Armies of the Blight: Men Seeking Work. Anything Accepted. Cash Only. Illegal Not a Problem.
"What happens to these men if we arrive at a point, in a recession, where there is a lot less work for them in their many millions? What happens when the American dream starts contracting from the edges and the extra cash that allows us to employ them starts to dry up? They won't be counted as 'unemployed' since they were never legally 'employable' in the first place. Where will they go? Back to a Mexico where a recession in the US will breed a depression in that 3rd World country? Unlikely. Their best shot would still be to stay here. But if they did, what would they do? And how many would there really be? And how hungry and desperate would they get?"Posted by Vanderleun at March 28, 2009 1:21 PM | TrackBack
I gotta say, I've been disturbed by this ever since you first posted it. I can't quite (still) characterize my response.
I came to the Bay Area in '74 with a backpack. Adventures ensued, and I finally ended up in Sausalito for about 12 years, ending in 2002. There was always something aslant about MarinLand/Aprica USA; a friend who is a Bay Area native says they always called it "LA North" when he was a kid. He didn't intend a compliment.
I have vivid memories of the very scene you describe so well. Because I'm a poor kid, the whole idea of people who were too hip to live hiring littlebrownfolks to do their scutwork offended me right off the bat. The fact that they were perpetuating the Canal Zone in East San Rafael while maintaining their own moral superiority never seemed to enter anyone's vision but mine. What seemed most apparent (as you state so eloquently) was that they were busy sowing the seeds of their own destruction.
When the Politics of Envy reach their boiling point (keep an ear out), do you spose the looters will know where the money is?
Posted by: Rob De Witt at March 28, 2009 5:01 PMThey'll probably go to work for ACORN.
Posted by: Pete Madsen at March 29, 2009 8:26 AM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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