so basically what I'm trying to say is don't bitch until it hits about $4 a gallon. Which sadly is on the way, but it's not here yet people. How about putting all that effort of yelling about gas prices and get Bush to get off his ass and do something about immigration (see, I don't agree with EVERYTHING the guy does)? That's a bigger threat to our economy now than gas; its at $2.40 here. One final note 1973 nomnial (what it was in price back then) gas price per gallon $.50-$1 and in 1979 it was $1.20-$1.50. Minimum wage in 1973-$1.60 in 1979-$2.90. So basically you could buy 1-2 gallons of gas for every hour of minimum wage worked. Today in 2005 it is $5.15 (and probably going to be higher in the near future). With the national average of gas being about $2.30 now that means you can buy 2+ gallons of gas today for every hour of minimum wage worked. Record prices? just another piece of bullshit by the MSM. For those of you who don't know economics too well I'd be happy to elaborate a little more if your still confused. If you entirely understand what I've said (and that's my goal) enjoy and please let me know that you did.
10 comments:
Geez. I'm living not too far from refineries and we drove by a bunch of oil wells and we're paying $2.70 a gallon because they can get away with charging that much.
ZS, I hear in so.cal their paying upwards of $3.30. Your lucky.
Paul, I was referring to illegal immigration and the fact that those workers drive down wages for the rest of the people who are here legally.
Paul - illegals drive down the salaries for the rest of us. Examples - I've done both physical labor and mental labor. Mental labor has been heavily outsourced recently so corporations can keep our salaries down. Also, corporations love illegal aliens so they could keep physical labor salaries down.
Plus, illegals are destroying family farms. Corporate farming depends heavily on illegal labor and family farmers are working 60 hour weeks just to break even. They end up having to sell the farm then move into the city to make money.
Also, illegals are destroying hospitals. They go in and don't pay their bills, then of course us taxpayers end up having to pay their bills. They've already caused the closure of a lot of hospitals in Southern California, Arizona, and Texas. I know this first hand. My mother just got laid off from her hospital because they're losing money.
I wanted to add a little to what I said.
Also, as an environmentalist, family farms are a good thing. Family farmers actually care about the land because they know they will be leaving it for their children who will be leaving it for their grandchildren, etc. Well, corporate farmers only care about the bottom line. If some developer wanted to build a strip mall, they'd sell it immediately. They also use more pesticides because they don't have any interest in the land except for the quick buck.
very true ZS, but even in places like N.Illinois where the family farm is slowly but surely becoming extinct it isn't even in farmers best interests to keep the land. Even they will sell out to devlopers because they can make more money selling it to people who will build townhouses (see Urban Sprawl) because they can make more money doing that than 10-20 years of farming. For all the businesses that the feds prop up the family farm isn't one of them, at least to my knowledge. Also in the city that my Aunt Uncle and cousins live in Ill. their cities population has quadrupled in about a decade. It was 5000 in 1994 and the last census taken in 2004 it was at 20,000 and still growing.
Ben - the reason for the urban sprawl is illegal immigration. Americans have already achieved zero population growth. We also limit legal immigration to what we need. It's the illegals that are making the population skyrocket faster than we can be prepared for them.
Paul - the first two papers failed to address two of the key things I mentioned - environmental impact of illegal immigration as well as hospital closures due to illegals not paying their bills, which affected my mother directly. Had she been ten years younger, I would have been pissed, but it really is time for her to retire anyways so she and I are not that upset.
As for wages, they don't take into account that the economy surged at the time they were written (due to computers, which has nothing to do with illegal immigration).
Here's a serious failure in the 2nd article -
Prior to U.S. welfare reform in 1996, immigrants were more likely than natives to receive public assistance. New laws restrict immigrant access to many benefits, one important exception being costly public education.
They completely fail to mention that hospitals are required to take in sick and injured folks. They have no choice.
I really wish I could take you back in time and see the changes in Southern California that I've seen. Legal Mexican immigrants are wonderful, hard-working people and I can't say enough good stuff about them. The illegals however have one breadwinner while the rest of them go on the dole and we pay for it heavily. Their kids have no work ethic, get in gangs, and litter everywhere. Southern California in some parts is looking like a Third World country now instead of being gorgeous as it was when I grew up in the 70s. I've heard the same thing from Texans, Arizonans (is that a word?), and New Mexicans.
Ben - sorry about that. Blogger doesn't let you edit your comments and I had some errors.
Paul - Wish my new Almanac had the same info for states that it does for nations. If so, I could flood you with statistics.
I'm stating the obvious. Too many of the new people moving into California are Mexicans who do not speak English. Can I safely assume they're illegal? Probably. Legal Mexicans I know all speak English, some better than others of course, but they know that it will benefit them.
I know from experience working in hotel and restaurants that many of my friends in the industry were illegal.
And yes, I'm treating this as both an environmental issue as well as an economic issue. Is there a logical argument that millions of illegal aliens each year are good for the California environment? Is it a good thing that farmland is being converted to cheap housing and strip malls? Should we let the family farms die off?
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