WORK THAT AMERICANS DON'T WANT TO DO? CHEAP LABOR? HERE ARE TWO EYE OPENING LETTERS FOR YOU TO READ!

Happy Independence Day! Be careful with your fireworks!

I'm devoting today's blog to two letters. One, a letter to Congress from reader/listener Kathy from St. Louis who does the work we're told that Americans won't do and the other is from Claude Whitledge who writes a sarcastic commentary titled, "CHEAP LABOR?"

Here's Kathy's letter.

"Dear Congress,

Perhaps you won't know me. I am one of the AMERICANS doing the work you claim AMERICANS don't want to do. I am a (now) single parent who worked my entire life, paying taxes, but was still able to save for college educations for my three children and paid my own health insurance premiums. At my age now, health care has tripled, groceries have doubled and we all know about gasoline.

I keep hoping that Congress would come to my aid and allow me to pay reduced premiums that huge corporations have always paid and that hasn't happened. I was raising children when no one went after "deadbeat dads", so I lost out on child support. I was being beaten when no one paid any attention to husbands who committed the despicable acts we now know as "spousal abuse".

I'm 55 years old. Twenty five years ago, while in pursuit of The American Dream, I started my residential cleaning business. I had the flexibility to spend time with my children and keep them from having to be raised by strangers. For 25 years, I have scrubbed your toilets and cleaned up messes left by your children. I never asked for vacation pay, sick days, holiday pay or cost of living increases. When you cancelled a work day or forgot to be there to let me in, you didn't pay me because I didn't work. AND I NEVER COMPLAINED! Until now.

My job, the one you hired me for BECAUSE I'm an AMERICAN and didn't put a drain on you or your taxes is now the job you gave to an ILLEGAL ALIEN. The one who does NOT pay taxes. The one who will bring her baby to work at a later time in the day, so she can be an adult presence in your home after your children come home from school while you work. That saves you on daycare expenses too! She'll do her laundry in your machine, shower in your bathroom, eat your food and cook for your kids. What a relief for you to come home to a home cooked meal. Because she speaks no English, your kids spend all their time playing video games, surfing the net, making auspicious plans you'll never know about because she doesn't understand English either. When all is said and done, she will do the work for you in two days that I do in three hours because for six hours she will play with her own children. She'll be happy being at your house because it means she doesn't have to go to her house, where 20 people live. The trade-off is probably worth it, because now YOU don't have to be there for your kids. Your huge company pays your health insurance and gives you all the benefits you require. Your huge company also matches your contributions to Social Security and Medicare. My retirement fund is funded by me with no one matching ANYTHING for me!

My American Dream??? I had planned to retire. I saved for it, I scrimped for it. I was the person you fired to save a little money. I never gave thought to the job market because I had a "secure" job. I gave you 25 years of faithful service. Now, at 55, I'm paying higher health premiums than I have ever paid with no job to pay them with. For me to qualify for state health insurance like your ILLEGAL ALIEN gets, I have to give up everything I have saved to try to retire on. I don't qualify if I have money saved. But your ILLEGAL ALIEN can get aid indefinitely and won't get caught because you pay her cash. If I, a LEGAL AMERICAN try that and get caught, I risk going to jail.

And Congress, you would call this AMERICA????"

Thank you for sharing your letter to Congress, Kathy from St. Louis. I edited it a little bit, but I think it's safe to say that after reading this, we all feel your pain.

What you're now about to read is a letter/commentary from Claude Whitledge.

"CHEAP LABOR?

Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.

Consumers don't want expensive produce.

Our government tells you Americans don't want the jobs.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce and a lie. There's no such thing as "cheap labor".

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children.

He takes a job for $5 or $6 an hour.

At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.

He qualifies for food stamps.

He qualifies for free (no deductable, no co-pay) health care.

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.

He requires bilingual teachers and books.

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

If they are or become, aged or disabled, they qualify for SSI.

Once qualified for SSI, they can qualify for Medicare.

All of this is paid for by us, American taxpayers.

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20 to $30 an hour in benefits.

Working Americans are lucky to have $5 or $6 an hour LEFT after paying their bills and HIS!

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

Cheap labor?

YEAH, RIGHT!

Wake up people!"

My thanks to our two letter writers today and I hope these letters have given you something to think about.

On this Independence Day, I thought these two letters "fit".

Any thoughts or comments about either of these letters can be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net

Fireworks? Please, please! Let the professionals handle those while you enjoy and watch!

EDITOR'S NOTE: My next blog will be Friday, July 6th. Normally, I write a new blog every morning, Monday through Friday and it's posted between 7 and 7:15, Pacific Time. Sometimes earlier. Questions and comments can be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net I do write back.

Don't forget! You can HEAR this blog! The links to the three stations broadcasting today's blog can be found at the bottom of my links section which is to the right of what you're reading now. It's the last three links.

FRIDAY: I'll tell you about a spectacular fireworks show I went to...We'll talk a little about drugs and Al Gore, the Third...Some thoughts about the season finale of "Hidden Palms" annnd some other celebrity news.