Reply #41: I can understand Arizona.

[joeglow3]

The number 2 employer of illegal immigrants in drywall companies. Growing up, my father was a union drywaller. I remember, as a kid, living a good middle class lifestyle. Then, the illegals began to show up. Company by company, the unions were busted. Wages dropped year after year. I remember the decline vividly – first the cable disappeared. Next, the family vacations stopped. After that, generic food started showing up at home. Then, we started eating Mac n Cheese, PB&J & Shit on a Shingle a lot more often. I remember my mom patching the holy hell out of our clothes and then, eventually making our clothes.
Fortunately, my father was good at his job and managed to switch to union companies everytime his went non-union. Whenever there was a big job, the companies with illegals would win the bid. Within the past 15 years, the built a $250M arena and it was filled with illegals. Their union contacted the subs, the contractors and the government. All of them did shit. Finally, they were able to get the local fishwrap to do a piece on it and EVERYONE claimed ignorance (and said they would fix it – i.e. they moved the illegals to all their other jobs and moved the few legal employees to that job).
He eventually made it to retirement age and now has a decent pension. However, we were royally fisted by the apathy of the government. If he would not have been one of the best in his field, we would most likely have ended up on the streets like many of his coworkers.
Now, look at additional problems Arizona is facing: ranchers getting murdered as drug wars spill over the border, hospitals closing their doors because they are bankrupt, etc. Frankly, the Federal Government has not done SHIT and forced Arizona to do something.
While I don’t agree with this bill, maybe it is the kick in the ass our government needs to finally quit pussy-footing around the issue and actually do their jobs.