Write in BRIAN KELLY for Congress PA District #8 Primary in 2022

Brian Kelly for Congress PA District #8 Primary in 2022 :

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Solving Jobs & Illegal Immigration Together! 

Corporations that Cannot Outsource Find Another Way 

What a shame for corporate titans who saw their golfing buddies moving huge portions of their businesses offshore to reduce their labor cost.  The shame ended when Donald Trump convinced them to bring their businesses home.

Unfortunately, Joe Biden is OK with farming jobs offshore so we are back as if we are reliving the Obama / Biden years of offshoring. Too bad for America that neither the President Biden nor members of Congress such as Matt Cartwright cares enough about Americans to keep jobs in the USA.

The corporate titans are again seeing their buddies being able to move their businesses offshore to take advantage of lower wages and their buds also got "less punitive" environmental conditions. Where they can't offshore, they are inviting illegal foreign nationals to take American jobs while working for peanuts. They had hoped they could figure out a way that they could create a labor force that was similar to those offshore. But, they wanted to keep their company in America. They figured out how to succeed without the success being shared by Americans. 

They wanted all of the advantages and none of the disadvantages of offshoring for their companies.  They wanted a  cheap labor source and a labor force that would not complain at all about the work environment.   The overriding problem of course for industries such as farming and meatpacking  and even construction is that companies that require "American" workers in America cannot offshore the work to other countries.  What a problem. These businesses were stuck in America and therefore had to hire American workers. Not so fast!  

Suppose, for example, your company packs meat from animals raised on US land or suppose you are selling berries or vegetables grown on US land, or you are building homes in the U.S. You simply cannot pack up and take your enterprise offshore.  It cannot work.  The poor corporate titans could not gain the benefits of offshoring unless magically the Chinese and Indian workforce, or the Mexicans or South Americans willing to work for peanuts were brought to the US. Hey, maybe that can be done? 

It may not be Chinese workers or Indian workers but the workers come nonetheless, and they are still coming.  The US government solved the problem of no labor arbitrage by taking no action when illegal foreign nationals came in and took American jobs. Thank you Congress. Thank you, Mr. President Obama and Mr. President Biden. The companies seem to be able to hire illegal workers with impunity and they never look back. Americans can be fired and cheap labor hired, and the profits come in even more than expected. Thank you American business.

Yes, profits never looked so good as wage rates are now as depressed in many industries as in the Robber Baron days. Somebody is being taken advantage of and somebody else is out of a good job. But, a heartless anti-American corporate titan is now able to share in the bounty of offshoring without even having to move his company.  When the government's border watchdogs decided that they did not need to take overt action to stop the practice during the last several administrations, its non-action was enough to put a big smile on an industry mogul's nasty unkind face. Trump took away that smile for most of his four years so they decided to help get did of him. 

With the government choosing not to enforce illegal immigration laws, companies thus became able to create little pockets of employment that had almost all of the "business friendly" characteristics and the big benefits of third world countries right here in the good ole USA.  Yup! because of lax government policy intended by the Republicans to give businesses who could not offshore the financial breaks they desired, life was good.  Huge corporations were able to find labor arbitrage opportunities that had not been available since the Robber Baron days, right here in America.  Just as in those days, all the workers suffered and still suffer. Meanwhile Democrats are not trying to be nice to American workers. They do not need us anymore. They are trying to figure out how to legalize the illegals so they can vote to keep the Democrats in office.   

 Meatpacking Industry Big Corporate Names Are on Top of the Bad List

The story of the meatpacking industry is an egregious affront against the American way. We all seem to think that all illegal immigrants pick berries or vegetables or otherwise work on a farm.  This is not true.  The once highly unionized labor force in the meatpacking industry, which had been dominated by black workers making big wages, for example once commanded 25% higher wages than other manufacturers. In the early days, meatpacking was an undesirable profession because it was dangerous work and because the wages were depressed. Unions changed that but the unions let the meatpackers off the hook when they moved the jobs and hired illegals. 

With the union influence, meatpacking became a desired job especially for new legal immigrants from all countries.   Paying such good wages however soon was too good for companies like Swift and Tyson and others so they figured a way to get back to slave labor wages.  They shut down their city operations and moved their plants to the countryside where nobody lived.  

Their American workers for the most part chose not to go with them.  A huge proportion of those who lost jobs were black and because of the great wage, they had lifted themselves well into the middle class. It was too good to last.  When they opened their facilities in rural areas, the plants were non-union or were about to be. The wages were about half of what they had been when the companies were all unionized.  Along the way the meatpacking industry came up with a lot of tricks so that unions were never again were able to take hold of the industry.  Illegal foreign nationals as workers was one tool they used since no business person worried about an illegal alien joining a union.  It would be almost certain deportation. 

Just like the government has begun to lie at a wholesale level,  company managers and executives learned to lie so that they could keep their profit margins and they could also avoid jail time. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) people did come around, but not too frequently, and most of the time, they came after having been announced. There were few surprise visits.  When companies are asked about their workforce, they are quick to verify that they have no illegals working on premise.  Of course, they lie.  Here is a great story that demonstrates this. 

A few years back, the Swift Plant Managers in Greeley Colorado were informed that ICE would be calling soon.  Why ICE would tell them they were going to be raided is another part of the problem.  All of the meatpackers in recent years use illegal aliens (foreign nationals) as a major part of their workforce. So, when informed by ICE that a raid was imminent at its plants, Swift immediately went before a judge to ask for an injunction to prevent those raids.  Why would that be? 

When they got to court seeking injunctive relief, Swift told the court that the raids could severely impact its ability to conduct business. The company argued that it could lose up to 40 percent of its workforce and this would compromise its ability to continue as an employer.  This is verifiable by checking Swift's court documents. The funny thing here is that Swift had always claimed that it had never knowingly hired an illegal worker so the idea that they would be harmed in any way was counter to their prior testimony.  They lie.  

Of course we know and the workers know they lie. The bottom line is that if the company believed it had no illegal workers then where did the 40 percent loss in its workforce estimate come from in a potential immigration raid?  Again, the answer is they lied. Those looking at the meatpacking industry over time know that no amount of raids at Swift would ever stop Swift's Greeley plant and other plants from being work havens for illegal immigrants. There is just too much money at stake.  Since nobody goes to jail, the inconvenience is merely a cost of business. 

How about fruit, berry, and vegetable pickers?  It is a similar scenario to meatpacking and even construction but there are more legal ways to get the job done in those industries. Yet, there are still lots of illegal foreign nationals working on farms and building buildings. Obviously farmers cannot offshore their business so they do the next best thing. They find the cheapest labor in town.  So, it is possible to bring all of that cheap labor to the farm without having to move the farm. 

Of course we know the farm cannot be moved and there is an ample supply of illegal interlopers to fill the bill.  This is a real coup for businesses that cannot go offshore.  Only American workers are harmed but no political party today represents American workers. Corporations are able to pay substantially less than the prevailing wage to gain the labor supply they need. It is really not good for Americans and it is certainly not a real good thing for the impoverished workers.  

Today everybody seems to understand that offshoring is the sending of American Jobs to another country and leaving the Americans who once had those jobs out of work. There is an argument that we just presented that most meat and poultry workers, farm workers, and construction workers, whose jobs cannot be outsourced are victims of labor arbitrage with no union protection. 

Workers in manufacturing and now customer service industries, as well as IT and Accounting are witnessing massive job depletion by offshoring.  So entrenched US industries use illegals for labor arbitrage and healthy corporations that are not bound to the US, simply take the jobs overseas to third world countries. With the major influx of foreign nationals a.k.a. illegal aliens, those corporations that cannot offshore do the same thing onshore.  They have been able to bypass labor laws and they have been able to craft a “third world” strategy for the U.S. meat and poultry industry, as well as many other industries. 

So, why did I take you through all that? 

The solution is actually very easy.  I love the notion of cybernetic systems. As a computer systems engineer, I build self-correcting attributes into all the systems I design.  I think the government missed its opportunity years ago of dealing effectively with border jumpers who become illegal workers.  But, no problem is beyond the thinking of a problem solver as long as the government, meaning both political parties want to solve the problem.  

Years ago I knew the problem with illegal immigration was these folks somehow all got jobs.  They would be long gone if nobody hired them.  BTW, that is another reason why a consumption vs. an income tax would help. Everybody would pay some tax.  Illegal immigrants can't all be on welfare no matter how good the identity theft business has become. So, we must conclude they have jobs and that American companies are paying somebody off or are winking and nodding and all is OK.  

The solution is very simple and it would put so much money in the US treasury that neither party would ever want to make citizens of the "illegal alien." Moreover, it would increase the opportunity for American Citizens to be employed in the industries in which the illegals had downgraded the wages.  

Here is the plan. 

1. Amnesty for all employers who admit they have illegal immigrants working for them.  

2.  As part of the amnesty the company provides the number (not the names) of the employees who are illegal or who may be illegal.  I am OK with providing names but this is not a trick to discover identities for deportation.  

3. A new $5.00 per hour payroll tax is imposed by the Federal government on each employee who is not a citizen. Companies report hours quarterly along with their 941-A reports.  

4. The current employees' wages cannot be cut as long as they work for the company. 

5. Any new jobs are to be filled by verified Americans. Americans can keep the $5.00 differential. If an American has the job, he or she keeps the $5.00. In other words, Illegals make $5.00 less per hour but the company pays the same.  

6. The tax money goes into state unemployment funds and/or Social Security. 

7.. Either the companies continue paying the employees the equivalent of $5.00 more per hour (with the $5.00 going to Uncle Sam) or they hire American citizens. 

8. If a $5.00 differential is not enough, the Congress increases the number appropriately. 

The demand for American citizens will push the labor rate up so that Americans can again be employed in meatpacking, construction, and even in the farm fields. 

The 5.00 pay differential causes the companies to be able to afford regular American workers.   If $5.00 is not the right number then it is changed to a number that favors Americans over non-citizens. 

Problem solved. Why? Only if both Parties want it solved.  

As an Aside 

Many of us have been out to the blogs and we get a chance to catch the unabashed feelings of Americana.  The blogs have been really buzzing since Obamacare began to affect most Americans. Not only do a lot of healthy Americans not want to buy insurance but they are annoyed that they will be paying for many people who for one reason or another choose not to contribute to society and who are content to take, take and take.  

These folks are not only concerned about Obamacare but the next step,  a shamnesty, which then compounds the financial distress of Obamacare by adding 30,000,000 to 60,000,000 illegal aliens and their families to the welfare rolls and to the Obamacare rolls.  These folks suggest that those on welfare should replace the farm workers who choose to go back to wherever they are from. Not a bad idea! 

I forget where I got this but it sums it up pretty nicely 

"... Why are we questioning if we should be accepting things that are illegal. If we bend the rules for one group or action, then we have to bend the rules for all or it would be 'selective enforcement,' which in itself is illegal. I agree. Able-bodied welfare recipients should take the low-paying jobs. If they do not like them, it will serve as incentive to work toward something they would enjoying working at. Welfare was originally meant to assist people to get back up on their feet. It was not meant to be a source of life-time income."

Helping Americans was never intended in America's worst hours in Congress to mean giving illegals benefits while taking the funding from the wallets of hard-working Americans.