There is a moral sickness at work here:
"Ever since passing what its Legislature promoted as the nation’s
toughest laws against illegal immigration last summer, Colorado has
struggled with a labor shortage as migrants fled the state. This week,
officials announced a novel solution: Use convicts as farmworkers.The
Department of Corrections hopes to launch a pilot program this month —
thought to be the first of its kind — that would contract with more
than a dozen farms to provide inmates who will pick melons, onions and
peppers.Crops were left to spoil in the fields after the passage of legislation
that required state identification to get government services and
allowed police to check suspects’ immigration status."The
reason this [program] started is to make sure the agricultural industry
wouldn’t go out of business," state Rep. Dorothy Butcher said. Her
district includes Pueblo, near the farmland where the inmates will work.Prisoners
who are a low security risk may choose to work in the fields, earning
60 cents a day. They also are eligible for small bonuses.The
inmates will be watched by prison guards, who will be paid by the
farms. The cost is subject to negotiation, but farmers say they expect
to pay more for the inmate labor and its associated costs than for
their traditional workers."
So the pogrom against immigrant labor has a logical terminus in this: chain gangs of prisoners in the fields of America’s farms. Instead of the sick irony of an agricultural system that feeds on cheap and desperate labor from Mexico’s subsistence farms to produce the subsidized, below-market crops that we dump on Mexico’s markets, driving campesinos off their farms and over the border, we will have the sick irony of America’s booming, ever-expanding prisoner population that feeds off our own poor and minority population employed in the fields of industrial agriculture at the artificially low rate of 60 cents an hour, creating a constituency for creating yet more prisoners, each of which cost tax-payers as much per year as a year of Harvard education.
I have a hard time believing that even the most racist, vitriolic, jingoist anti-immigration activist wanted this result, but there it is. The inevitable result of making our nation more repressive and less welcoming to new citizens is to make us a less humane society – this particular instance is but one glaring example of that axiom.
Say what you will about illegal immigration, but it may be preferable to the alternatives.
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Dwight is making a lot of sense.
…and as far as paying prisoners $9.00/hour… that’s fine – if you also charge them the cost of their room and board. …Of course they’ll need to work more than 24 hr/day to pay for it.
Oh, and so far I’m not too fond of Gabby. She has repeatedly side-stepped on the issue of supporting a pardon for BP Agents Ramos and Compean – and they DO deserve pardons – what was done to them is outrageous.
I had no idea that Farming was such a horrible business that it even rivals being a Prison Inmate.
My Aunt and Uncle Own a Farm in P.A.; all of us had a Garden and grew our own food. I have good Friends in Nebraska who own Farms and raise soy beans and other crops. All of this work before Mexicans came to work our farms( YES I SAID MEXICANS CAME TO AMERICA TO WORK OUR FARMS THAT WE HAD BUILT AND WORKED IN THE EARLY PART OF THE LAST CENTURY) was NOT considered EXPLOITATION but PROUD WORK OF A FARMER! I take exception to demeaning FARMING TALK and the use of the word EXPLOITATION of ANY worker relating to Farming.
Unless you have sat on a Tractor and plowed a field and seen your work at harvest time and smelled the land and crops as it yielded ; MIKE: I think you need to get out of Isabelle Garcias Office and The Pima County Court House and drive to areas West Of Phoenix and South of Phoenix extending all the way To YUMA and take a look at Farming; also look at the MACHINES picking that Produce and how it is WASHED and PACKED right on the spot! Some takes hand picking like Strawberries and Melons,etc, but Fresh Produce makes alot of jobs for alot of people BOTH in wholesale and the RETAIL BUSINESS; that pays way MORE that an average wage as most are UNION NEGOTIATED CONTRACTS!
Lisa Oliver;
As for anything but saying what I see are the facts in any debate or situation I NEVER go as far as Mike went with me calling me names expressing a personal opinion or personal experience , or demanding I give an answer about a subject he wrote about or else.
I welcome debate and disagreements something Mike does NOT,as you see in his past comments.
I DO support a blog that can express BOTH sides of any issue, something our current Government frouns upon in Washington!
According to comments on this blog; Speaker Nancy Polosi; Leader Harry Ried; Gov. Janet Napolitano; Senator Hillary Clinton and myself are NUTS and in need of Mental help for taking the stands we do on The War in Iraq and Border Issues?
Mike;
Do you Support or Oppose the statements of Gov. Janet Napolitano made from Kuwait today?
I would like to know because of what you said about the mission,politics and our Troops being in harms way.
Nice that you enjoy reading off subject rants, Francine. Looks like you’ve found a blog you can really enjoy.
Did any of you know Scooter Libby was Mark Riches Lawyer? Can you see where this might go since Bill Clinton Pardoned Mark Rich?
As a member of The Southern Poverty Law Center and my name being placed on “The Wall Of Tolerance” on SEPTEMBER 10th, 2001;yes ONE DAY BEFORE 911; signed by Rosa Parks and Morris Dees(accommodation posted on my web-site) we at the Center oppose MEECHA and LA RAZA and what they stand for! My family during the Civil War ran LEISTER SAFE HOUSES and moved and housed thousands of slaves from the South ; this too is posted on my web-site with pictures of one of those houses in P.A. just miles from where I was born.
IAM NOT A RACIST and decry the attemps of Raul Grijalvia to MESH La RAZA and MEECHA with the actions of The Democratic Party!
Iam ashamed when Candidates running for President try to “TALK JIVE” in Southern Churches.
The Civil Rights movement in The South was long fought and Robert Bird held a two day long Filibuster to prevent its passage?
Lets get BOTH FETT back on SOLID GROUND with The People and stop the JIVE!
As for who IAM and what I stand for; I think most of the people visiting this blog know Iam a NO NONSENCE CUT THE CRAP CANDIDATE! I WORK FOR YOU not the disfunctional United States Government we see NOW; Run by BOTH POLITICAL PARTIES!
Once upon a time you could TRUST the Democratic Party and its Candidates but today we have a REPUBLICAN turned DEMOCRAT as District 8’s Congresswoman and an Advocate for people from a Foriegn Country and a member of a Racist Supremecy group MEECHA and La Raza(The Race in Spanish) sitting in District 7; WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE WORKING FOR!!!??? YOU AND ME??? WORKERS OR U.S. CITIZENS; HELL NO!!!
LOL;Francine;
Its NOT about MIKE;its about Mike’s opinions; as for Lisa Oliver’s comments Mike knows who Iam and what I think of blogging as the future of the public getting to know anyones ideas free of any media spin machine like Meet The Press!
As a life long Democrat I have seen my Party do things that I WARNED it should NOT engage in and I was proven right! We need to get back to BASICS as a party supporting Workers and Workers Rights and the Welfare of The Public. Those Two things are a FULL TIME JOB;and if they were done RIGHT alot of what our Party has tried to do by committing to one cause or another has HURT our PARTY!
The Supreme Court was NEVER a CO-Equal Branch of The Government but a LAST RESORT!
We as a Party need to GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME in what ever we do from here on in. I see in-fighting inside our Party now that can destroy it before the 2008 election cycle.
As for Illegal Immigration I DO NOT SUPPORT LAWBREAKERS OF ANY KIND;and I do NOT want THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ILLEGAL LAW BREAKERS NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE!!! LETS CHANGE THE LAWS TO MAKE THEM WORK BUT DO NOT CONTINUE DOWN A PATH OF LAWLESSNESS!
Ah! the beauty of the blogosphere! This is the place where anyone can speak her/his mind. How many times have we wanted to speak out – scream out – our opinions but been constrained for one reason or another. Good for Dwight! He is someone who (1) has the courage to let you know exactly who is saying what he is saying; (2) feels no constraint about saying exactly what he thinks! to me, that is what America should be about. No one makes anyone read anything they don’t want to read but each of us is protected in saying and reading whatever we want. I think blogs are the last bastion of truly “free” speech and I, for one, would fight for Dwight’s right to speak his mind. This is still the only information venue where that freedom is not abridged!!!
Dwight Leister,
Apparently, you do not think so highly of Mike so why are you always here on his blog having word hemorrages.
Everytime I read this blog I start out being interested in what Mike has to say. Then I get to the comments and there are two or three consecutive word hemorrages from Mr. Leister. They seem to mostly be about Mr. Leister’s hatred for illegal immigrants.
It’s really too bad. Mike writes some interesting posts.
INMATES RIGHTS/ILLEGAL ENTRANT RIGHTS;TRUMPH THAT OF THE UNITED STATES CITIZEN THAT IS PAYING THE TAXES TO SUPPORT THEIR LIVING AT OUR EXPENSE? ; HANDED DOWN BY A JUDGE OR COURT OF LAW BECAUSE OF A CRIMINAL ACT; does NOT mean they have that JAIL TIME exclusive of The RIGHTS OF THAT STATE or its CONSTITUENTS!
Both the Illegal Entrant(as The Arizona RED STAR refers to Illegal Mexican National and terrorists) and now Inmate Rights trumph that of Society and law abiding citizens according to radical left wing nut jobs?
It will be a cold day in hell when I give my freedoms away to people who BREAK THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
It seems Mike who is a Lawyer loves to support LAW BREAKERS! I can understand this mindset as he works for Isabelle Garcia of MECHA and LA RAZA who also is employed by Pima County(under contract seperate from that of The Pima County Attorney) as head of The Public Defenders Office that recieves millions of dollars of my tax dollars to defend LAW BREAKERS. It is ILLEGAL for any Public Official to advocate FOR or AGAINST anything to do with its contracted and employment of , by and for The PEOPLE! As Mike Hein found out he could be FIRED for Advocating for or against enviornmental issues as pointed out by Carolyn Campbell who called me irate about a planned speech at a District 26 Legislative meeting where Mike Hein was advocating FOR and Steve Emerine was advocating AGAINST the County supporting buying land being demanded by an enviornmental group that would INCREASE YOUR AND MY TAXES! To my amazement Isabelle Garcia was speaking at The ORO VALLEY LIBRARY FOR MECHA and LA RAZA! This IS NOT a CIVIC ORGANIZATION but a Radical RACIST SUPREMACY GROUP represnting ONLY MEXICAN NATIONALS. Not since the days of segregation in the South have I seen this CRAP! I will NOT STAND FOR ANYONE accepting MILLIONS OF DOLLARS of the TAXPAYERS MONEY SUPPORTING SEGRIGATIONIST or ANTI-AMERICAN Activities that are undermining The United States Of America like the NAZIS were in the 1940’s!
Lets get real folks call it like it IS; I will be holding ALL ACCOUNTABLE for Treasonist Acts to undermine The Secuity of The United States both in as everyone in Congress takes an OATH to DEFEND AND PROTECT THE UNITED STATES AND SECURE ITS BORDERS FROM INVASION; that IS able top be enforced by TWO (2) two people bringing that ACT OF TREASON before a FEDERAL COURT of that jurisdiction; and don’t tell me I can’t because I will!
As for EXPOITATION OF PRISONERS?!?
Have any of you been to the Pima County Jail or State Prison Systems? I was appointed To The State Board of Pardons and Parols by Governor Raul Castro a good personal friend whom I have long supported.
The Correction system has for Decades used prison help for ADOT!!!!! So what you are saying Francine is that Governor Janet Napolitano is Exploiting inmates of The Arizona State Prisons? Alot of The Inmates ENJOY the time OUT OF JAIL and working along Arizona’s Highways! I personally have followed along as one group worked its way from Phoenix to Tucson, and NO ONE HAD ANY COMPLAINTS, besides the do get paid for the work; not alot but it helps buy stuff they need while in Jail!
I take Issue with this whole line of mis-leading information that Mike has bought into HOOK LINE AND SINKER; as well as Francine who I thought would have known better!! But what can I say about someone who just moved to Arizona; maybe things where she came from were MORE CROOKED and she thinks the same goes in Arizona Also!
What a load of Crap MIKE!
20 million ILEGAL Mexican Nationals are NOT and have NOT worked in AMERICAN AGRA!
There is a LEGAL way for Farm Workers to work THE SEASONAL FARMING CROPS OF ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA. SEASONS CHANGE AND THE ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA CROPS REVERT BACK TO MEXICO; WHERE THE SAME WORKER FOLLOWS THE CROP!
Where do you get this STUFF! I worked in the Produce business for over 40 years and take issue with this tripe!
As for Francine the “GOVERNMENT STATISTION” where were YOU when the Vets Administration NATION WIDE WAS CUTTING expenses across the BOARD!!
Has anyone visited the Veterns Hospital in Raul Grijalvas District just down the street from his Congressional Office? I can tell you Raul never gave a DAMN about The Vets; all he cares about is MECHA and LA RAZA and importing more Lawbreakers!
I told you The Pima County Democratic Party has long been aiding and abetting the passage of Illegal Mexican Nationals from over the Border in ways I will NOT go into on this blog; but is being watched closely as it thinks it is in safe territory being protected by Raul and his friends placed in key areas of Pima County Government.
I will NOT stand for my Car Insurance rates increasing; My Property Taxes Increasing; My Home Insurance Rates increasing and my Social Services and Law Enforcement DECREASING because of some IDIOT from New Jersey saying we need more Illegal Mexican LAWBREAKERS to PICK PRODUCE that is picked mainly by MACHINE!!!
I’m sure that some people in prison aren’t sociopaths, but a lot of people in prison *are*. And we want these people handling our nation’s food supply?
Brilliant.
The use of prison labor for private industry purposes is disgusting. It is morally reprehensible and it is dangerous as well. It is only one more step from that to slavery. Imagine the incentive as our labor needs grow larger. It would be to imprison more people and work them for the profits of others. That is just un-American.
By the way, I am not all that worried now. I really think the power of the Chamber of Commerce and agribusiness will outstrip the power of the Tancredo’s. Add the power of the increasing Hispanic population and I think all these Billions fighting illegal immigration is going to be swept into other places.
I agree with Bill. Using prisoners is exploitation – couldn’t exploit immigrants here illegally, well who is next? What we do with prisoners only guarantees recidivism – our whole prison system is a disaster and seriously needs revamping if we are to reduce inmate populations and ensure that most are not returned to society to break the laws and go back to jail. That’s a whole ‘nother matter which we should address. We live in such a punitive society with such a deep commitment to the value of punishment that we loose sight of the ultimate goal, a society where people don’t commit crimes. Utopian, but a worthwhile goal.
The whole immigration situation needs some very honest discussion – not varying degrees of demonization! I had hoped with a Democratic Congress (read more enlightened individuals in Congress) we would get it. So much for my optimism.
Bill, your sarcasm is so arch that it passed right over our heads…
Slow down! Slow Down!!
The points you make are certainly valid, but there are a lot of reasons that using inmates makes sense and we shouldn’t jump to conclusions without considering the positives.
For starters we should be sure the wages paid to the inmates are reasonsbly close to the $9.60 an hour the farmers have said they are willing to pay. Sixty cents a day (or is it an hour?), I would agree is ridiculous. We also should be sure all OSHA requirements are being met.
Given those adjustments it seems that gainful activity is going to promote a reduction in recividism.
So, maybe, just maybe, this whole immigration crackdown is being done to increase the profits of agri-business!!
I see it now, it is all so clear. Obviously the migrant workers were far too expensive to keep on, so a new, cheaper labor force was needed. Prison labor was an easy choice, but how to get the public to buy into it??? Demonize illegal immigrants! Scare them away.
Brilliant! Just Brilliant!