Sticking it too the Middle Class

By Bill Jungbauer

Today we have a government that is not concerned about the will of the people on immigration issues and the security of our national borders. Millions of dollars have been appropriated to build a fence along our borders, yet very little has been done.

We have been told that amnesty for illegals is needed to provide low price labor for jobs that "Americans do not want to do." Now we are witnessing Mexican truckers on American highways despite the protests of the American people and the Teamsters Union.

One hundred years ago the city of San Francisco had proposed segregating Asian students from white students much like the blacks in the deep south. California was undergoing what they called the "Yellow Peril." Untold numbers of Japanese immigrants flooded into the west coast providing cheap labor to industry. James J. Hill is known to have said, "Why should I pay a fireman six dollars a day to shovel coal, when I can pay a Chinese man fifty cents." This was the cause of much anger among American workers, fueling riots and civil unrest on the west coast.

Theodore Roosevelt worked out a deal with the Japanese government to limit the number of exit visas to its citizens. When Japan moved too slowly in its implementation, President Roosevelt sent the entire United States Navy on a cruise to the far east in a show of force. This provided the Japanese the will to follow up on their promise of slowing the flow of cheap labor to California.

Here is what Mexico's President Calderon recently had to say,

"In the name of the government of Mexico, I again issue an energetic protest against the unilateral measures taken by the Congress and the United States government that exacerbate the persecution and the vexing treatment against undocumented Mexican workers.

The insensitivity shown toward those who have contributed to the economy and the United States society has been an inducement to redouble the struggle to recognize the enormous contribution to the economy of both countries and to defend their rights."

As in the past, Calderon called on the US Congress to pass changes in immigration laws to grant amnesty to the estimated twelve million illegal immigrants now living and working here in the US. He is also extremely unhappy with any attempts to build a fence along the border.

Criticizing the United States is a popular pastime in Mexican politics. Illegal immigrants send home about $20 billion dollars annually and the yearly migration of about 400,000 people relieves the Mexican government of masses of poor.

I am often told by people that they believe that the Republican party represents big business. I am a proud Republican and I believe in the Republican platform over that of the democrats. I believe in low taxes, and small government. I do not want my taxes going to organizations that promote abortion. I believe in a strong military. Theodore Roosevelt was once accused of being a sell out to Big Oil. He promptly returned a check from Standard Oil in the sum of $100,000. Are there any modern day politicians taking the moral high ground these days?

I am a middle class American carpenter. Through NAFTA, loose immigration enforcement, and a growing global economy, we can see that our wages will be driven down by those who are happy making less. As I see it, the rich and the poor receive the best health care, while the middle class gets less and less.

In the last days of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency he was quite concerned about what he called the "disgustingly wealthy." He did not believe that morrally, they were doing thier part as Americans. Today, union enrollement is an all time low of 7.4 percent of the national work force, compared to 35 percent in the 1950's. The average real wage today is just where it was nearly five years ago, in December 2002. Here in Minnesota, the AFL-CIO contiually backs nothing but democrats. Remember it's the democrats that claim to represent the working class and the down-trodden. But they are the ones that continually propose regresive taxes that hurt the middle and lower class citizens the most. It is also the democrats, and many unions, that are pushing for rights for illegal immigrants.

I beleive in the right to unionize. I know first hand how the boss can threaten his employees. I am fully aware that people fought and died for the working conditions we take for granted today. But we cannot continue to allow things to go on as they are today. Close up our borders. Deport illegal immigrants. Repeal NAFTA.