The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill: Mickey Kaus makes some good points on immigration but...

Mickey, the question is, are we suffering a labor shortage or are we suffering a shortage of people who will accept below minimum wage. Are we suffering a labor shortage or are we suffering a shortage of people who will work without Workman's comp and other workplace niceties that legal workers must by law be provided? Are businesses like Tyson foods and Mohawk Carpet employing illegals simply because no one will work for them or because no one can work for them on their terms aside from illegals? What will businesses like Tyson Foods and Mohawk Industries do after the current crop of illegals are brought forward into the system and those businesses are forced to treat them as legal employees with all the attendant costs?

Is it possible that these companies having developed this addiction for employees who cannot run to the E.O.C. and who cost so much less to employ through direct costs of wages and insurance and indirect costs in the form of workplace safety, will suddenly see the light and hire legal employees?

Additionally if those illegal employees see their advantage in the workplace over American workers vanishing should they become legal will they desire to price themselves out of the market just for the privilege of paying taxes?

Enforcement in the workplace and a border fence must come first. Real enforcement carried out over the course of years against multiple companies where executives find themselves in jail for violating all sorts of labor laws. That might go a long way to assuring the American public that this latest amnesty program isn't merely some smoke and mirrors dog and pony show by politicians looking out for the most important person in the world, themselves.

Tony's got a deal for you! By Mickey Kaus: "I agree that this is the deal that can be cut--in part because there seems to be nothing all that terrible about a legal guest worker program, as long as it draws its workers from those waiting in line outside the country (and not those who've jumped the queue and already snuck in). Guest workers aren't illegal immigrants, after all--and one way to discourage illegals is to give opportunities to legals. A flexible guest worker program could offer some insurance against a labor shortage, just in case border security measures actually work. "

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