping up it's border controls under USA sponsorship.

In the past two years Obama has done more to thwart illegal immigration than Bush did in eight years. (Perhaps Texas needs more pickers than Illinois.)

If we truly protected our borders, how would we get our illicit drugs? Without illicit drugs the world economy would fail.

Interesting to note that in Tunisia, and now in Egypt, the populace did not require any "Second Amendment remedies" to achieve radical change in government. I hope the people of Yemen have a similar experience.

Blackhorse 70

I'm not sure if you were serious when you said:I can't say I believe that but I do know that if "illicit drugs" were completely cut off you would find that organised crime and terrorism would grow to become far more powerful than they are now. Just think what "Prohibition" did for the Mafi@.

LOTR

I just heard on the 7am news that cyclone Yasi is heading towards Queensland, are you affected by it?

BBC News - Queensland evacuations urged ahead of Cyclone Yasi



UK Bob

A few examples:

All of our illicit opiates and cocaine are imported, i.e. smuggled, across our borders. The national demand for those drugs is enormous, requiring huge quantities to come through our ports and border crossings, with the resiquite payola going into various pockets. Once purchased, officials are owned.

This year the DEA, (with its 8,399 staff and 4,146 agents), has requested over $2 billion to fund its "war on drugs" (WOD). (I don't think the drugs will ever surrender.) The $2bil is small when compared to the monies spent by the states on police, courts, incarceration, and drug-related health problems. Add to that the indirect costs of drug-motivated crimes, including burglary, robbery, auto theft, and dealers protecting their own turf or encroaching on another's, (with not a few innocents caught in the cross-fire), in addition to social services and foster care for those whose parents are incarcerated.

Many states have been unable to afford to keep up with the increasing numbers of prisoners, so they are privatizing their prison systems. I'm opposed to that idea only because there is no expectation that the privately-run institutions make any efforts to reduce recidivism (it should be included in their contracts). The largest Political Action Committee in the US is made up of corrections officers.

Keeping track of our WOD requires extensive data collection. When interpreted and used correctly, the data assists in determining where and how to spend our enormous Prevention budgets. Most often, the data is mis-interpreted or ignored, and the ever-changing methods for prevention attest to their ineffectiveness.

For those seeking treatment, there is a huge industry to fulfill their every need, for as much as they think they need to spend to get sober/drug free. While many people require hospitalization during detox, there is normally no reason to spend 28-days in a hospital, other than to max out insurance payments (the 28-days was not based upon empirical clinical evidence; it's the max MediCare would pay).

On the lowest end of the treatment spectrum are the social-model detoxes for public inebriates and drug addicts. They represent the neediest persons in treatment, yet they receive the least help (unlike how we address every other disease). And finally, for those not seeking treatment, the courts often help to keep my fellow counselors employed.

Where do the big bucks go? Wall Street. Any cash transaction involving $10k or more must be reported to the Feds. Unless you want to buy on the Street, where you can bring in a mattress stuffed with $50k, and it's don't ask - don't tell.


Hope you're staying high and dry, Birdy.