We should bring back slavery
I’m wondering what your reaction will be to the title of this article. Is it rage? Incredulity? Outright dismissal as not being serious?
But you don’t have to worry about me advocating the return of slavery.
Slavery has already returned to America.
Right now we have literally 10’s of thousands of immigrant flowing across the border every week, a portion are arrested and then set free into the U.S. with a piece of paper that allows them to stay, at least until their court date. Others are “getaways” who have no papers or status whatsoever.
While I am panic-stricken that this utter invasion of America is happening and disgusted that our current Administration is causing it, I don’t blame these illegal immigrants for wanting to become part of the greatest nation on earth. They are seeking better opportunities, and these people who are mostly hardworking and ambitious Catholics are honest in their reasons for coming. Maybe this is two-faced of me, but I believe that anyone should wholeheartedly take advantage of the stupid things government does, while simultaneously struggling to improve the effectiveness of government.
As the Mandalorian would say: This is the way.
But these hardworking and ambitious folks are now stuck in a difficult situation.
They are not allowed to work.
They also, obviously, cannot prove an income, show a credit rating and will have difficulty opening a bank account, so finding housing in the mainstream market is impossible. They are relegated to the informal real estate market (i.e. living with other immigrants and their relatives).
This does not mean they will not work, they have to survive until their asylum court date three years hence. Not sure what the Biden administration expects to happen, but what happens is what must happen – they work.
My sources have revealed a vast Hispanic-speaking underground network through social media in America that can help immigrants find jobs. Non-English speakers find illegal work opportunities – but not necessarily good ones. This could mean false papers for a legal job, or it could mean prostitution, drug dealing or other criminal activities, or simply the dirtiest, least secure, lowest paying jobs in America. Did I say vast? Remember, some say there are 20 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. – and most of them are working.
These are jobs that hang on a thread, maintained as criminal ventures. There are no protections under the law, and workers do not have many freedoms. They can be forced to work insane hours, cheated out of salary, fired on a whim, and, in the case of females, coerced into sexual abuse. There is no safety net and the bosses in many cases control the housing as well. The utter instability of this situation, the prospect of going from living poorly to living on the street at the whim of an illegal employer is not freedom as we know it in the U.S.
We have created an underclass of illegal immigrants in America, who are essentially slaves, who have no rights, they are controlled by others, their options are purposefully limited, and the consequences of disobedience are severe.
This is slavery. Right here in America.
So back into the facetious mode:
Why not make this a legal class? Why not bring back indentured servitude with all of the brutality that it implies? We could write contracts that say to be a legal slave one would get food and housing, plus $100 sent back to your family every week. We would get tons of takers on that! And no matter how badly we treated them, it still might be better than where they came from (until we got used to treating them as slaves – will we sink that far? Yes, some faster than others…).
At least in that case we could regulate it and tax it. Isn’t that what our elected leaders want anyway? More power and more money?
Close facetious mode.
The final lesson here is don’t think history cannot repeat itself. Don’t think that changing the word “slavery” to something woke and palatable cannot happen and that a new kind of slavery cannot emerge.
Because it already has.
A VERY interesting post. We have had partial slavery in the US before called “Indentured Servitude”. In the early colonial days, people worked for a “Master” until their costs were paid back. Many early IS persons brought with them crafts and abilities from their countries and worked for the “Master” or others until they paid off the costs of their import. (I got this lecture from a man working as a Coopersmith (or barrel Maker) in Williamsburg several years ago)
We often have to look at what a Person brings as a Value to society in addition to his own body. What Art or Craft does he support? And more importantly, Where can he/she live that they can easily provide that art or craft locally to provide value to the society? And to themselves?
James, great point, and it may have been up to 50 – 75% of those coming in during the 1600’s and 1700’s until the revolution and folks found slavery to be a practiable business model. In the 1600’s, the first blacks in Virginia were oftened treated as indentured. And while many indentured lived the life of a slave, it is not technically slavery. They signed a contract, received goods and services (passage, hots and a cot, a roof), and then worked off the debt. Sometimes good like a worker, sometimes like an apprentice, sometimes like a slave.
A number of my ancestors, by relation not direct, may have done this given they came in the 1700’s before the revolution is the only reason I know this. Have not found paperwork to prove it yet. Gets dusty back then. One group came over the Berkshires from the Boston departure to settle East of Albany and work the river. Great civil war story with that guy who had a black servant, don’t know what that means though. Another group came through Virginia to West Virginia where their weird name is so prevalent know, it sounds like Smith up there. But if indentured, they worked it off and moved one State to the West.
Today we call it college. Just kidding :>)
So you, Frank, are actually IN FAVOR of bringing back slavery! Interesting…
Joe, I am not sure what you mean. I certainly don’t think I said that.
Or we could acknowledge that we NEED these folks to take the jobs that ordinary Americans do not want, and in the process keep our economy going. With an effective negative birth rate we were looking at a long term decline in economic output, but that will reverse because of all the immigrants.
There are no jobs that “ordinary Americans” refuse to take. There are jobs Americans won’t take because the remuneration is too low for employers who can hire illegals more cheaply,
And artificial population enhancement via immigration, which in its current form dilutes the culture and creates a permanent division among Americans, doesn’t work.
The only thing accomplishedby opening the floodgates as this bigot knows and cherishes is to admit a mammoth increase of lower classes dependent on gummint to get by, which represents a huge infusion of Donk Party votes, ultimately subsidizing that party with taxpayer funds or taxpayer debt.
One would have to be an exceedingly stupid cretin not to see what the open-border crowd is crowing for.
Really? We NEED an underclass that has no rights, no options and lives on the edge of poverty, subject to the will of criminals? If we want immigrants, why don’t we close the borders and establish a legal immigration process?
Asylum is a legal immigration process…..one where we signed with other countries to honor.
You remember honor, don’t you Joe.
Republicans USED to be all about it.
Now you are about defending a criminal to be President because he gave you free candy.
There Is Indentured Servitude right now, only the Indentured part is going to the Cartels’!
And the Servitude is going to the Tax payers. But not as a benefit, but an expense.
I reckon the state of things more like Pawns crossing the border in a chess game of Dems against Republicans.
Even in Chess, Pawns can get in the way!
So far the only benefit to allowing all to cross our border has gone to street vendors and Taco Trucks.
I do find it appalling that the people allowing all to come to our country do not wish to have ( Those People )
around them. Martha’s Vineyard was the PRIME example.
I feel Democrats in favor if this migrant influx should put signs in front of their homes saying all is welcome.
ALL THIS IS TRUE TODAY:
Look at the thousands in underpaid (if at all) and exploited work – INCLUDING SEXUAL SLAVERY – OF CHILDREN, TOO!
Has anyone checked the families of our TOP POLITICIANS – and I’m also thinking here of those at MARTHA’s VINEYARD!
And they don’t have to be WHITE! But there was also something BROWN going in, for instance in Jamaica, called Harris
– with over 200 slaves on the family estate! No wonder, that “lady” was so good at keeping innocent people locked up
(ask the Innocence Project).
The democrats would love to bring back slavery
They already did
NJ Newsflash: I do not want to bring slavery back.
Joe, I never thought I would see so many words without a single number from an engineer… Not even one diagram…. Yet somehow Joe deduces that asylum and got-aways = slavery, a unique concept he might just get away with. That’s because world slavery is at an all-time high because the definition was changed. Joe, you have a chance to squeeze this in too.
But ….. you say: “They are not allowed to work.” The law says, in Section 7.3 of the employers handbook from ICIS they are allowed to work: “After being granted asylum in the United States, DHS issues a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, to asylees. Form I-94 will contain a stamp or notation, such as “asylum granted indefinitely” or the appropriate provision of law (8 CFR 274a.12(a)(5) or INA 208) to show their employment authorization. The asylee does not need to present a foreign passport with this Form I-94. An asylee can also present an electronic Form I-94 with an admission class of “AY.” Form I-94 is an acceptable List C document and does not expire or require reverification. Asylees who choose to present this document must also present a List B identity document, such as a state-issued driver’s license or identification card.”
The history is: Under a federal law passed in 1996, asylum seekers are required to wait at least half a year after filing an asylum petition before being able to obtain authorization to work. This law requires that, once a person filed an asylum claim, he or she must wait 150 days before being able to apply for a work authorization, which can be granted no earlier than 180 days after the filing of the asylum claim. Often, because of technical issues and delays in processing work authorization requests, this time period is much longer.
In 2020, the Trump administration introduced a change that more than doubled the period of time asylum seekers must wait to apply for work authorization from 150 days to 365 days. That’s when your problem was it’s worse recently. Under Trump.
This rule was implemented in August 2020, but overturned in February 2022. By Biden.
Amazingly, it was a Congress-person from Maine that led the charge. Guess we know where those lobsters come from and who answers the phones at LL Beans. And why Dempsey from Pakistan writes for you. I guess that also makes Joe’s theory somewhat moot although it does point out his penchant for living in Trump’s fantasy world of the surreal. Back in reality, Joe is correct that illegals and even asylee’s take low paying jobs for so many reasons, even when education and experience would dictate different in a perfect world. But it ain’t perfect and we know the why’s and wherefores. Ain’t much better for full time minimum wage earners, migrant farmers, lots of people that are citizens. But hey, folks like Joe don’t want to change that. I mean paying those folks a living wage would be a bridge to far for Republicans. Might raise prices to a fair price for a fair days wage. Can’t have that. But Joe says “poor low paid immigrants are slaves.” Go figure. Wanna see some Walmart and McDonalds slaves? American citizens too.
Fact is Joe, we can end much of this today: harden E-Verify and make it a national law and illegals will no longer find a job in America no matter what we pay. At least a job not under the table. After that, the vast majority will stop coming. It’s called Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act, S.156, introduced 1/3/12-2023 by Chuck Grassley. Yeah, I support a Grassley bill. Fourteen cosponsors, all Republican. There have been other similar bi-partisan bills so I gather either Grassley did not check with Dems or he put a poison pill in it. Hope it’s just the former. There is no reason this should not be a bi-partisan effort and, by far, it will provide the GREATEST downturn in illegal immigration influx and invasion (to use Joe’s words). EVERYONE should write their Congressmen today. It’s a no brainer. Better than Biden, better than a wall, better than Trump screaming names at thme. It’s the one big thing that may not do it all, but does the most. Sure, there are other things to do but no bigger hit to the problem than stopping the ability to get a job.
But will end Joe’s slavery. And legal immigrants and asylees will still often take the lowest paying jobs that Americans don’t want.
NOTE: I still do not want to bring slavery back.
Do you actually read any of the articles you comment on?
Asylum seekers are not allowed to work, the court date to decide is three years hence. Their paperwork says they are not allowed to work, there is nothing they can apply for to change that. If someone cross the border and does not seek asylum they are not allowed to work.
They are not “taking low paying jobs” they are working illegally. Are you actually comparing their plight to American workers who have rights and options?
And are you actually under the delusion that changing laws concerning “e-verify” will slow down illegal immigration when the border are wide open? Go ahead and ask an illegal or an asylum seeker if they have ever even heard of that.
You are unbelievable in your vast ignorance and willful misunderstanding.
So we will get you some indentured servants, go ahead and prepare a room in your garage with a bed of straw and a door that locks from the outside.
Uh, some rant Joe. I gave you the law, I gave you the history, you gave me lies and guff.
One more time, here’s the US law about asylees working. They can. You were wrong and now you have escalted to your statement being you lieing. That’s not the Gilbertson I know from PBP.
Here’s the government statement authorizing work: *https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-J-PURL-gpo105586/pdf/GOVPUB-J-PURL-gpo105586.pdf*
You can jfgi. You are wrong. Now you are lying.
Illegals are illegal to work. They do take low paying jobs. Their plight is similar to anyone in America taking a low paying job, perhaps worse if the employer is illegally paying as well.
I am under no delusion about e-verify, I have posted the facts here beore about it’s success and failures and the expected END of illgals working, in significant numbers, because of it. Like your stupid State-level gun laws, it has been deployed in a few states, sometimes voluntarily, and where it is a mandate, it works as expected EXCEPT for the issues mandated by a State level control. States are not island, they are connected to other states so e-verify can never work pertectly if illegals can just island hop. But the real-life tests show it can work, and if we harden the system it is the best solution.
And it’s a Republican idea. Are you saying Grassley, Tuberville, Lee, Cotton, Cruz, Hyde-Smith, Boozmann, Lankford, Capito, Thune, Ernst are “unbelievable in (their) your vast ignorance and willful misunderstanding.” Well, I agree with you there in general, but NOT on this bill. And yes it will work, and yes, when deployed “THEY” know about it immeidately and they migrate, so far to other states, but immediately. There are some issues, and funny, one is that the illegals use the internet and free speech to tell others whenever a loophole is discovered. But like hackers, or PBP writers, issues are easily handled so far once indentified. Law can use the internet too.
As far as indentured servitude, again, you seem to have your head firmly implanted in that dark place. I merely stated the facts, the history, and the possibility of my ancestors coming here via that system. The timing is right, some were poor, and there it is. If they did, they made it through. You comments re what I said are misplaced. But I probably do hire illegals all the time, just guessing since `1) they speak spanish and 2) NJ has a high number. I am using legal services, but who knows who they hire. One guy, pretty sure legal, I sold my dirtbike to and he disassembled and sent to his kids still living in Columbia. Cool that my bike got a second life in Columbia.
Joe, my father’s great grandfather came across in a sail/steamer with a one-year old pre-marriage baby, a journey so dangerous they never should have done it if not forced by convention to work in the stinking steel mills in Conshonhoken as a puddler, a job that kills you at 35. He made it, his kids all worked the railroad for two generations, a step up, did not lay track, they worked the stations, and then my father broke out after being a war hero, using the GI bill to get throught Swathmore and then Chicago School of Economics, and marrying my Mom. He was much smarter than I but the war certainly had a life-long impact. He didn’t enter the camps because he was wounded that week, but his field hospital visitors told him firsthand even before the US got the news. What’s really cool is that all 11 kids were in school well past the conventional age to be able to work back then. Education was their goal to break out of poverty. My Mom’s mother came from the mines in Slovakia at age five to the mines outside Scranton, coal miners, and she opened a Maytag store and lived on the Main Line before the Main Line was there to support her and her kids families (except for ours as my mom broke out with my Dad). This lady gave one son the store, one daughter college, and my Mom met my Dad and broke out; she was his driving force. In all honesty, I don’t think they dug coal, I think they were mechanics or something less dangerous, only because they lived long and prospered. These were huge families, all living together. Mostly, like today, they sent one brother across, he established himself, and then others followed. There were 10-13 kids in these families. The Scranton house still stands and looks like a B&B…. No, Joe, I pretty much understand what it’s like to give it all up and immigate to escape poverty. It’s just family history to me. So, I hope you can symphathize with my feelings about your unneccessary personal comments.
FYI Joe. I expect e-verify would work so well that I hope they build some contingencies for when, overnight, people who live paycheck to paycheck, suddenly have no income. First, the employers will be desparate for labor, wages will rise, you say prices therefore will rise. Second, when you have no money, and no chance of getting a job, one might turn to crime to raise the cash to get outta Dodge. Hopefully we might provide some buses —- maybe Abbott and Desantis will have some that are unused at that point :>) The more corrrect you are on the numbers increases the liklihood of these, and other, unintened outcomes.
Flawless liberal logic, and just was screwed up. You understand nothing about what is actually going on.
You diarrhea of the mouth notwithstanding, what I said was real and current. The ONLY way to stop this is to seal the border.
And nobody gives a crap about your great grandfather.
Joe. You are delusional and wicked.
Many people cared about my great great great grandfather. Want to see the press clippings? His wife even more. Hundreds attended their farewell to the planet.
You have shown us what Trumpism is all about; hatred, cruelty, lies, and a fake reality. Your words.
What’s next, your momma rifts?