Here is Bush's reasoning:
"Reform must begin by confronting a basic fact of life and economics: Some of the jobs being generated in America's growing economy are jobs American citizens are not filling."
Bush says that American must have first choice for jobs. But if they don't want the jobs, then aliens should be allowed to take them.
Why aren't Americans filling the jobs? Because the pay is very low. Why is the pay very low? Because Bush offers deregulation and tax cuts to business, and nothing but scorn to workers. If he had his way, business would flourish and low-paying jobs would be plentiful. As Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News says:
"Under Bush's proposal, low-wage companies like Wal-Mart won't just use guest workers as night-shift cleaners. They'll employ them as sales and shipping clerks, too."
Gonzalez has it right. Wal-Mart will get foreign workers cheap and so will many other cheap companies.
If Bush were truly compassionate he would advocate the raising of the minimum wage to help poor people, Latinos among them, that live here in the U.S. He would advocate raising it to about $10 per hour and peg the minimum wage to the poverty level.
If he did this there would not be much need for guest workers. And if there were a need, these workers would get a better minimum wage as well.
We do not need guest-workers. We need living-wage workers.
