2186121 responses to “What about people who can only "afford hard work"?”http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldinconversation.org%2F2010%2F04%2F23%2Fwhat-about-people-who-can-only-afford-hard-work%2FWhat+about+people+who+can+only+%26quot%3Bafford+hard+work%26quot%3B%3F2010-04-23+04%3A57%3A22Sam+Richardshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.racerelationsproject.org%2F%3Fp%3D2186
I think that this is a very tough question to answer. Personally, I think it all depends on the individual. Sometimes you have immigrant who are working their butts off just to support themselves and their families. While on the other hand, you have immigrant who just do not care to become a citizen. I feel that everyone has the right to come to the United States no matter what his or her economic status is. We should not discriminate people, rather encourage them to get jobs and become citizens.
I feel that there should be some sort of rewards system for the immigrants who come to this country and work really hard. Most of time, they are working in jobs that we would never even think to work for. These are jobs that get paid little because they do not really need a lot of experience or an educational background. But they are still working long, tiring hours just to make ends meet. I think that these immigrants are more deserving to be here legally then the bums on the streets. We should be kicking the people who live on the streets on sell drugs out of country. They do nothing for our country and just create chaos. It is not fair that the immigrants do not have enough money to become a legal United States citizen but are still working extremely hard.
I am not sure what type of policy they could enforce but I think that they should look at each case individually. If an immigrant is working hard to make a good life for themselves then I think they should be allowed to stay. However, if an immigrant comes to the United States and is completely worthless and has made no attempts to become a citizen then they can be sent back. It is not fair for them to be living in our country and receiving all of the benefits as the other citizens.
I have heard that the legalization process if very long and intense so I can completely understand why immigrants would chose to just live here illegally. This is such a complicated issue but I think that if someone really wants to live here and make a good life for themselves then our government should not kick them out. They should work with them so they can become legalized citizens. However, I do not think it fair if they live here for so many years and do not have to pay taxes and health care and all the other amenities that come along with being a United States citizen. If they are going to live here they need to help support our country.
It is the American dream to want to make something out of yourself, even when you have nothing. In class on Thursday Sam told the story of how immigrants that had nothing, no money or items, took the chance and traveled all the way to the United States in order to create a new and better life for their family. He continued to say that the history of America is one of people who worked hard for what they got and now look how far America has come. Maybe I am an idealist, but I feel with hard work it is possible to get where you want to go. The history of the United States proves this. So does my family history. My great grandparents on my father’s side came here as immigrants because they wanted a better life. My grandfather worked hard and opened his own furniture store and my father also worked very hard in medical school and now has his own doctor’s office. I think that even if there was some luck on their side, they had the determination and hard work to make money and thus a better life for their children. Because both of my parents worked so hard, they were able to send me and all my brothers to college and we are all working hard in return. It is easier with money, as I think everyone knows. We talked about in class how those with money are naturally ahead at the starting line, but I think a lot of the time it is because people before them worked so hard to make a good life for their family. I know that I am working hard in college and going to work hard if I go to graduate school and at my job so I can support my family in the future and know that I can give my children and their children a good life. Yeah people with money can get away with things more but I think in the end it all comes down to how much time and effort a person is willing to put into accomplishing what they want. We talked about the illegal immigrants and I think that they just want what all of us do, to work hard and make a living. The thing is I know that I come from a family where my ancestors gave me a better life because of what they did and it is sad that there is just not enough room or money for all the people who want to work and get educated to help out their family as well. I think that people forget that sometime immigrants want the same thing as we all do because it is easier just to think of all the annoyance and money they are causing us. As Americans I think we all know too well the feeling of wanting to be more than where you started or wanting to continue on a path of success and work.
My family had a very similar situation to yours, my grandfather was very poor but had the determination to go out and bust his ass to make something of himself. He started out not having anything, and by the time he died he was the CEO of a major company and had owned a professional baseball franchise. This proves that you can make your own connections and make something out of yourself with hard work. However I do not think these immigrants want to become part of this country legally even if they did have the money, because it is simply easier to do it illegally.
There are so many different views on immigration and there always be two different sides of an argument of that nature that usually there is no actual right response or right view on the issue. I definitely agree with the girl in class that every immigrant coming into the United States should do it legally and become a citizen of the United States. There are borders around are country for a specific reason and that reason is to keep America prosperous and safe and keep the citizens of the United States reassured that they are living in the greatest country in the world.
I agree with this comment. Everything that Sam showed us yesterday really just made me open my eyes to the reality of the situation. I never really had an opinion about illegal immigration, but now I really do. I obviously understand that we can't just open the door to everyone because it would probably flood the economy, but I agree that we should leave the situation in the hands of people who understand and work the system. I hardly even understand the economy enough to have an overwhelming opinion on the matter, but it's terrible to see that we continue to push these people away who can't afford to come into the country. I mean i've been paying taxes, as well as my parents, my whole life. But I didn't have to pay to come live in America because I was just born here. They have to do all these crazy things to live in America, and even take tests that half of Americans would fail. It's just ridiculous. Honestly, immigrants that actually go through this process have more of a right to call themselves Americans then I think I do, after they learn all these things. And it made so much sense when Sam made the point that the vast majority of Americans won't work on farms, etc, because it's like too low class or some bull shit. And then they complain about not being employed and just claim a check every month of unemployment if they qualify. Which, honestly, most of the time people do. My sister is 24 and has a restaurant job, and ALSO collects unemployment. And she doesn't need it/ deserve it more than these people who are dirt poor. I don't remember ever having to cross a border or travel on a ship for months to come to America, and be denied, or even have to worry about that. My parents didn't either. So why should I be able to live here, and not them? If they are willing to work and help our economy prosper, then what is the big deal? And yes, obviously not every single immigrant is going to be coming here for honest reasons, or even to work. I am sure many come to sell drugs to idiotic Americans that will buy them. And yeah, that sucks because then we have to deal with spending money on jailing them. But in general, it just shouldn't be decided by a voting system, or the general public. Because I know that I don't know much about it, and I am sure many Americans just have opinions based upon nothing.
This is a good question, however I don’t think I have the answer. As a Chinese student, my uncle’s families were immigrated here 20 years ago. They want me also stay here, more correctly immigrate here and become a green card holder. For me, this is an option, but for many other poor peoples, this is the only option and they need to do it illegally.
I think hard work is important to anyone, not only the immigrants also other people already live here. It’s true that illegal immigrants become kind of “free labors” here, they are cheap, they only want small amount of money to survive. For American, this is a Great deal, but for me, it’s not. We cannot give staff that we don’t want to do to others people do not have a choice and accept to do it. It’s unfair. I think business people need at least give them basic salary, instead of take all the advantages from those poor people.
People need work hard; especially people are in a good situation. Really lazy people are not those really poor peoples, because they have to fight for life. If they don’t work hard, they have no food! This is something people cannot live without it. For those, average people, they want to have better life, but they don’t have the ability to gain a nice job and they also refuse to do “low level” jobs. They are real lazy person! They need to work hard, not poor immigrants. I hope everyone could respect himself or herself and also others. Show the responsibility!
For those people have money, please treat other people normally, at least. We do not have the choice to decide which family to born, so it ends up some people are rich just because they are lucky, they parents have lots of money. They can spend tones of money whatever and whenever they want. Also, they can kind control others’ lives. Just like business control the population of immigrants, of there is a big demand in market. They will support immigration, no mater it is legal or not. What they really care is profits. I am not anti-rich. However, I do believe if people want to keep their wealth, the first thing is being better educated and respect others. Otherwise, money will go away quickly, because they don’t treasure what they have.
I think both money and hard working are key factors to become successful, however hard working and good attitude is more important. Money is only money; if one-day economics goes wrong, money don’t have that value, 1000 dollar only worth 1 dollar. At that point, good ability and attitude can save one’s life, but money cannot. So, work hard everyone, be responsible and respect.
This is a really good question. In an ideal world hard work should be enough. Everyone should be equal and the amount of time you put into something and how hard you work should be all that matters. However, we are not in a perfect world and people think differently all over the world. I forget which country but the country that tried to make everyone equal and give everyone equal pay it ended up horribly. I wish people were selfless but you want the best for the people you care about so no it is not all about working hard. It really is in some way about who you know. If you are poor you are most likely going to stay poor. There are some times when people move up and down in class, but for the most part you will stay were you are your whole life. It is sad but it is how this society works. If we all were on the same level and made the same money it just would not work because people are not that self less. Many people unfortunately are just looking out for themselves because lets face it other people are looking out for themselves too so they feel that is what they should be doing. Plus it is true many illegal immigrants do not have enough money to come legally. Here is the thing though, many employers that employ them pay them less than they would if they were to hire normal people living in America. I know that one girl said she would pick pears instead of letting illegal immigrants and I am sure many others would too, but they would be forced to pay them the standard pay. Also I am sure that many that were asked probably said no because of their pride. There is nothing we can really do about immigration because there is no easy solution. I am happy to say though that sometimes it really does pay off when you are a hard worker but if you are in a company that does not care that much about that and they care more about money, well it is not going to be hard work that pays off. I go back and forth about how I feel about illegal immigrants. Sometimes I think they are doing the jobs no one else wants to so that is good, but sometimes I feel like maybe someone would do that job. What about now that all these people are loosing there jobs? Are they willing to mow loans and clean houses and so on? Maybe they are, maybe people are starting to change and are willing to work actual labor. I feel like sometimes people are just too lazy to do these things. I mean you could always mow your own lawn so than there would be less illegal immigrants getting hired. I just do not know. I realize that in a way we can not do much cause this is a problem that has been around for ages but for the first time in my life I am sick of Sam telling me were hypocrites. We are not responsible for the shit that happened in that past and if you keep using it as an argument that we can not change the future. i believe you should learn from the past and then do not make the same mistake again. It is shit what we did to the Indians so, if we ever were to try and take over land again maybe we should think back and realize what were about to do and maybe not do it. We can not change the past so lets start trying to fix things for the future.
Yes, i agree that people do need to work hard in order to make it in the world, however i'm a strong believer that having money to start you off helps. I know that when i work, I'm not working for a salary. In fact, i work at camp and the money that I do make, I never see. It goes into my bank account, into my savings and I don't touch it. I don't actually do 'hard work' i'm running around outdoors and doing something that i love. In fact, for me to actually picture hard work is something I know, but know as a concept. I admit, I work hard as a student, but I would never be able to concentrate on both a job and school. My parents know that, they believe that I'm in school for an education and don't exepect me to work and they don't want me to work.
I admire those people who do hold down a job, take leadership position, and get good grades. I respect them for their hard work and understand that most people's lives are not as good as mine. I respect each individual for the different attributes they bring to the community and value what they bring. If it wasn't for those low level jobs, most people wouldn't be able to succeed at the higher. In order for the world to function people need to be performing some task no matter how large or how small in order to get the job done. Theres not one part that can be undone that someone isn't doing inorder for the world to function properly. I'm a strong beleiver in working from the bottom up to earn your respect, but there are people in this world who skip that step. The common phrase that comes to mind is its not what you know, it's who you know and I truley and honestly believe it. I've got most of my resume from the people that my parents know. Surprisingly they know a bunch of people and have connections in what I need and what my brother needs. They help us out each and every way they can and i'm not ashamed of it. In fact, i know thats why i get most of the things i do, because of my parents connections. I know that probablly not the fairest thing and there are people in this world who work harder then me, but if I can get a job, then i'm going to go out there and get it. I want to make a good living and my parents have worked hard in their lives to know the people that they know. I resepect them for the weight they pull and the jobs they have and hope to give my children the same benefits. Therefore I believe working hard does help, but in reality it all comes down to money and whoever has it is going to do well. There are the rare stories of someone working ahrd and doing well, but there rare.
I was on the fence when it came to immigrants coming into the United States illegally and getting paid for jobs. I mean it’s annoying to think someone who is here illegally is getting paid for a job that someone who is here legally can be getting paid for, right? I mean don’t you think if I did the same in a different country they would be annoyed that this foreigner was taking a job from one of them?
Sam out this lecture into good perspectives for me, the way he initiated the pears from that harvest that were wasted because we neglected wanting the use of immigrants working. It’s a shame to think how much is wasted each day, each month, each year, and we, as Americans, are still in this recession struggling. Well then why are we struggling, when we are wasting so much at the same time? It starts to piss me off as much as the next person because I’m not someone coming from wealth or who has it all planned out, no I need to constantly work for any time of reward or even spending money. So I do not pity anyone who doesn’t have the money, or who is homeless, or who asks me for change on the street. I’ve been working since I was twelve, that’s not even legal but guess what, it shaped me into who I am today. Would I change my past in any way, working as young as I did? Absolutely not. I am a more driven, more responsible human being. I know what I need to get done in life and how to provide for myself. This leads me to my next point.
If we don’t allow immigrants into the United States, these jobs that the immigrants are doing, people on welfare should be doing. Why the hell do we pay taxes to allow so many relax on welfare with their daily checks or food stamps to supply for themselves and their families. Anyone can argue with me but I work for a non-profit organization and I watch people come in for their checks and go to Rite Aid to buy a pack of cigarettes. That’s messed up. Why am I, a high school graduate, pursuing a college degree, and working every minute of it why am I constantly struggling with money to have as spending money. It’s so frustrating when I pull up in my shitty 95’ Malibu, to volunteer at food drives and there’s people pulling up in their Escalades collecting food. Now don’t tell me there’s nothing wrong with this picture.
Now as much as I disagreed with having immigrants taking jobs from people legally in the United States, Sam did steer my mind a little with how much is wasted in the mean time. But honestly, why can’t people already in the United States legally get off their ass and get a working class job like the rest of us.
You would think that hard work is all anyone should ever need in order to be successful. However as we all know in today's society money is key in just about anything we do. While the girl in class did say that she believes that all immigrants should come into the country legally, the reality is that is really just isn't possible. Money, having connections, and definitely hard work are key in becoming a United States citizen. These immigrants coming from another country are coming here for a better life and hopes to make more money than they are making in their country. So ideally if a person wants to come into this country, having the money to get here is the first step in making that a reality. Yes, I do know though that people hop the border from Mexico or make rafts and swim a bit from Cuba, but those are the harsh realities that we do and will continue to have illegal immigrants in our country. But back to my original point in that it will and forever be easier for people with money to get into this country. They usually also have connections as well with people who will help them make the process go faster. This also relates to hard work as well. The people who have money in other countries must have worked hard to get to where they are. (Not including all of the people who inherited money from parents or family members) Then there comes the issue on the class you are placed in because of they money you have. It is very hard to move up or even down in class for most people. Obviously there are exceptions to that, but once you are in a class, you usually stay there your entire life. Hard work will not matter for these legal and illegal immigrants, because the majority of the time they are doing low-end jobs and they work long hours for low pay and they never really get to where they want to be. So for the girl who said she would rather pick pears then having illegal immigrants do it, what else would you be willing to do for the country. While picking pears doesn't seem like too demanding of a job, even though I'm sure it is, there are other jobs like working in the factories with possible unsafe situations, or working very long hours doing something else, it still wouldn't be the life you wanted. These people really and truly know the meaning of hard work because it is something they will always and forever have to do. So all in all I believe this problem will always be around. It isn't really ever going to go away because immigrants will always want to come here and make a better life for themselves and their family, because in some way or another we all want to work hard and have a great future.
Well about the whole immigration and the problems it brings die to the large interests groups who sway the policy due to the number of workers needed for around the time the work becomes the busiest, I think it should be more relax in general where illegal immigration is still tight. I think illegal immigration does cause problems over America's infrastructure when it demolishes thousands of dollars here and there to help those without any kind of Medical care or social security. They do harm to the system when some need to repetitively abuse it because of their circumstances. The best thing I can hope for out of illegal immigration would be to document those workers as illegal so when in a problematic situation i can be known where they come from and at least some money goes back into the draining funds or the currency deficit they create. It might not be a lot but even a 5 out of 100 is better than a 0. The next problem would be to adjust work visas for those that they are able to come over and work in the states for FAIR wages, also negotiating with the "fair trade" organization to make sure that these people do not only work for their money but receive compensation for their hard work. Costs may go up but so would satisfaction and quality of goods if now people compete for their wages like some do across businesses.
On the working topic of these immigrant I do feel that sometimes when doing certain hard jobs that they try to improve their status in life. As each bit of money counts in a poor family they don't waste much and try to conserve as much as possible. When you think about families giving up education to make money to support their elderly or sick or just to keep food on the table, its hard to see the justice when they work tirelessly for 12-14 hour days on average for a small pay while many people today think the worth and laborious efforts to do these things would be worth much more. I think its a harsh reality and some people do remain poor but some manage to become lucky and break the mold where they are able to get better jobs and support their families with enough income to live happy life. I have some friends who work tirelessly here in college working 40 hours a week and a physically demanding job and trying to keep up enough time for grades and studyign to keep their life ahead of them looking better as they pay off some of their debts in college before they even graduate. For the immigrant workers, they work just as hard if not harder than my friend where work consumes the vast majority of the time,leaving little for the life they want to have like some business execs in a fortune 500 company where they talk about ideas and see what works and doesn't instead of actually going out and putting the work in. The legal works do help this country strive for better policies for all of us, as well as point out the flaws of our society making sure things are fair which is not all the time. Hopefully something will be done and will be done soon to help out everybody's situation whether illegal or legal.
Good question, but I don’t really know how to approach it. Personally, hard work is what it is all about. Yes, some immigrants might not have the money but they definitely have the hard work. I don’t think they need the money, at all. Come on, I feel like people always think it is about the money, but it is more than that. Especially those who are less fortunate. The people work their tail off to even enter this country and are willing to do so even further once they enter. And even if they don’t get the greatest job or cannot “afford” to become a citizen, they deserve it because of their effort. People do not need money to get a better life. Maybe I am being naïve but good for them. I respect people who work for where they are in this world. People who work hard, deserve it. That’s what it’s all about. What more can you ask. I really is not about the money. I cannot stress that enough. I can’t tell everyone enough, that I am a proponent of immigration… probably illegal immigration as well. If people care enough to leave their country to come here, I feel like we should not reject them. I am sure they have considered so many options and have finally decided to leave because it is the best viable option. I know there are some consequences but seriously… I don’t see why we aren’t accepting those who need acceptance. Everyone has to understand that people come here with the intention of starting a better life. A life better than the one that they left. I completely respect that. People who say immigrants are taking American jobs are ridiculous. First of all, it is cliché, but immigrants are sometimes willing to do the jobs that we, as Americans, are not as welling to do. I feel like many people will say that immigrants need the money to become citizens and what not, but I don’t know or can’t say if I am on the same page. It is not like everyone can afford to get into the United States legally. So what though. Money is not more important than hard work and effort. Immigrants or at least some immigrants come into this country with very little money to begin with… I don’t see how they are expected to buy their citizenship. Really… I mean come on. I understand the United States cannot accept everyone person who wants to get into this country but, there has to be some other way of evaluating potential citizens of this country. Hard work definitely plays a role in those desiring to start a new life here in the United States.
America is a land of opportunities. Folks who are born here have more of a chance to actually attain and use these opportunities that this great country provides. I feel like if a immigrant comes to this country and achieves better and more distinguished lifestyles, why should people hate on them. They came in this country not knowing that much and rose to the top with the resources that anyone birthed here was given once they came out of their mother's womb. I think a reward should be given where it is due no matter where the person came from. As long as they didn't come to your house and stole your things than nobody has the right to accuse immigrants of stealing or taking any benefits from them. These people come willing to work to make their lives better than the ones that they had in their countries of origin. I don't see the problem. They are not working in these high fortune 500 companies but doing manual labor and dirty jobs that most classify themselves as being too good for. So why now that when they start making means for themselves and the pay that these jobs that most don't want to get involved are giving them the opportunity to succeed people have to hate and say they don't deserve it. Who are we to say that they don’t? In my eyes they worked and so they must be rewarded. Why hate let them be free. If they are content with living life with an under the table job than let them be. I swear people always have something to complain about. Stop worrying about these immigrants and what they are doing. Worry about yourselves and how you can better your life. The time spent complaining could be used for something else. These immigrants are not worry about us; they are just trying to get an opportunity to live since they were not allowed to in their country. Give them a break. Let’s say they decide to leave, who will be able to do the small jobs that they do. Will this country be able to function? They work harder than most of us for a simple life yet we still find something to complain or be unhappy about. Let them live and be free. If you want a job and feel that they stole it from you then that means you need to step your credentials and game up. You was not qualified, the employer thought they could do a better job than you. It’s a race and you lost. Take the failure and try to make yourself better than to sit there and try to have them deported because they are interfering with your life. As a matter of a fact, we are all immigrants if you think about it. Legal or illegal, if they work hard for what they got, stay out their business and worry about your own. Also if you know yo will not be able to put in the amount of hours and labor these people put in for the small amounts of pay they receive, shut up and get over yourself. Work is Work.
I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this.
I kind of swing both ways with this topic. I definitely think people should become legally become a citizen of the United States when they migrate here. But I do understand that sometimes there are people who just can’t afford to do that and they come to the United States for better opportunities. I think that if they are hard workers then they should be able to migrate here and not be scrutinized for it. After they make enough money to afford the legal part of it then they should get that done. There are always going to be people breaking that system but that’s just what happens.
Am I for illegal immigration- yes. I think that most people who come here illegally are only doing so to create a better life for their children and families. They are not trying to “invade” the United States or anything of that matter, they are just trying to make a living and give their children a great education.
I have done a lot of research on this topic. For some of my classes, I have studied and focus on the rights of illegal immigrants and how they effect the United States, and us. I feel that the United States should make it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal citizens. How can the U.S. government expect illegal immigrants to pay the very high amount to become a citizen. Most of them are poor people just trying to give their children a better life.
If illegal immigrants were to become legal citizens they would pay taxes to the government. By U.S. law, when an illegal immigrant has a child in the United States, the child is automatically a U.S. citizen. That gives them the right to education, and so forth. If these illegal families were granted citizenship, they would be able to use tax money to help pay for their children’s education. These illegal immigrants would not have to live in constant fear of being caught, and they can actually begin to live their lives.
This also helps the fact that so many companies hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. By making these illegal immigrants citizens, they will be on a pay roll, and the businesses will actually have to report that these immigrant/citizens are now working for them, basically giving the government more money. There are so many ways that the U.S. government will benefit from making illegal immigrants U.S. citizens, that I believe the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects.
And what about medical bills you may be wondering? In the state of California alone, hospitals are in millions of dollars of debt because these illegal immigrants living in California seek medical care in hospitals and then cannot pay the hospital bills. By law, any United States hospital must give medical care to all individuals whether they have health insurance, whether they are legal citizens, or whether they are illegal citizens. If these illegal immigrants become citizens, they can earn benefits and have medical insurance. This factor alone will help with the United States debt.
So in all, the U.S. government should make it cheaper and easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens, because in the end they will actually make back some money from it. There are so many positive aspects, that far outweigh the costs.
This is a really tough question because after seeing the videos comparing the pilgrims to immigrants today it seems like the immediate answer should be all hard-working people who have nothing in their countries should be able to pack up and move to America where they can start new and better lives for them and their families. Sam was saying in class that the story of these people coming with nothing in a crowded ship for a journey that lasts months is such an amazing story. However how are we as a country able to support such an increase in people? We cannot.
This is a really good question and I think that the immigrants need the money before they can have do anything else. It all comes down to money and that is what people usually judge each other on. For example someone who migrated here and worked very hard and didn't have much pay based on the amount of hard labor that would be put in would be looked at as modern America as a unsuccessful person. I think that is pretty shallow for people to do this because we all come from different walks of life and some f us are more blesses then others.
I am not exactly sure what this person was asking during the flip camera, but from what I take, the question she was asking was whether or not hard work is enough to have a good life for those who cannot afford one. Now, obviously everyone knows that even though it is said that everyone is equal, everyone in their right mind knows that is not true. If one person from another country were to walk down the streets of San Francisco and then walk down the streets of New Orleans, they could obviously tell there is a difference in how people live. On the other hand, they could go to a fortune 500 company business meeting and then cut lawns all day and realize that hard work does not get you very far in life all the time.
However, although sometimes hard work is not enough to get the perfect American dream with enough money to not know what to do with it, but no matter what you do hard work is necessary. Take for example what I said above. Even though a fortune 500 business meeting may not take as much hard work as cutting lawns all day to earn ten times as less, hard work was put into building the fortune 500 company. The difference between having the best life possible and working harder than most to just get by with the bills is knowing people. If you work hard and know people, then you will get far in life. If you do work hard and don’t know people, it is a lot harder to make a lot of money in certain cases.
Regardless of how much money one person makes compared to somebody else, I believe is irrelevant to whether or not you are living a good life. I believe that having a good life is based off of whether or not you are happy in life and content. If you are making enough money to pay the bills and you wouldn’t change anything in the world about your life, then I believe that you have a great life even if you don’t have a lot of money. On the other hand, if the question is based on something like the question below this one, then if people’s lives are at stake because they do not have enough money to get food or get surgery, then there is not much one person can do, but work harder to make more money. If an illegal immigrant cannot afford to live in America then I believe that they should make as much as they can and move to somewhere they can live happily and not try to fit in when they can’t.
Everybody that has been successful, except for maybe lottery winners have worked hard sometime in their lives. People that work for Fortune 500 companies work just as hard as people whom cut grass, however it is a different type of hard work. And these people are usually working in the company and not mowing lawns because they have worked hard early in their lives to put themselves in that situation. Hard work is inevitable if you want to lead a good life, however I do not think these illegal immigrants would become legal if they had the money to. Because it is simply more convenient for them to live here illegally, they do not have to pay taxes or go through the trouble of becoming legal, so why would they do it.
Hard work should be rewarded, but it’s sad that immigrants work so hard and don’t get rewarded, plus like everyone else said immigrants do the jobs that American’s don’t want and have no desire to do. Most of the time they get paid less then minimum wage and have no benefits and can’t really get any. Also for the people who say that they are taking government money with all the programs, they are illegal immigrants so they can’t get the programs. So I feel that if you really want to stop the immigrants from taking the jobs that “all American’s want” then go after the companies that hire them
This is an issue that has lasted throughout the entire semester with this class. Can someone achieve major success with simply gold old fashioned hard work, or do they need help from their ancestors and a financial ground to stand on. I personally think that it is much easier to gain success when you have a good ancestry who has given your family financial stability. I know there are plenty of cases where people pick themselves up from nothing and become success stories, but the likelihood of that is very low. I know that I would certainly not be anywhere close to the point I am today if it was for my parents and other previous ancestors.
This issue really sucks, and it is a part of life. Some people can afford to work, and others cannot. Some people need to come here for a better life or go elsewhere, but they just do not have the resources to do so. I feel as though a lot of people’s lives are determined simply by luck and resources. It sort of goes with the idea of “survival of the fittest”. It is not fair, but not everybody can be on top or be successful and live comfortable lives. Otherwise there would be no variation and positions of power in the world.
I completely agree with this girl! Thank you! I mean like I don’t even think she was all that informed at how things work. To become a citizen or even be considered costs a lot of money and quite frankly when people from another country who are far more poor than Americans try and go somewhere to provide a better life for their country its all of a sudden a terrible thing. Like how do people just say that its not okay when they preach all the time saying with hard work you get to where you want, yet when they try and do that it becomes impossible.
You pose an excellent question that really comes back to the whole concept of free will vs. determinism. Looking at the two most extreme examples whereby free-will means that you should be able to achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough and that you should and can do whatever necessary to overcome the many obstacles placed in your path. In contrast, determinism would involve some sort of understanding about the situations and circumstances that people were born into and how that affects their ability to be successful in life and their opportunities to become “King of the Mountain.” I believe that most people fall somewhere in between. Putting these concepts into practice with regards to your ideas about how immigrants can get ahead, I think they absolutely do need some money at least so that they can sustain themselves after first becoming integrated into American society. As Sam mentioned, most of the immigrants that are allowed here are fairly affluent because the government wants to bring people into society that are self-sufficient, not people who rely on government aid and/or welfare programs. With that being said, America is a land of opportunity and the cliché goes that anyone can make it in America if they work hard enough. You really cannot understate the fundamental importance of hard-work as it will pay off in the long-run if you are presented with some luck. Therefore, to completely answer your question, I don’t think that people need to be filthy rich but they do need to have a substantial portion of money and they should have a hard-working mentality in order to get ahead in society.
Most people think that immigrants are a big problem to the economy and the United States in general but they are far from right. Immigrants help the economy by taking the jobs that are not wanted by anyone else. They work hard for low wages to help support their family. They have gone through a lot while moving to the United States and still suffer from discrimination and segregation. Immigrants have to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and start over their lives. Just once, imagine yourself, quitting your job and leaving your family. Selling all your belongings, just so you can afford an airplane ticket. After all that hard work, you finally move to a country where you are searching for hope and freedom but instead you are mistreated and judged by your accent or color, how would you feel?
This is a very interesting question however it is hard to answer. I say that because the people that have money or are wealthy are mostly not the hardworkers. I mean they may have worked hard to get where they are or benefited from nepotism but they either no longer do the hard work because they can afford to pay someone else to do the back breaking work that is if we assume by hard work as physical labor. This also shows that the hard workers most likely do not have a lot of money. Because if they were wealthy then they would not settle for hard physical work or just hire someone that is desperate for money. Therefore it is hard to say. I think it would be great if everyone experienced hard physical labor and then try to move up in the world. I feel if everyone had a background with hard work then they could better appreciate the hard work that many illegal workers or some immigrants endure. I think also that may be if we (people already living in the united states) would all experience hard work then may be there would not be so many vacancies for jobs such as harvesting fruit from fruit farms as we saw rotting in class because Americans were above the idea of picking fruit.
Which brings up another point, Americans do not want to see illegal immigrants coming into the United States and taking OUR jobs, the problem is WE refuse to fill these positions such as harvesting fruit or other physical manual labor jobs. So may be we can all agree that not just immigrants with money that can take care of themselves deserve to be let into this country. There should be a balance of people that can take care of themselves but also let people in that may be lower income and give them an opportunity to make it in this country. Because while the wealthy rich people that come in can fend for their family and feed the economy through purchasing goods they do not contribute much to the physical work force side. I think it would be healthy for the United States to recognize that hard work is just as beneficial to the economy as wealth entering the economy. Although this hard work should be rewarded with fair wages because all though it may make it harder to compete with other companies if the workers are paid fairly at least the work is getting done because we all know that if poor or illegal workers were not willing to do the hard work Americans would not step up and do it. Therefore hard work and money are good together as well as seperate.
I think that immigration is a very big issue that should be discussed in a lot of detail. In terms of money, immigrants are dirt poor. It is a fact that people need money to get a better life. New immigrants often times come with the clothes on their back and nothing else. How can they make a successful life for themselves with no money? They simply have nothing and they cannot make a good life for themselves with nothing.
I know this from personal experience because my parents are first generation immigrants from eastern Europe. My grandma used to clean houses in Louisville, Kentucky for $10. She told me stories about how she would spend an entire day working and sweating and she only made $10. This really hurt me, because it showed me how hard my parents and grandparents had to work to make ends meat. They did all of this to make a better life for me. I am very thankful for this, and I appreciate everything they have done for me.
I think that it is very important to help immigrants settle into the United States. Our country was founded on immigration and we must do what we can to make sure that immigrants settle successfully. It gets sticky when we talk about illegal immigration because these immigrants do not really belong in our country. Then again, since our country was founded on immigrants how can we say who can and who cannot come to our country? I think that we cannot and that we need to admit most people. The only people we should not admit are criminals.
I think that immigration is an idea that is almost unique to America and I think that we need to value our immigrants. America is the melting pot of the world and it is important to understand this. No other country is the same in that respect. We have to realize what we have as a country and learn to treasure our immigrants. Many Americans often have racist attitudes when it comes to immigrants. They think that immigrants are a bother and that anyone that is not white is inferior. These people need to put their beliefs to the side, look a little bit deeper in themselves, and realize that they are no better than immigrants. Most immigrants come to America with next to nothing, and it is not ok to put them out on their own. We need to help them adjust and do everything we can to help them adjust. All Americans immigrated at one point, and whether it was recently or a long time ago we should all try to relate. We need to accept everybody.
In America, we tend to firmly believe in the idea that everyone has the ability to get ahead in life with just a little hard work. However, what people fail to realize, is that there will always be distinctions and different classifications so if everyone were to simply “work hard” those that get ahead would get ahead for different reasons. In class, Sam talked about how there was a starting line for the different races. There are many historical reasons why the starting line is not even or equal for everyone it is just how things are. If for example, the whites were at one specific place to begin because they already have many resources, connections, money, whatever the reason may be, everyone else has to start at a place not as advanced as where the whites started. Blacks were held back for so many years and made to feel less than people, so when the time came and they were allowed to simply live, and make it they faced challenges that white people never had to face simply because of the skin in which they were born in. So, they would have to start the race further back and away from where the whites would begin. Immigrants are people migrating from many different parts of the world. They are new to the country filled with many people already struggling. They have more to deal with such as language barriers, culture differences, and family issues. All of their hope lies in the simple trip to America. Many travel and leave everything that they have so that they could begin a new and improved life. Their optimistic outlook could possibly be an edge up on the competition; they are not afraid of working for everything that they have, they are actually most likely used to it. Whereas unemployed Americans feel like they’re too good to do the very basic labor positions, be it too large an ego, too much pride, or plain laziness they would rather collect unemployment checks then work. With that in mind, and with everyone having so much of a head-start, hard work alone cannot fix the gap. Therefore, in my opinion I feel like immigrants with money have a much better chance at making it and living the American dream than those that do not have it. A quick substitute for money could be whatever type of skills or abilities that they may have. They might not have money but they could help you make some. Americans do not want more people feeding out of the pot than they have adding to it. It is just that simple. If they do not benefit in some way, why even consider it?
It’s true that one’s financial situation forces them to cross border illegally. However, there are other available means to immigrate to United States without paying a large sum of the money. For example, H-1 visa (sometimes referred as ‘investment immigration’) requires at least five hundred thousand dollars to invest any business in United States but there are other ways that requires much lesser than that. However, there are two problems exist with such method as well. There should be at least a couple of thousand dollars required at minimum to process the fees and the quotas are so small so that applicants must wait at least 3 years to enter United States. I believe there Is noting that can be done since we cannot control the demand.
Part 3:
I feel that whenever you are dealing with issues like this it’s important to remember history and to see it from another angle. Another thing that really bothers me too is people who say if they want to come to the U.S. they should all speak English. Well as a matter of fact many illegal immigrants do learn to speak English, but guess what many don’t have the time because they are slaving away to make enough for their families. We are quick to say that others should learn English but when we go to other foreign countries we demand and expect others to speak to us in English.
This is a really good question and could bring up a huge debate. SO MUCH of life on Earth has become dependent on money. But when people risk their lives to come to a country where they can be free (to a certain extent) and able to work for a better life, it almost seems unfair to be so against them. I'm not sure how I for sure stand on this issue (I need to research more and learn more about it first), but I did used to think that it would be okay if they just came legally. But then I remembered family friends we had from Turkey. They were here illegally; it was a long journey but they came here to make a better life for themselves and for the son (who was on the way). Here, they worked in factories and didn't have much money. They didn't have much help from their country's ambassadors and officials in the US to aid them in becoming legal immigrants, and after a lot of back and forth, they were warned about getting deported. They were about to be deported back to a country they had worked so hard to get away from, and from a country that they had been working so hard in for years. It just doesn't seem right to me. I don't have a solution, or a complete idea about what I think on the situation, but I do think that there should be SOME way to help immigrants become legal if they are here in the US, contributing to our economy. And that Americans should put themselves in their shoes so that we as a country can be more open to an idea like that.
Far from attempting to parallel the 'cost' of coming to America now and during the eighteenth century, I would say that it seems unfair now that we are tightening the belt on who can and who cannot come into the United States to gain citizenship; we ask these people who seek the ‘American dream’, as it is so proudly called, for their time and their money. I share Sam’s frustration with contradictory beliefs and hypocrisy in finding the answer to immigration reform in particular. How can we shut the door to people now, who come to this country for reasons no different than people did in the eighteenth century? It seems very selfish. On the receiving end of building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico is the belief that we should let everyone who wants to come in, do so legally and unconditionally. I could see how some would make the arugment that this is illogical, and I suppose I could agree. Like other issues, I suppose that the real intellectual and morally sound resolution to immigration in the United States lies in the middle. We must compromise on what must be done to tackle immigration. I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that is expressed through legislation like the DREAM Act, which was a federal bill considered in the years following strict immigration laws that passed in 2006. The DREAM Act “would provide certain undocumented alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency”.
The more I think about immigration reform the more I begin to understand why it deserves attention and why it is so dynamic and difficult to find a solution for. I won't pretend like I understand all the politics and paperwork that goes behind immigration, but I have heard that immigrants who want to become citizens of the United States must wait several years before they gain their citizenship. Just what are these people waiting for? Is this a carrying capacity issue? Are we waiting for people to die off to let others in? Do we wait to investigate people for upwards of five years to insure that they are not going to harm our country before they are given citizenship? Is it like finally getting into Indigo after you've been waiting in line for hours on end? I'm not well rehearsed in the ecology of human beings and the 'consequences', if any, of at this very moment letting all who would like to come to the United States to do so without making these people wait for years on end to not even have confidence that they would gain full citizenship.
First of all it says it all in the title ILLEGAL Immigrants, how is this different than anything else that is against the law. If we start allowing people come here illegally, then how do we justify enforcing any other law that we have? I realize that this country was built on immigration and I probably would not be here if my ancestors would not have immigrated. However the people who immigrated back then did not have money either, in fact that is the reason why most people make the decision to come here because they are not leading a glamorous ritzy life where they are. Also I believe that people now are not as interested in coming here to become Americans and assimilate into our culture. The immigrants of the past even though they tended to stick by their ethnic group once arriving here made America what it is today, learned the English language, and worked hard to build this country into what it is today. These immigrants coming in now do not want to learn or culture and adjust into our society to try and better themselves, however they seem content not doing any of this and working low pay manual labor jobs. While I realize that this is all that is available to them upon their arrivals it doesn’t seem like once they get the money to become legal they do not do it, however they continue living here illegally. While the majority of these people do not commit crimes and try to fly under the radar, there are illegal immigrants, who commit violent crimes even murder, these are crimes that do not need to be here and if immigration laws were enforced would not happen. This is a very sad fact that innocent Americans have been killed by people who should not even be here. These people also do not pay taxes; however enjoy the freedoms that you earn by paying them.
I have personal experience with illegal immigration and the harm it can cause, a neighboring town to mine Hazleton Pennsylvania, has a massive problem with illegal immigration. This was a small coal town that did not have much crime at all and has become a refuge for illegal immigrants. Since this push of immigrants came into the town the crime rates have increased dramatically, and the town has turned into a so-called bad area. Property values in the town have also dropped dramatically, which has caused many residents to leave. This has many repercussions; it has made the school system not as good, and made people not want to live there. Recently Mayor Lou Barletta has made a push to deport all illegal immigrants living in the area, and has caught much heat for this. I think that this is a good policy and it should be perfectly acceptable to deport these people once they are caught.
many immigrants do not have the necessary means to come over to America the proper way to become a citizen legally and the time it takes to get citizenship could be an extreme factor. Although,I do not think this is an excuse though for people to be allowed to immigrate illegally. In my own opinion illegal immigration should not be excepted in the United States because many people are hurt by the matter, however i do understand why many people take part in the act. It is also sad that they are such a key tool to our economy because we have a national problem solving a national solution. In the end America gets hurt and we have to find a better solution. Being able to migrant legally into this country is all about our countries dependency on workers outside of our country. Although this is unfair, what else would it be based on? You cannot just open your borders to tons of foreigners who bring nothing to the country. One would say, and I fully agree that this is not a fair way of deciding who can and cannot immigrate into the country because immigration shouldn't be about America's dependency but it should be about people trying to better their lives. I think this is a way more complex issue than people think and there really is no simple answer.
I think this issue is really interesting how people have such strong views on illegal immigrants in this country. I feel that the decisions needed to be made about immigration are tough ones and it is hard for people to express their true feelings about it because no matter any proposal to the situation someone gets hurt. But the fact is that we as people cant come to a conclusion on how to tackle this situation and in the meantime the state of the economy is being effected. It certainly is not fair that this is the way it works. I am ethnocentric in that I believe I live in the greatest country in the world. Why wouldn’t people want to come live here and who are we to tell them they can’t? There has to be some kind of boundaries though. There are only so many people that can fit in this country and it would not be very fair to take all of the American’s jobs away because of the immigrants. I can definitely understand why people hire illegal immigrants and I think it is essential for our country to succeed by hiring these people for much lower wages.
I think people are way too quick to criticize the system that we already have without having a better way of doing it. I personally cannot think of a better way of doing it so I do not think I have much room to criticize. It would be nice to live in the a country where your citizenship depends on your contribution to the country as well as, your need for the country.
I don't believe that you need to begin with a great amount of money in order to be able to make something of yourself. It is easier, granted, but it is not the deciding factor in determining one's success. Money is very hard to come by. If it were easier, most of us would be "rolling in dough" so to speak. But it's not; as such, we must work harder to attain monetary compensation, enough that would support not only ourselves, but our families. In regards to the girl stating that all immigrants must work legally for money, I believe that is a fanciful perspective. Our government does not favor "outsiders". As such, most immigrants resort to working illegally as a means of putting food on their tables. Most of these illegal jobs are illegal only because of the lack of documented evidence of the job being effected. They are not jobs selling drugs, murdering, or any such felonious activity. It is very easy for us to judge the immigrant for working illegally, but it is important that we examine the circumstances under which they are propelled to do so.
I do believe that regulations are necessary to ensure that immigrants do not take advantage of the system, and are indeed looking to become legal residents in the eventuality. I believe that though the government does not favor the immigrant community, it does not at the same time cripple them. I believe that there are multitudinous opportunities for which they can utilize to better their situation. Most of the immigrants in this nation are hard-working, but are content to be doing the same thing with no intentions to progress. I believe that that is the problem. If more incentive was provided for these immigrants to become legal, perhaps it would help to eradicate some of the problems we have with the immigrants currently living here.
It is hard enough as it is to work for little pay, but to work illegally for little pay presents a great disadvantage for the individual in that circumstance. It allows opportunities for abuse by your employer, and provides no legal benefits such as health care, etc. In the event that legal issues arise between employer and employee, it would be very difficult to go against an employer when your position in his or her employ is illegal. Attempting to contest any proposed offense would be to almost no avail on the part of the illegal worker because of their status in the U.S. system. If some of these points are stressed to the workers, perhaps it would provide a more pragmatic perspective on why it would be beneficial to attempt legality in the U.S.
I like this video post. A lot of people dont realize that it is so hard to become a citizen of this country. And for someone who is coming here in order to make a better life for himself going through the whole process is really a waste of time. They know that they have two options to live in America; get in illegally or get in legally. If they want to do it legally it is going to take many years and it is going to cost them a lot. If they do it illegally, they can do it much faster an for free. The illegal option is a lot more attractive to someone who is already poor and doesn’t have the time or money to spend dealing with the united states governments. The point is they know they are going to have work if they come here regardless of the legality of their status. This work that they do is work that Americans do not want to do and it is work that is important for everyone else. It is funny and kind of sad that so many people are completely intolerant of “illegal aliens” yet they have no idea how big of an impact these people are having on their lives. There is a movie called A Day Without Mexican and it shows the repercussions of every Mexican in LA suddenly vanishing. And when they do people are upset about the raggy look everywhere because there are no people doing the yardwork. Bathrooms don’t get cleaned, there are just little problems that you don’t think about until they are in front of you. A main problem these people have with illegal immigrants is that they do not get taxed because they are not legal citizens, but they get to benefit form the end result of the taxes they aren’t paying. I just find it difficult to hate someone who is coming to our country to do the bullshit jobs that Americans all think they are too good to do. It is more important to get the work done no matter who does it and just because you cant take these peoples money doesn’t make them the enemy. I agree that if they are coming to America they should be legal citizens, but the fault doesn’t lie on the people. It belongs with the policies that make it so difficult for people to gain citizenship. If a immigrant could easily become a citizen after living and working in the country, no questions askied about how they got here in the first place, then this whole issue could be resolved. A lot of Americans could learn something about hard work motivation and dedication by looking at how these illegal immigrants support themselves and their families.
I honestly feel like they really do need to do it legally. If we need a passport to go to other countries, vacation there, live there, etc. that they should as well. The problem I have isn't that they want to come here and work and make a better life, it's that all of this is happening without regulation. The government is doing it's best (we think) to regulate immigration. It's not that I don't want Mexicans, Cubans, or whoever in this country, because it's not about race for me. But where does it stop? How many people are we going to let in before we say enough's enough? I just think on that day we're not going to be prepared to stop the influx at that point. It's easy to debate about this topic sitting in State College and not having to fight to keep my family alive. There's no doubt in my mind I would do whatever I had to in order to get into this country. But, at the same time, I have to follow all the rules in the world in order to keep my freedom in this country, so I don't think that it should be any different for anyone else, although that's probably a really narrow-minded way to look at this topic.
I think that it can be such a hard cycle to break for someone to become wealthy in America. Most of the time, people get rich because they already have money. For example, a family with a lot of money can put their kid in good schools in good areas, and then prestigious colleges. With this college experience, kids can get good jobs after they are out of school and start to build their own wealth. Now, for a kid that grows up in the ghetto with a low-income family. Most of the time, they live in a bad area, with under-funded schools. The chances of these kids attending a well-respected university are a lot less than the kid that lives for a suburban middle-class family. Therefore, it is a cycle that is really hard to break into. Not surprisingly, immigrants face these same problems, and maybe even to a much more difficult extent.
Immigrants that come into this country illegally face an incredible uphill battle. They get no government aid, and have a hard time finding places to live. A lot of the time, they are coming into the country with no money. They literally have to start from rock bottom. Because of this, they have to fend for themselves and work their asses off just to scrape by. What makes it even harder is knowing that they probably will not reap the benefits of their work, and many will never be considered wealthy. They just work for the fact that it’s better than their home, and they are also giving their children and grandchildren a better opportunity.
While I believe that hard work can benefit people, in the end it usually comes down to what kind of money you already have. The cases where people do make it from poverty and become successful are usually attributed to good luck, good fortune, lots of hard work, or a combination of the three. It is this way because of the way our society is set up. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The impoverished and immigrants stay in the slums and most of them can’t make it out. It is a brutal cycle but is the way of life here.
It really is amazing to think that these immigrants would come to live a life like this. Many of us consider it so bad, but they are coming here because they think it is BETTER than the life they lived. I could not even imagine what kind of poverty or living conditions they had lived in in their previous country that made them want to come to a place where they worked for a miniscule amount of money and awful living.
I do believe that people need to have money to carve out a better life for themselves. Hard work alone can only get you so far. Also, it really determines how much of a better life you’re looking for. If you’re thinking better life mean them climbing up the socioeconomic ladder, then I’d say without some cash you’re probably not going to get very far. Not to say that hard work can’t get you anywhere, but I’m saying that hard work ALONE won’t get you anywhere.
I honestly do not think there is a problem with people who come here illegally, and try to make an honest living. What I mean by that is the people who come here and just try to work not the people who come and end up committing crimes. I think that they are the ones who deserve to be here. Honestly, it is not hurting us for them to be here. I wish people would stop saying they come here to take our jobs because the jobs they do are the ones that no American takes. So why should we deny them a right to a better life. I am pretty sure some of your family members were immigrants. In all actuality, the people who came here legally are the ones taking your jobs. That is something that all of you who oppose illegal immigration need to think about.
I think not everyone has an equal chance to success and luck has a lot to do with that factor. The question that not all illegal immigrants have the money and opportunity to become legal is very correct. If all these individuals had that opportunity then the United States will be overpopulated. Hard work is only advantageous for those who have some sort of money and has the foundation to gain potential in the future. For those that do not have any money it would be difficult to gain a foot hole to get ahead. Then the question isn’t about why doesn’t everyone just become legal so that we can avoid the issue of illegal immigration. The truth of the matter is that this would be impossible and a little beyond our reach. If people worked hard all there life then money wouldn’t become an issue to those individuals. Hard work will eventually pay off for these individuals and becoming a legal citizen will not be an unascertainable goal. Money has always been and will be a jumping start to most things, but without hard work as the roots, nothing is possible. Dr. Sam mentioned that illegal immigrants shouldn’t be a huge deal because “we” basically crossed onto this soil and claimed it as our own. We robbed the Native Americans and we pushed them to the side and we are questioning whether illegal aliens have the right to step onto this country asking and hoping for the same opportunity. We are insane if we question that to those individuals who seek that right as well. The topic of immigration is dear to my heart because my dad became an American citizen in the 60’s and worked really hard to get my mother to the United States. Fortunately, my father is a legal citizen now and my mom has a permanent citizen’s card or green card. From what my dad tells me, the test were very difficult and imagining that he knew very little English back then, made me realize the challenge he had to overcome. I am proud of his achievements and respect him even more for helping all my uncles or his brothers to the United States when becoming legal citizens were hard. For him, money was an important factor in helping him get through the process and it was also luck that brought him where he is now. So luck, money, and hard work are all important factors when it comes to the issue of immigration. Without it, you might get there eventually, but it will take quite some time and work to achieve the same result, whereas someone with money could attain in a short and brief time.
Having a lot of family and friends that are Nigerian I know that it can be pretty difficult for people to get their papers especially when money is in the picture. People need to learn that it is not that easy for people to get their papers. I don’t feel like illegal immigrants steal jobs from American citizens because most of the times they hold the jobs that American citizens don’t want to do. Illegal immigrants although it is wrong they are still hard workers and deserve the same respect any other hard worker gets. They should try and get their legal papers because at times they have the same benefits and opportunity that legal immigrants get.
I regret to say that hard work is no longer the only requirement to get what you want or, in many cases, need. In today’s society everything is run by money. In the case of illegal immigrants and the inability to pay to legally immigrate, I am not sure that asking people to only legally immigrate is realistic. People will always want to immigrate to the United States… it’s the land of opportunity (or at least is it supposed to be) and they will do what ever it takes to get here. A green piece of paper is not going to stop them.
I think that immigrants need to be legal for some reasons, but other reasons make that harder and unrealistic. Hard work is almost always going to be involved in anything that people do, especially when you are working from the bottom and trying to move up. I do agree with some of these posts that its not necessarily fair for people who have worked hard to get somewhere to pay for people who maybe have slacked off because they know they can live off others. But this is not always the case, sometimes people work very hard, and the world just doesn’t shift in their favor. I think that people that work hard are deserving, its just the slackers I have a problem with.
I'm not sure I understand your question in the way it's being phrased. I also don't think we discussed the legal immigration process in class, what people have to go through to get legal status, the money (if any) required, etc. I hear a common theme of people who say "well the legal process is too difficult." I believe that the legal process should be streamlined. However, we can't let just anyone in, however, it should not have to be based on socioeconomic status. There need to be venues for workers to immigrate and be able to work (as a documented worker) to earn legal residency status.
I also believe that part of the fact that workers must be undocumented to be able to work for wages and benefits below the minimum regulations. I am one of those people who believes that the minimum wage laws cause black markets for labor and should be reformed. I know that sounds like a cold statement, but minimum labor prevents some types of labor from being able to be legal, and labor laws like this should be relaxed.
Unfortunately the legal labor pool is not suitable for many unskilled immigration laborers. The government through its regulations and taxes has effectively legislated away many types of low skill, low wage employment from the legal labor pool. There are millions of unemployed Americans who would be happy to take low wage low benefit jobs, including some of the jobs that have been off-shored; especially recently with the recession.
I happen to believe that when the government creates black markets like this, there will be all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, drug prohibition may cause less people to use the drug but drives the market underground, forcing people to take incredible risks in a market that does not abide by the rule of law. Similarly, immigrants are forced to sneak in and risk being deported because low wage jobs such as this are illegal, and face intense, often violent competition for underground low wage jobs.
Immigrants are faced with a conundrum; they need legitimate, legal jobs that they can work in order to gain legal status, but don't have much available to them. Unless the immigrant has a marketable skill that they can enter the United States' higher education system or skilled labor pool, they are pretty much forced to work illegal jobs under constant threat of deportation. The problem is that the low skill legal jobs have effectively been legislated away.
In addition, I believe that the public should become more educated about the legal immigration process, why it is so cumbersome, and how it can be reformed to be more fair and give poor immigrants a chance to move up and succeed; though I suspect that the basic underlying cause is the patchwork of restrictive wage and benefit laws that discourage hiring.
This issue is definitely not black and white. Money is always an issue and it is what causes problems and/or happiness. Look at the worth ethic in the United States versus the work ethic in Europe. I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and most places were closed in the middle of the day for their siesta. By 2 PM, the metros were packed and my friends and I could never understand why no one was at work. Then you think about the U.S. and there are people who work from 9 to 7 or 8 at night. These differences are associated with the values of Americans versus the values of Europeans. Here in America, everything is based around money. When do Americans get to have lives outside of work?
I agree that some immigrants do not have the money to do it legally. Instead, they need to take hard working yet low paying jobs just to support their family. I always wonder why someone who does manual labor gets paid so much less than someone who sits at a desk all day. Physical labor is extremely extraneous and exhausting. There are so many jobs where the salary is way too low for the work that is being done and sometimes I do not understand it. I also do not think that this pertains to only immigrants. I believe there are many legal American citizens who work extremely hard and do not get compensated for it, while others work half as much or hard and get a high paying salary. There are both immigrants and American citizens who have to work 2 shifts of work a day just to get by and provide for their family. It is really unfortunate that if you do not come from money you need to work hard to get by.
My dad works extremely extremely hard as an accountant. During tax season he is up at 4 or 5 in the morning and on a train to the city by 5:30 or 6 am. There are some nights where he doesn’t walk in until 10 or 11 at night. I know he is an exceptionally hard worker and wants to provide for his family. Sometimes I feel like there are so many people who get paid so much more than he does and definitely do not work half as hard as him or the same hours as him.
I know that this question was aimed toward immigrants and what we spoke about in class, but I do not think that it is only immigrants who take illegal jobs or jobs no one would do. I definitely do believe that people need money to have a better life and if they do not have money they need to work very hard to get by in life.
Obviously people need money and hard work to succeed or even come to this country, and they need more to come across the border. To get a better life after coming over the border illegally, you need a lot more than one might think you would for startup money and continuation money when they get in to America, so I think that simply hard work is nowhere near enough. In fact, I would assume that it takes an extreme amount of luck in addition to simply just getting over the border. Overall, I think that it takes a lot of work either way, but unless you are well connected you are in for a very hard time.
Part 2:
Before I go on I want to clarify something else. I am not saying that illegal immigration is right, obviously it would be ideal for everyone to come to this country legally, but unfortunately that is just not possible. The people who come to this country come in the search for better opportunities, for some people it’s even a matter of life or death because the conditions in their homelands are just impossible. When I was in high school I actually used to work as an interpreter for Spanish speaking illegal immigrants at a clinic. The people that I met were incredibly hard working and just wanted a better life for their children and in a way it made me happy to see these people grow and progress in this country. I just feel like a lot of people who are quick to judge don’t really see the human side of this issue. Yes illegal immigration is wrong, but perhaps we should change our system or create some kind of program that will prevent more illegal immigration. I also really liked the video that Sam showed in class about the European immigrants who came ILLEGALLY to the U.S. I think it’s kind of ironic how people forget about that and again this is an example of ethnocentrism.
I do not think that success in America is all about money. Being a hard worker goes a long way in this country, and even if you start at an entry level position you can rise through the ranks and be successful. Also, everyone has their own definition of success so one person may think it is to have a million dollars, others may think that it is just having a healthy family. If illegal immigrants can’t afford to get here legally, maybe they should work a little harder in their country, save, and then do it legally. We cannot just give handouts to these people.
To me people need both a good work ethic and money to achieve things. However you don’t necessarily need to have the two balanced because either one can work in place of the other and you can see examples of this all through out society. We all know someone here at Penn State who was only accepted because his or her parents have money. It isn’t a hard concept to understand. The vice versa of this is also true. We all know someone who has gotten where they are solely on their ability and determination. I can not remember exactly who said it but I recall in one of the short stories from the book Crossing the Boulevard someone said life is like a set of stairs. We can all get to the top but some of us start much higher up than others. This sums up my basic views with money and hard work. Immigrants start at some of the lowest stairs not only because of money, but also because of the language barrier between them. This can either sink someone or act as a catalyst for the intellectual hard worker on the inside. It would be ideal if everyone migrated here legally but that is simply unrealistic. Through out Crossing the Boulevard the story was the same. The immigrant was in a war torn country and had to choose between leaving everything they knew behind or risk death. The people in the stories all were lucky enough to get visas but people who don’t get visas are also faced with that same choice. I for one would not choose death so I would therefore have to become an illegal immigrant. Once they are in the United States they would hopefully be able to obtain a green card and stay here, perhaps even attaining citizenship. I realize that a lot of illegal immigrants are putting strain on the system but I feel the majority of them had very little choice in their decision. My one hope is that more immigrants would take what they have learned in the United States and take it back to their countries and try to make a positive effect on their homelands. I am not saying the United States is perfect, because it is far from it. However the United States is one of the few countries where hard work will result in success. If we were to adopt more European policies and become a more laid back, conservative, government we could truly get close to an efficient and fair system. If we were to develop that system then hard work WOULD be enough the vast majority of the time. With that example for other nations to follow the world could become a much better place.
Illegal immigration as we all know and have experienced in class, is a very controversial topic. However, this video brings up a good point about simply getting through life through hard work. I definitely agree that you do not always need to be rich or have a lot of money to get by in life or succeed. Of course, money can definitely assist with getting far in life, but that is not the only way to do it. While I do not really discriminate against illegal immigrants, I am still unsure about how I feel the situation should be handled.
I think that this is a very tough question to answer. Personally, I think it all depends on the individual. Sometimes you have immigrant who are working their butts off just to support themselves and their families. While on the other hand, you have immigrant who just do not care to become a citizen. I feel that everyone has the right to come to the United States no matter what his or her economic status is. We should not discriminate people, rather encourage them to get jobs and become citizens.
I feel that there should be some sort of rewards system for the immigrants who come to this country and work really hard. Most of time, they are working in jobs that we would never even think to work for. These are jobs that get paid little because they do not really need a lot of experience or an educational background. But they are still working long, tiring hours just to make ends meet. I think that these immigrants are more deserving to be here legally then the bums on the streets. We should be kicking the people who live on the streets on sell drugs out of country. They do nothing for our country and just create chaos. It is not fair that the immigrants do not have enough money to become a legal United States citizen but are still working extremely hard.
I am not sure what type of policy they could enforce but I think that they should look at each case individually. If an immigrant is working hard to make a good life for themselves then I think they should be allowed to stay. However, if an immigrant comes to the United States and is completely worthless and has made no attempts to become a citizen then they can be sent back. It is not fair for them to be living in our country and receiving all of the benefits as the other citizens.
I have heard that the legalization process if very long and intense so I can completely understand why immigrants would chose to just live here illegally. This is such a complicated issue but I think that if someone really wants to live here and make a good life for themselves then our government should not kick them out. They should work with them so they can become legalized citizens. However, I do not think it fair if they live here for so many years and do not have to pay taxes and health care and all the other amenities that come along with being a United States citizen. If they are going to live here they need to help support our country.
It is the American dream to want to make something out of yourself, even when you have nothing. In class on Thursday Sam told the story of how immigrants that had nothing, no money or items, took the chance and traveled all the way to the United States in order to create a new and better life for their family. He continued to say that the history of America is one of people who worked hard for what they got and now look how far America has come. Maybe I am an idealist, but I feel with hard work it is possible to get where you want to go. The history of the United States proves this. So does my family history. My great grandparents on my father’s side came here as immigrants because they wanted a better life. My grandfather worked hard and opened his own furniture store and my father also worked very hard in medical school and now has his own doctor’s office. I think that even if there was some luck on their side, they had the determination and hard work to make money and thus a better life for their children. Because both of my parents worked so hard, they were able to send me and all my brothers to college and we are all working hard in return. It is easier with money, as I think everyone knows. We talked about in class how those with money are naturally ahead at the starting line, but I think a lot of the time it is because people before them worked so hard to make a good life for their family. I know that I am working hard in college and going to work hard if I go to graduate school and at my job so I can support my family in the future and know that I can give my children and their children a good life. Yeah people with money can get away with things more but I think in the end it all comes down to how much time and effort a person is willing to put into accomplishing what they want. We talked about the illegal immigrants and I think that they just want what all of us do, to work hard and make a living. The thing is I know that I come from a family where my ancestors gave me a better life because of what they did and it is sad that there is just not enough room or money for all the people who want to work and get educated to help out their family as well. I think that people forget that sometime immigrants want the same thing as we all do because it is easier just to think of all the annoyance and money they are causing us. As Americans I think we all know too well the feeling of wanting to be more than where you started or wanting to continue on a path of success and work.
My family had a very similar situation to yours, my grandfather was very poor but had the determination to go out and bust his ass to make something of himself. He started out not having anything, and by the time he died he was the CEO of a major company and had owned a professional baseball franchise. This proves that you can make your own connections and make something out of yourself with hard work. However I do not think these immigrants want to become part of this country legally even if they did have the money, because it is simply easier to do it illegally.
There are so many different views on immigration and there always be two different sides of an argument of that nature that usually there is no actual right response or right view on the issue. I definitely agree with the girl in class that every immigrant coming into the United States should do it legally and become a citizen of the United States. There are borders around are country for a specific reason and that reason is to keep America prosperous and safe and keep the citizens of the United States reassured that they are living in the greatest country in the world.
I agree with this comment. Everything that Sam showed us yesterday really just made me open my eyes to the reality of the situation. I never really had an opinion about illegal immigration, but now I really do. I obviously understand that we can't just open the door to everyone because it would probably flood the economy, but I agree that we should leave the situation in the hands of people who understand and work the system. I hardly even understand the economy enough to have an overwhelming opinion on the matter, but it's terrible to see that we continue to push these people away who can't afford to come into the country. I mean i've been paying taxes, as well as my parents, my whole life. But I didn't have to pay to come live in America because I was just born here. They have to do all these crazy things to live in America, and even take tests that half of Americans would fail. It's just ridiculous. Honestly, immigrants that actually go through this process have more of a right to call themselves Americans then I think I do, after they learn all these things. And it made so much sense when Sam made the point that the vast majority of Americans won't work on farms, etc, because it's like too low class or some bull shit. And then they complain about not being employed and just claim a check every month of unemployment if they qualify. Which, honestly, most of the time people do. My sister is 24 and has a restaurant job, and ALSO collects unemployment. And she doesn't need it/ deserve it more than these people who are dirt poor. I don't remember ever having to cross a border or travel on a ship for months to come to America, and be denied, or even have to worry about that. My parents didn't either. So why should I be able to live here, and not them? If they are willing to work and help our economy prosper, then what is the big deal? And yes, obviously not every single immigrant is going to be coming here for honest reasons, or even to work. I am sure many come to sell drugs to idiotic Americans that will buy them. And yeah, that sucks because then we have to deal with spending money on jailing them. But in general, it just shouldn't be decided by a voting system, or the general public. Because I know that I don't know much about it, and I am sure many Americans just have opinions based upon nothing.
This is a good question, however I don’t think I have the answer. As a Chinese student, my uncle’s families were immigrated here 20 years ago. They want me also stay here, more correctly immigrate here and become a green card holder. For me, this is an option, but for many other poor peoples, this is the only option and they need to do it illegally.
I think hard work is important to anyone, not only the immigrants also other people already live here. It’s true that illegal immigrants become kind of “free labors” here, they are cheap, they only want small amount of money to survive. For American, this is a Great deal, but for me, it’s not. We cannot give staff that we don’t want to do to others people do not have a choice and accept to do it. It’s unfair. I think business people need at least give them basic salary, instead of take all the advantages from those poor people.
People need work hard; especially people are in a good situation. Really lazy people are not those really poor peoples, because they have to fight for life. If they don’t work hard, they have no food! This is something people cannot live without it. For those, average people, they want to have better life, but they don’t have the ability to gain a nice job and they also refuse to do “low level” jobs. They are real lazy person! They need to work hard, not poor immigrants. I hope everyone could respect himself or herself and also others. Show the responsibility!
For those people have money, please treat other people normally, at least. We do not have the choice to decide which family to born, so it ends up some people are rich just because they are lucky, they parents have lots of money. They can spend tones of money whatever and whenever they want. Also, they can kind control others’ lives. Just like business control the population of immigrants, of there is a big demand in market. They will support immigration, no mater it is legal or not. What they really care is profits. I am not anti-rich. However, I do believe if people want to keep their wealth, the first thing is being better educated and respect others. Otherwise, money will go away quickly, because they don’t treasure what they have.
I think both money and hard working are key factors to become successful, however hard working and good attitude is more important. Money is only money; if one-day economics goes wrong, money don’t have that value, 1000 dollar only worth 1 dollar. At that point, good ability and attitude can save one’s life, but money cannot. So, work hard everyone, be responsible and respect.
This is a really good question. In an ideal world hard work should be enough. Everyone should be equal and the amount of time you put into something and how hard you work should be all that matters. However, we are not in a perfect world and people think differently all over the world. I forget which country but the country that tried to make everyone equal and give everyone equal pay it ended up horribly. I wish people were selfless but you want the best for the people you care about so no it is not all about working hard. It really is in some way about who you know. If you are poor you are most likely going to stay poor. There are some times when people move up and down in class, but for the most part you will stay were you are your whole life. It is sad but it is how this society works. If we all were on the same level and made the same money it just would not work because people are not that self less. Many people unfortunately are just looking out for themselves because lets face it other people are looking out for themselves too so they feel that is what they should be doing. Plus it is true many illegal immigrants do not have enough money to come legally. Here is the thing though, many employers that employ them pay them less than they would if they were to hire normal people living in America. I know that one girl said she would pick pears instead of letting illegal immigrants and I am sure many others would too, but they would be forced to pay them the standard pay. Also I am sure that many that were asked probably said no because of their pride. There is nothing we can really do about immigration because there is no easy solution. I am happy to say though that sometimes it really does pay off when you are a hard worker but if you are in a company that does not care that much about that and they care more about money, well it is not going to be hard work that pays off. I go back and forth about how I feel about illegal immigrants. Sometimes I think they are doing the jobs no one else wants to so that is good, but sometimes I feel like maybe someone would do that job. What about now that all these people are loosing there jobs? Are they willing to mow loans and clean houses and so on? Maybe they are, maybe people are starting to change and are willing to work actual labor. I feel like sometimes people are just too lazy to do these things. I mean you could always mow your own lawn so than there would be less illegal immigrants getting hired. I just do not know. I realize that in a way we can not do much cause this is a problem that has been around for ages but for the first time in my life I am sick of Sam telling me were hypocrites. We are not responsible for the shit that happened in that past and if you keep using it as an argument that we can not change the future. i believe you should learn from the past and then do not make the same mistake again. It is shit what we did to the Indians so, if we ever were to try and take over land again maybe we should think back and realize what were about to do and maybe not do it. We can not change the past so lets start trying to fix things for the future.
Yes, i agree that people do need to work hard in order to make it in the world, however i'm a strong believer that having money to start you off helps. I know that when i work, I'm not working for a salary. In fact, i work at camp and the money that I do make, I never see. It goes into my bank account, into my savings and I don't touch it. I don't actually do 'hard work' i'm running around outdoors and doing something that i love. In fact, for me to actually picture hard work is something I know, but know as a concept. I admit, I work hard as a student, but I would never be able to concentrate on both a job and school. My parents know that, they believe that I'm in school for an education and don't exepect me to work and they don't want me to work.
I admire those people who do hold down a job, take leadership position, and get good grades. I respect them for their hard work and understand that most people's lives are not as good as mine. I respect each individual for the different attributes they bring to the community and value what they bring. If it wasn't for those low level jobs, most people wouldn't be able to succeed at the higher. In order for the world to function people need to be performing some task no matter how large or how small in order to get the job done. Theres not one part that can be undone that someone isn't doing inorder for the world to function properly. I'm a strong beleiver in working from the bottom up to earn your respect, but there are people in this world who skip that step. The common phrase that comes to mind is its not what you know, it's who you know and I truley and honestly believe it. I've got most of my resume from the people that my parents know. Surprisingly they know a bunch of people and have connections in what I need and what my brother needs. They help us out each and every way they can and i'm not ashamed of it. In fact, i know thats why i get most of the things i do, because of my parents connections. I know that probablly not the fairest thing and there are people in this world who work harder then me, but if I can get a job, then i'm going to go out there and get it. I want to make a good living and my parents have worked hard in their lives to know the people that they know. I resepect them for the weight they pull and the jobs they have and hope to give my children the same benefits. Therefore I believe working hard does help, but in reality it all comes down to money and whoever has it is going to do well. There are the rare stories of someone working ahrd and doing well, but there rare.
I was on the fence when it came to immigrants coming into the United States illegally and getting paid for jobs. I mean it’s annoying to think someone who is here illegally is getting paid for a job that someone who is here legally can be getting paid for, right? I mean don’t you think if I did the same in a different country they would be annoyed that this foreigner was taking a job from one of them?
Sam out this lecture into good perspectives for me, the way he initiated the pears from that harvest that were wasted because we neglected wanting the use of immigrants working. It’s a shame to think how much is wasted each day, each month, each year, and we, as Americans, are still in this recession struggling. Well then why are we struggling, when we are wasting so much at the same time? It starts to piss me off as much as the next person because I’m not someone coming from wealth or who has it all planned out, no I need to constantly work for any time of reward or even spending money. So I do not pity anyone who doesn’t have the money, or who is homeless, or who asks me for change on the street. I’ve been working since I was twelve, that’s not even legal but guess what, it shaped me into who I am today. Would I change my past in any way, working as young as I did? Absolutely not. I am a more driven, more responsible human being. I know what I need to get done in life and how to provide for myself. This leads me to my next point.
If we don’t allow immigrants into the United States, these jobs that the immigrants are doing, people on welfare should be doing. Why the hell do we pay taxes to allow so many relax on welfare with their daily checks or food stamps to supply for themselves and their families. Anyone can argue with me but I work for a non-profit organization and I watch people come in for their checks and go to Rite Aid to buy a pack of cigarettes. That’s messed up. Why am I, a high school graduate, pursuing a college degree, and working every minute of it why am I constantly struggling with money to have as spending money. It’s so frustrating when I pull up in my shitty 95’ Malibu, to volunteer at food drives and there’s people pulling up in their Escalades collecting food. Now don’t tell me there’s nothing wrong with this picture.
Now as much as I disagreed with having immigrants taking jobs from people legally in the United States, Sam did steer my mind a little with how much is wasted in the mean time. But honestly, why can’t people already in the United States legally get off their ass and get a working class job like the rest of us.
You would think that hard work is all anyone should ever need in order to be successful. However as we all know in today's society money is key in just about anything we do. While the girl in class did say that she believes that all immigrants should come into the country legally, the reality is that is really just isn't possible. Money, having connections, and definitely hard work are key in becoming a United States citizen. These immigrants coming from another country are coming here for a better life and hopes to make more money than they are making in their country. So ideally if a person wants to come into this country, having the money to get here is the first step in making that a reality. Yes, I do know though that people hop the border from Mexico or make rafts and swim a bit from Cuba, but those are the harsh realities that we do and will continue to have illegal immigrants in our country. But back to my original point in that it will and forever be easier for people with money to get into this country. They usually also have connections as well with people who will help them make the process go faster. This also relates to hard work as well. The people who have money in other countries must have worked hard to get to where they are. (Not including all of the people who inherited money from parents or family members) Then there comes the issue on the class you are placed in because of they money you have. It is very hard to move up or even down in class for most people. Obviously there are exceptions to that, but once you are in a class, you usually stay there your entire life. Hard work will not matter for these legal and illegal immigrants, because the majority of the time they are doing low-end jobs and they work long hours for low pay and they never really get to where they want to be. So for the girl who said she would rather pick pears then having illegal immigrants do it, what else would you be willing to do for the country. While picking pears doesn't seem like too demanding of a job, even though I'm sure it is, there are other jobs like working in the factories with possible unsafe situations, or working very long hours doing something else, it still wouldn't be the life you wanted. These people really and truly know the meaning of hard work because it is something they will always and forever have to do. So all in all I believe this problem will always be around. It isn't really ever going to go away because immigrants will always want to come here and make a better life for themselves and their family, because in some way or another we all want to work hard and have a great future.
Well about the whole immigration and the problems it brings die to the large interests groups who sway the policy due to the number of workers needed for around the time the work becomes the busiest, I think it should be more relax in general where illegal immigration is still tight. I think illegal immigration does cause problems over America's infrastructure when it demolishes thousands of dollars here and there to help those without any kind of Medical care or social security. They do harm to the system when some need to repetitively abuse it because of their circumstances. The best thing I can hope for out of illegal immigration would be to document those workers as illegal so when in a problematic situation i can be known where they come from and at least some money goes back into the draining funds or the currency deficit they create. It might not be a lot but even a 5 out of 100 is better than a 0. The next problem would be to adjust work visas for those that they are able to come over and work in the states for FAIR wages, also negotiating with the "fair trade" organization to make sure that these people do not only work for their money but receive compensation for their hard work. Costs may go up but so would satisfaction and quality of goods if now people compete for their wages like some do across businesses.
On the working topic of these immigrant I do feel that sometimes when doing certain hard jobs that they try to improve their status in life. As each bit of money counts in a poor family they don't waste much and try to conserve as much as possible. When you think about families giving up education to make money to support their elderly or sick or just to keep food on the table, its hard to see the justice when they work tirelessly for 12-14 hour days on average for a small pay while many people today think the worth and laborious efforts to do these things would be worth much more. I think its a harsh reality and some people do remain poor but some manage to become lucky and break the mold where they are able to get better jobs and support their families with enough income to live happy life. I have some friends who work tirelessly here in college working 40 hours a week and a physically demanding job and trying to keep up enough time for grades and studyign to keep their life ahead of them looking better as they pay off some of their debts in college before they even graduate. For the immigrant workers, they work just as hard if not harder than my friend where work consumes the vast majority of the time,leaving little for the life they want to have like some business execs in a fortune 500 company where they talk about ideas and see what works and doesn't instead of actually going out and putting the work in. The legal works do help this country strive for better policies for all of us, as well as point out the flaws of our society making sure things are fair which is not all the time. Hopefully something will be done and will be done soon to help out everybody's situation whether illegal or legal.
Good question, but I don’t really know how to approach it. Personally, hard work is what it is all about. Yes, some immigrants might not have the money but they definitely have the hard work. I don’t think they need the money, at all. Come on, I feel like people always think it is about the money, but it is more than that. Especially those who are less fortunate. The people work their tail off to even enter this country and are willing to do so even further once they enter. And even if they don’t get the greatest job or cannot “afford” to become a citizen, they deserve it because of their effort. People do not need money to get a better life. Maybe I am being naïve but good for them. I respect people who work for where they are in this world. People who work hard, deserve it. That’s what it’s all about. What more can you ask. I really is not about the money. I cannot stress that enough. I can’t tell everyone enough, that I am a proponent of immigration… probably illegal immigration as well. If people care enough to leave their country to come here, I feel like we should not reject them. I am sure they have considered so many options and have finally decided to leave because it is the best viable option. I know there are some consequences but seriously… I don’t see why we aren’t accepting those who need acceptance. Everyone has to understand that people come here with the intention of starting a better life. A life better than the one that they left. I completely respect that. People who say immigrants are taking American jobs are ridiculous. First of all, it is cliché, but immigrants are sometimes willing to do the jobs that we, as Americans, are not as welling to do. I feel like many people will say that immigrants need the money to become citizens and what not, but I don’t know or can’t say if I am on the same page. It is not like everyone can afford to get into the United States legally. So what though. Money is not more important than hard work and effort. Immigrants or at least some immigrants come into this country with very little money to begin with… I don’t see how they are expected to buy their citizenship. Really… I mean come on. I understand the United States cannot accept everyone person who wants to get into this country but, there has to be some other way of evaluating potential citizens of this country. Hard work definitely plays a role in those desiring to start a new life here in the United States.
America is a land of opportunities. Folks who are born here have more of a chance to actually attain and use these opportunities that this great country provides. I feel like if a immigrant comes to this country and achieves better and more distinguished lifestyles, why should people hate on them. They came in this country not knowing that much and rose to the top with the resources that anyone birthed here was given once they came out of their mother's womb. I think a reward should be given where it is due no matter where the person came from. As long as they didn't come to your house and stole your things than nobody has the right to accuse immigrants of stealing or taking any benefits from them. These people come willing to work to make their lives better than the ones that they had in their countries of origin. I don't see the problem. They are not working in these high fortune 500 companies but doing manual labor and dirty jobs that most classify themselves as being too good for. So why now that when they start making means for themselves and the pay that these jobs that most don't want to get involved are giving them the opportunity to succeed people have to hate and say they don't deserve it. Who are we to say that they don’t? In my eyes they worked and so they must be rewarded. Why hate let them be free. If they are content with living life with an under the table job than let them be. I swear people always have something to complain about. Stop worrying about these immigrants and what they are doing. Worry about yourselves and how you can better your life. The time spent complaining could be used for something else. These immigrants are not worry about us; they are just trying to get an opportunity to live since they were not allowed to in their country. Give them a break. Let’s say they decide to leave, who will be able to do the small jobs that they do. Will this country be able to function? They work harder than most of us for a simple life yet we still find something to complain or be unhappy about. Let them live and be free. If you want a job and feel that they stole it from you then that means you need to step your credentials and game up. You was not qualified, the employer thought they could do a better job than you. It’s a race and you lost. Take the failure and try to make yourself better than to sit there and try to have them deported because they are interfering with your life. As a matter of a fact, we are all immigrants if you think about it. Legal or illegal, if they work hard for what they got, stay out their business and worry about your own. Also if you know yo will not be able to put in the amount of hours and labor these people put in for the small amounts of pay they receive, shut up and get over yourself. Work is Work.
I feel that money is something that makes the world move. We have talked about the awesome benefits of having money and being born into wealth. I look at it like this: I would rather an immigrant have money for his or her own protection of identity to survive among the society in the United States. Our culture has based so much on power and money. I feel an immigrant would avoid scrutiny if he or she had the money. It may be really superficial, but deep down there are many people who value money as some sort of factor of acceptance. It is hard to avoid people like this.
I kind of swing both ways with this topic. I definitely think people should become legally become a citizen of the United States when they migrate here. But I do understand that sometimes there are people who just can’t afford to do that and they come to the United States for better opportunities. I think that if they are hard workers then they should be able to migrate here and not be scrutinized for it. After they make enough money to afford the legal part of it then they should get that done. There are always going to be people breaking that system but that’s just what happens.
Am I for illegal immigration- yes. I think that most people who come here illegally are only doing so to create a better life for their children and families. They are not trying to “invade” the United States or anything of that matter, they are just trying to make a living and give their children a great education.
I have done a lot of research on this topic. For some of my classes, I have studied and focus on the rights of illegal immigrants and how they effect the United States, and us. I feel that the United States should make it easier for illegal immigrants to become legal citizens. How can the U.S. government expect illegal immigrants to pay the very high amount to become a citizen. Most of them are poor people just trying to give their children a better life.
If illegal immigrants were to become legal citizens they would pay taxes to the government. By U.S. law, when an illegal immigrant has a child in the United States, the child is automatically a U.S. citizen. That gives them the right to education, and so forth. If these illegal families were granted citizenship, they would be able to use tax money to help pay for their children’s education. These illegal immigrants would not have to live in constant fear of being caught, and they can actually begin to live their lives.
This also helps the fact that so many companies hire illegal immigrants and pay them under the table. By making these illegal immigrants citizens, they will be on a pay roll, and the businesses will actually have to report that these immigrant/citizens are now working for them, basically giving the government more money. There are so many ways that the U.S. government will benefit from making illegal immigrants U.S. citizens, that I believe the positive aspects far outweigh the negative aspects.
And what about medical bills you may be wondering? In the state of California alone, hospitals are in millions of dollars of debt because these illegal immigrants living in California seek medical care in hospitals and then cannot pay the hospital bills. By law, any United States hospital must give medical care to all individuals whether they have health insurance, whether they are legal citizens, or whether they are illegal citizens. If these illegal immigrants become citizens, they can earn benefits and have medical insurance. This factor alone will help with the United States debt.
So in all, the U.S. government should make it cheaper and easier for illegal immigrants to become citizens, because in the end they will actually make back some money from it. There are so many positive aspects, that far outweigh the costs.
This is a really tough question because after seeing the videos comparing the pilgrims to immigrants today it seems like the immediate answer should be all hard-working people who have nothing in their countries should be able to pack up and move to America where they can start new and better lives for them and their families. Sam was saying in class that the story of these people coming with nothing in a crowded ship for a journey that lasts months is such an amazing story. However how are we as a country able to support such an increase in people? We cannot.
This is a really good question and I think that the immigrants need the money before they can have do anything else. It all comes down to money and that is what people usually judge each other on. For example someone who migrated here and worked very hard and didn't have much pay based on the amount of hard labor that would be put in would be looked at as modern America as a unsuccessful person. I think that is pretty shallow for people to do this because we all come from different walks of life and some f us are more blesses then others.
I am not exactly sure what this person was asking during the flip camera, but from what I take, the question she was asking was whether or not hard work is enough to have a good life for those who cannot afford one. Now, obviously everyone knows that even though it is said that everyone is equal, everyone in their right mind knows that is not true. If one person from another country were to walk down the streets of San Francisco and then walk down the streets of New Orleans, they could obviously tell there is a difference in how people live. On the other hand, they could go to a fortune 500 company business meeting and then cut lawns all day and realize that hard work does not get you very far in life all the time.
However, although sometimes hard work is not enough to get the perfect American dream with enough money to not know what to do with it, but no matter what you do hard work is necessary. Take for example what I said above. Even though a fortune 500 business meeting may not take as much hard work as cutting lawns all day to earn ten times as less, hard work was put into building the fortune 500 company. The difference between having the best life possible and working harder than most to just get by with the bills is knowing people. If you work hard and know people, then you will get far in life. If you do work hard and don’t know people, it is a lot harder to make a lot of money in certain cases.
Regardless of how much money one person makes compared to somebody else, I believe is irrelevant to whether or not you are living a good life. I believe that having a good life is based off of whether or not you are happy in life and content. If you are making enough money to pay the bills and you wouldn’t change anything in the world about your life, then I believe that you have a great life even if you don’t have a lot of money. On the other hand, if the question is based on something like the question below this one, then if people’s lives are at stake because they do not have enough money to get food or get surgery, then there is not much one person can do, but work harder to make more money. If an illegal immigrant cannot afford to live in America then I believe that they should make as much as they can and move to somewhere they can live happily and not try to fit in when they can’t.
Everybody that has been successful, except for maybe lottery winners have worked hard sometime in their lives. People that work for Fortune 500 companies work just as hard as people whom cut grass, however it is a different type of hard work. And these people are usually working in the company and not mowing lawns because they have worked hard early in their lives to put themselves in that situation. Hard work is inevitable if you want to lead a good life, however I do not think these illegal immigrants would become legal if they had the money to. Because it is simply more convenient for them to live here illegally, they do not have to pay taxes or go through the trouble of becoming legal, so why would they do it.
Hard work should be rewarded, but it’s sad that immigrants work so hard and don’t get rewarded, plus like everyone else said immigrants do the jobs that American’s don’t want and have no desire to do. Most of the time they get paid less then minimum wage and have no benefits and can’t really get any. Also for the people who say that they are taking government money with all the programs, they are illegal immigrants so they can’t get the programs. So I feel that if you really want to stop the immigrants from taking the jobs that “all American’s want” then go after the companies that hire them
This is an issue that has lasted throughout the entire semester with this class. Can someone achieve major success with simply gold old fashioned hard work, or do they need help from their ancestors and a financial ground to stand on. I personally think that it is much easier to gain success when you have a good ancestry who has given your family financial stability. I know there are plenty of cases where people pick themselves up from nothing and become success stories, but the likelihood of that is very low. I know that I would certainly not be anywhere close to the point I am today if it was for my parents and other previous ancestors.
This issue really sucks, and it is a part of life. Some people can afford to work, and others cannot. Some people need to come here for a better life or go elsewhere, but they just do not have the resources to do so. I feel as though a lot of people’s lives are determined simply by luck and resources. It sort of goes with the idea of “survival of the fittest”. It is not fair, but not everybody can be on top or be successful and live comfortable lives. Otherwise there would be no variation and positions of power in the world.
I completely agree with this girl! Thank you! I mean like I don’t even think she was all that informed at how things work. To become a citizen or even be considered costs a lot of money and quite frankly when people from another country who are far more poor than Americans try and go somewhere to provide a better life for their country its all of a sudden a terrible thing. Like how do people just say that its not okay when they preach all the time saying with hard work you get to where you want, yet when they try and do that it becomes impossible.
You pose an excellent question that really comes back to the whole concept of free will vs. determinism. Looking at the two most extreme examples whereby free-will means that you should be able to achieve whatever you want if you work hard enough and that you should and can do whatever necessary to overcome the many obstacles placed in your path. In contrast, determinism would involve some sort of understanding about the situations and circumstances that people were born into and how that affects their ability to be successful in life and their opportunities to become “King of the Mountain.” I believe that most people fall somewhere in between. Putting these concepts into practice with regards to your ideas about how immigrants can get ahead, I think they absolutely do need some money at least so that they can sustain themselves after first becoming integrated into American society. As Sam mentioned, most of the immigrants that are allowed here are fairly affluent because the government wants to bring people into society that are self-sufficient, not people who rely on government aid and/or welfare programs. With that being said, America is a land of opportunity and the cliché goes that anyone can make it in America if they work hard enough. You really cannot understate the fundamental importance of hard-work as it will pay off in the long-run if you are presented with some luck. Therefore, to completely answer your question, I don’t think that people need to be filthy rich but they do need to have a substantial portion of money and they should have a hard-working mentality in order to get ahead in society.
Most people think that immigrants are a big problem to the economy and the United States in general but they are far from right. Immigrants help the economy by taking the jobs that are not wanted by anyone else. They work hard for low wages to help support their family. They have gone through a lot while moving to the United States and still suffer from discrimination and segregation. Immigrants have to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and start over their lives. Just once, imagine yourself, quitting your job and leaving your family. Selling all your belongings, just so you can afford an airplane ticket. After all that hard work, you finally move to a country where you are searching for hope and freedom but instead you are mistreated and judged by your accent or color, how would you feel?
This is a very interesting question however it is hard to answer. I say that because the people that have money or are wealthy are mostly not the hardworkers. I mean they may have worked hard to get where they are or benefited from nepotism but they either no longer do the hard work because they can afford to pay someone else to do the back breaking work that is if we assume by hard work as physical labor. This also shows that the hard workers most likely do not have a lot of money. Because if they were wealthy then they would not settle for hard physical work or just hire someone that is desperate for money. Therefore it is hard to say. I think it would be great if everyone experienced hard physical labor and then try to move up in the world. I feel if everyone had a background with hard work then they could better appreciate the hard work that many illegal workers or some immigrants endure. I think also that may be if we (people already living in the united states) would all experience hard work then may be there would not be so many vacancies for jobs such as harvesting fruit from fruit farms as we saw rotting in class because Americans were above the idea of picking fruit.
Which brings up another point, Americans do not want to see illegal immigrants coming into the United States and taking OUR jobs, the problem is WE refuse to fill these positions such as harvesting fruit or other physical manual labor jobs. So may be we can all agree that not just immigrants with money that can take care of themselves deserve to be let into this country. There should be a balance of people that can take care of themselves but also let people in that may be lower income and give them an opportunity to make it in this country. Because while the wealthy rich people that come in can fend for their family and feed the economy through purchasing goods they do not contribute much to the physical work force side. I think it would be healthy for the United States to recognize that hard work is just as beneficial to the economy as wealth entering the economy. Although this hard work should be rewarded with fair wages because all though it may make it harder to compete with other companies if the workers are paid fairly at least the work is getting done because we all know that if poor or illegal workers were not willing to do the hard work Americans would not step up and do it. Therefore hard work and money are good together as well as seperate.
I think that immigration is a very big issue that should be discussed in a lot of detail. In terms of money, immigrants are dirt poor. It is a fact that people need money to get a better life. New immigrants often times come with the clothes on their back and nothing else. How can they make a successful life for themselves with no money? They simply have nothing and they cannot make a good life for themselves with nothing.
I know this from personal experience because my parents are first generation immigrants from eastern Europe. My grandma used to clean houses in Louisville, Kentucky for $10. She told me stories about how she would spend an entire day working and sweating and she only made $10. This really hurt me, because it showed me how hard my parents and grandparents had to work to make ends meat. They did all of this to make a better life for me. I am very thankful for this, and I appreciate everything they have done for me.
I think that it is very important to help immigrants settle into the United States. Our country was founded on immigration and we must do what we can to make sure that immigrants settle successfully. It gets sticky when we talk about illegal immigration because these immigrants do not really belong in our country. Then again, since our country was founded on immigrants how can we say who can and who cannot come to our country? I think that we cannot and that we need to admit most people. The only people we should not admit are criminals.
I think that immigration is an idea that is almost unique to America and I think that we need to value our immigrants. America is the melting pot of the world and it is important to understand this. No other country is the same in that respect. We have to realize what we have as a country and learn to treasure our immigrants. Many Americans often have racist attitudes when it comes to immigrants. They think that immigrants are a bother and that anyone that is not white is inferior. These people need to put their beliefs to the side, look a little bit deeper in themselves, and realize that they are no better than immigrants. Most immigrants come to America with next to nothing, and it is not ok to put them out on their own. We need to help them adjust and do everything we can to help them adjust. All Americans immigrated at one point, and whether it was recently or a long time ago we should all try to relate. We need to accept everybody.
In America, we tend to firmly believe in the idea that everyone has the ability to get ahead in life with just a little hard work. However, what people fail to realize, is that there will always be distinctions and different classifications so if everyone were to simply “work hard” those that get ahead would get ahead for different reasons. In class, Sam talked about how there was a starting line for the different races. There are many historical reasons why the starting line is not even or equal for everyone it is just how things are. If for example, the whites were at one specific place to begin because they already have many resources, connections, money, whatever the reason may be, everyone else has to start at a place not as advanced as where the whites started. Blacks were held back for so many years and made to feel less than people, so when the time came and they were allowed to simply live, and make it they faced challenges that white people never had to face simply because of the skin in which they were born in. So, they would have to start the race further back and away from where the whites would begin. Immigrants are people migrating from many different parts of the world. They are new to the country filled with many people already struggling. They have more to deal with such as language barriers, culture differences, and family issues. All of their hope lies in the simple trip to America. Many travel and leave everything that they have so that they could begin a new and improved life. Their optimistic outlook could possibly be an edge up on the competition; they are not afraid of working for everything that they have, they are actually most likely used to it. Whereas unemployed Americans feel like they’re too good to do the very basic labor positions, be it too large an ego, too much pride, or plain laziness they would rather collect unemployment checks then work. With that in mind, and with everyone having so much of a head-start, hard work alone cannot fix the gap. Therefore, in my opinion I feel like immigrants with money have a much better chance at making it and living the American dream than those that do not have it. A quick substitute for money could be whatever type of skills or abilities that they may have. They might not have money but they could help you make some. Americans do not want more people feeding out of the pot than they have adding to it. It is just that simple. If they do not benefit in some way, why even consider it?
It’s true that one’s financial situation forces them to cross border illegally. However, there are other available means to immigrate to United States without paying a large sum of the money. For example, H-1 visa (sometimes referred as ‘investment immigration’) requires at least five hundred thousand dollars to invest any business in United States but there are other ways that requires much lesser than that. However, there are two problems exist with such method as well. There should be at least a couple of thousand dollars required at minimum to process the fees and the quotas are so small so that applicants must wait at least 3 years to enter United States. I believe there Is noting that can be done since we cannot control the demand.
Part 3:
I feel that whenever you are dealing with issues like this it’s important to remember history and to see it from another angle. Another thing that really bothers me too is people who say if they want to come to the U.S. they should all speak English. Well as a matter of fact many illegal immigrants do learn to speak English, but guess what many don’t have the time because they are slaving away to make enough for their families. We are quick to say that others should learn English but when we go to other foreign countries we demand and expect others to speak to us in English.
This is a really good question and could bring up a huge debate. SO MUCH of life on Earth has become dependent on money. But when people risk their lives to come to a country where they can be free (to a certain extent) and able to work for a better life, it almost seems unfair to be so against them. I'm not sure how I for sure stand on this issue (I need to research more and learn more about it first), but I did used to think that it would be okay if they just came legally. But then I remembered family friends we had from Turkey. They were here illegally; it was a long journey but they came here to make a better life for themselves and for the son (who was on the way). Here, they worked in factories and didn't have much money. They didn't have much help from their country's ambassadors and officials in the US to aid them in becoming legal immigrants, and after a lot of back and forth, they were warned about getting deported. They were about to be deported back to a country they had worked so hard to get away from, and from a country that they had been working so hard in for years. It just doesn't seem right to me. I don't have a solution, or a complete idea about what I think on the situation, but I do think that there should be SOME way to help immigrants become legal if they are here in the US, contributing to our economy. And that Americans should put themselves in their shoes so that we as a country can be more open to an idea like that.
Far from attempting to parallel the 'cost' of coming to America now and during the eighteenth century, I would say that it seems unfair now that we are tightening the belt on who can and who cannot come into the United States to gain citizenship; we ask these people who seek the ‘American dream’, as it is so proudly called, for their time and their money. I share Sam’s frustration with contradictory beliefs and hypocrisy in finding the answer to immigration reform in particular. How can we shut the door to people now, who come to this country for reasons no different than people did in the eighteenth century? It seems very selfish. On the receiving end of building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico is the belief that we should let everyone who wants to come in, do so legally and unconditionally. I could see how some would make the arugment that this is illogical, and I suppose I could agree. Like other issues, I suppose that the real intellectual and morally sound resolution to immigration in the United States lies in the middle. We must compromise on what must be done to tackle immigration. I believe in comprehensive immigration reform that is expressed through legislation like the DREAM Act, which was a federal bill considered in the years following strict immigration laws that passed in 2006. The DREAM Act “would provide certain undocumented alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. as minors, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency”.
The more I think about immigration reform the more I begin to understand why it deserves attention and why it is so dynamic and difficult to find a solution for. I won't pretend like I understand all the politics and paperwork that goes behind immigration, but I have heard that immigrants who want to become citizens of the United States must wait several years before they gain their citizenship. Just what are these people waiting for? Is this a carrying capacity issue? Are we waiting for people to die off to let others in? Do we wait to investigate people for upwards of five years to insure that they are not going to harm our country before they are given citizenship? Is it like finally getting into Indigo after you've been waiting in line for hours on end? I'm not well rehearsed in the ecology of human beings and the 'consequences', if any, of at this very moment letting all who would like to come to the United States to do so without making these people wait for years on end to not even have confidence that they would gain full citizenship.
First of all it says it all in the title ILLEGAL Immigrants, how is this different than anything else that is against the law. If we start allowing people come here illegally, then how do we justify enforcing any other law that we have? I realize that this country was built on immigration and I probably would not be here if my ancestors would not have immigrated. However the people who immigrated back then did not have money either, in fact that is the reason why most people make the decision to come here because they are not leading a glamorous ritzy life where they are. Also I believe that people now are not as interested in coming here to become Americans and assimilate into our culture. The immigrants of the past even though they tended to stick by their ethnic group once arriving here made America what it is today, learned the English language, and worked hard to build this country into what it is today. These immigrants coming in now do not want to learn or culture and adjust into our society to try and better themselves, however they seem content not doing any of this and working low pay manual labor jobs. While I realize that this is all that is available to them upon their arrivals it doesn’t seem like once they get the money to become legal they do not do it, however they continue living here illegally. While the majority of these people do not commit crimes and try to fly under the radar, there are illegal immigrants, who commit violent crimes even murder, these are crimes that do not need to be here and if immigration laws were enforced would not happen. This is a very sad fact that innocent Americans have been killed by people who should not even be here. These people also do not pay taxes; however enjoy the freedoms that you earn by paying them.
I have personal experience with illegal immigration and the harm it can cause, a neighboring town to mine Hazleton Pennsylvania, has a massive problem with illegal immigration. This was a small coal town that did not have much crime at all and has become a refuge for illegal immigrants. Since this push of immigrants came into the town the crime rates have increased dramatically, and the town has turned into a so-called bad area. Property values in the town have also dropped dramatically, which has caused many residents to leave. This has many repercussions; it has made the school system not as good, and made people not want to live there. Recently Mayor Lou Barletta has made a push to deport all illegal immigrants living in the area, and has caught much heat for this. I think that this is a good policy and it should be perfectly acceptable to deport these people once they are caught.
many immigrants do not have the necessary means to come over to America the proper way to become a citizen legally and the time it takes to get citizenship could be an extreme factor. Although,I do not think this is an excuse though for people to be allowed to immigrate illegally. In my own opinion illegal immigration should not be excepted in the United States because many people are hurt by the matter, however i do understand why many people take part in the act. It is also sad that they are such a key tool to our economy because we have a national problem solving a national solution. In the end America gets hurt and we have to find a better solution. Being able to migrant legally into this country is all about our countries dependency on workers outside of our country. Although this is unfair, what else would it be based on? You cannot just open your borders to tons of foreigners who bring nothing to the country. One would say, and I fully agree that this is not a fair way of deciding who can and cannot immigrate into the country because immigration shouldn't be about America's dependency but it should be about people trying to better their lives. I think this is a way more complex issue than people think and there really is no simple answer.
I think this issue is really interesting how people have such strong views on illegal immigrants in this country. I feel that the decisions needed to be made about immigration are tough ones and it is hard for people to express their true feelings about it because no matter any proposal to the situation someone gets hurt. But the fact is that we as people cant come to a conclusion on how to tackle this situation and in the meantime the state of the economy is being effected. It certainly is not fair that this is the way it works. I am ethnocentric in that I believe I live in the greatest country in the world. Why wouldn’t people want to come live here and who are we to tell them they can’t? There has to be some kind of boundaries though. There are only so many people that can fit in this country and it would not be very fair to take all of the American’s jobs away because of the immigrants. I can definitely understand why people hire illegal immigrants and I think it is essential for our country to succeed by hiring these people for much lower wages.
I think people are way too quick to criticize the system that we already have without having a better way of doing it. I personally cannot think of a better way of doing it so I do not think I have much room to criticize. It would be nice to live in the a country where your citizenship depends on your contribution to the country as well as, your need for the country.
I don't believe that you need to begin with a great amount of money in order to be able to make something of yourself. It is easier, granted, but it is not the deciding factor in determining one's success. Money is very hard to come by. If it were easier, most of us would be "rolling in dough" so to speak. But it's not; as such, we must work harder to attain monetary compensation, enough that would support not only ourselves, but our families. In regards to the girl stating that all immigrants must work legally for money, I believe that is a fanciful perspective. Our government does not favor "outsiders". As such, most immigrants resort to working illegally as a means of putting food on their tables. Most of these illegal jobs are illegal only because of the lack of documented evidence of the job being effected. They are not jobs selling drugs, murdering, or any such felonious activity. It is very easy for us to judge the immigrant for working illegally, but it is important that we examine the circumstances under which they are propelled to do so.
I do believe that regulations are necessary to ensure that immigrants do not take advantage of the system, and are indeed looking to become legal residents in the eventuality. I believe that though the government does not favor the immigrant community, it does not at the same time cripple them. I believe that there are multitudinous opportunities for which they can utilize to better their situation. Most of the immigrants in this nation are hard-working, but are content to be doing the same thing with no intentions to progress. I believe that that is the problem. If more incentive was provided for these immigrants to become legal, perhaps it would help to eradicate some of the problems we have with the immigrants currently living here.
It is hard enough as it is to work for little pay, but to work illegally for little pay presents a great disadvantage for the individual in that circumstance. It allows opportunities for abuse by your employer, and provides no legal benefits such as health care, etc. In the event that legal issues arise between employer and employee, it would be very difficult to go against an employer when your position in his or her employ is illegal. Attempting to contest any proposed offense would be to almost no avail on the part of the illegal worker because of their status in the U.S. system. If some of these points are stressed to the workers, perhaps it would provide a more pragmatic perspective on why it would be beneficial to attempt legality in the U.S.
I like this video post. A lot of people dont realize that it is so hard to become a citizen of this country. And for someone who is coming here in order to make a better life for himself going through the whole process is really a waste of time. They know that they have two options to live in America; get in illegally or get in legally. If they want to do it legally it is going to take many years and it is going to cost them a lot. If they do it illegally, they can do it much faster an for free. The illegal option is a lot more attractive to someone who is already poor and doesn’t have the time or money to spend dealing with the united states governments. The point is they know they are going to have work if they come here regardless of the legality of their status. This work that they do is work that Americans do not want to do and it is work that is important for everyone else. It is funny and kind of sad that so many people are completely intolerant of “illegal aliens” yet they have no idea how big of an impact these people are having on their lives. There is a movie called A Day Without Mexican and it shows the repercussions of every Mexican in LA suddenly vanishing. And when they do people are upset about the raggy look everywhere because there are no people doing the yardwork. Bathrooms don’t get cleaned, there are just little problems that you don’t think about until they are in front of you. A main problem these people have with illegal immigrants is that they do not get taxed because they are not legal citizens, but they get to benefit form the end result of the taxes they aren’t paying. I just find it difficult to hate someone who is coming to our country to do the bullshit jobs that Americans all think they are too good to do. It is more important to get the work done no matter who does it and just because you cant take these peoples money doesn’t make them the enemy. I agree that if they are coming to America they should be legal citizens, but the fault doesn’t lie on the people. It belongs with the policies that make it so difficult for people to gain citizenship. If a immigrant could easily become a citizen after living and working in the country, no questions askied about how they got here in the first place, then this whole issue could be resolved. A lot of Americans could learn something about hard work motivation and dedication by looking at how these illegal immigrants support themselves and their families.
I honestly feel like they really do need to do it legally. If we need a passport to go to other countries, vacation there, live there, etc. that they should as well. The problem I have isn't that they want to come here and work and make a better life, it's that all of this is happening without regulation. The government is doing it's best (we think) to regulate immigration. It's not that I don't want Mexicans, Cubans, or whoever in this country, because it's not about race for me. But where does it stop? How many people are we going to let in before we say enough's enough? I just think on that day we're not going to be prepared to stop the influx at that point. It's easy to debate about this topic sitting in State College and not having to fight to keep my family alive. There's no doubt in my mind I would do whatever I had to in order to get into this country. But, at the same time, I have to follow all the rules in the world in order to keep my freedom in this country, so I don't think that it should be any different for anyone else, although that's probably a really narrow-minded way to look at this topic.
I think that it can be such a hard cycle to break for someone to become wealthy in America. Most of the time, people get rich because they already have money. For example, a family with a lot of money can put their kid in good schools in good areas, and then prestigious colleges. With this college experience, kids can get good jobs after they are out of school and start to build their own wealth. Now, for a kid that grows up in the ghetto with a low-income family. Most of the time, they live in a bad area, with under-funded schools. The chances of these kids attending a well-respected university are a lot less than the kid that lives for a suburban middle-class family. Therefore, it is a cycle that is really hard to break into. Not surprisingly, immigrants face these same problems, and maybe even to a much more difficult extent.
Immigrants that come into this country illegally face an incredible uphill battle. They get no government aid, and have a hard time finding places to live. A lot of the time, they are coming into the country with no money. They literally have to start from rock bottom. Because of this, they have to fend for themselves and work their asses off just to scrape by. What makes it even harder is knowing that they probably will not reap the benefits of their work, and many will never be considered wealthy. They just work for the fact that it’s better than their home, and they are also giving their children and grandchildren a better opportunity.
While I believe that hard work can benefit people, in the end it usually comes down to what kind of money you already have. The cases where people do make it from poverty and become successful are usually attributed to good luck, good fortune, lots of hard work, or a combination of the three. It is this way because of the way our society is set up. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The impoverished and immigrants stay in the slums and most of them can’t make it out. It is a brutal cycle but is the way of life here.
It really is amazing to think that these immigrants would come to live a life like this. Many of us consider it so bad, but they are coming here because they think it is BETTER than the life they lived. I could not even imagine what kind of poverty or living conditions they had lived in in their previous country that made them want to come to a place where they worked for a miniscule amount of money and awful living.
I do believe that people need to have money to carve out a better life for themselves. Hard work alone can only get you so far. Also, it really determines how much of a better life you’re looking for. If you’re thinking better life mean them climbing up the socioeconomic ladder, then I’d say without some cash you’re probably not going to get very far. Not to say that hard work can’t get you anywhere, but I’m saying that hard work ALONE won’t get you anywhere.
I honestly do not think there is a problem with people who come here illegally, and try to make an honest living. What I mean by that is the people who come here and just try to work not the people who come and end up committing crimes. I think that they are the ones who deserve to be here. Honestly, it is not hurting us for them to be here. I wish people would stop saying they come here to take our jobs because the jobs they do are the ones that no American takes. So why should we deny them a right to a better life. I am pretty sure some of your family members were immigrants. In all actuality, the people who came here legally are the ones taking your jobs. That is something that all of you who oppose illegal immigration need to think about.
I think not everyone has an equal chance to success and luck has a lot to do with that factor. The question that not all illegal immigrants have the money and opportunity to become legal is very correct. If all these individuals had that opportunity then the United States will be overpopulated. Hard work is only advantageous for those who have some sort of money and has the foundation to gain potential in the future. For those that do not have any money it would be difficult to gain a foot hole to get ahead. Then the question isn’t about why doesn’t everyone just become legal so that we can avoid the issue of illegal immigration. The truth of the matter is that this would be impossible and a little beyond our reach. If people worked hard all there life then money wouldn’t become an issue to those individuals. Hard work will eventually pay off for these individuals and becoming a legal citizen will not be an unascertainable goal. Money has always been and will be a jumping start to most things, but without hard work as the roots, nothing is possible. Dr. Sam mentioned that illegal immigrants shouldn’t be a huge deal because “we” basically crossed onto this soil and claimed it as our own. We robbed the Native Americans and we pushed them to the side and we are questioning whether illegal aliens have the right to step onto this country asking and hoping for the same opportunity. We are insane if we question that to those individuals who seek that right as well. The topic of immigration is dear to my heart because my dad became an American citizen in the 60’s and worked really hard to get my mother to the United States. Fortunately, my father is a legal citizen now and my mom has a permanent citizen’s card or green card. From what my dad tells me, the test were very difficult and imagining that he knew very little English back then, made me realize the challenge he had to overcome. I am proud of his achievements and respect him even more for helping all my uncles or his brothers to the United States when becoming legal citizens were hard. For him, money was an important factor in helping him get through the process and it was also luck that brought him where he is now. So luck, money, and hard work are all important factors when it comes to the issue of immigration. Without it, you might get there eventually, but it will take quite some time and work to achieve the same result, whereas someone with money could attain in a short and brief time.
Having a lot of family and friends that are Nigerian I know that it can be pretty difficult for people to get their papers especially when money is in the picture. People need to learn that it is not that easy for people to get their papers. I don’t feel like illegal immigrants steal jobs from American citizens because most of the times they hold the jobs that American citizens don’t want to do. Illegal immigrants although it is wrong they are still hard workers and deserve the same respect any other hard worker gets. They should try and get their legal papers because at times they have the same benefits and opportunity that legal immigrants get.
I regret to say that hard work is no longer the only requirement to get what you want or, in many cases, need. In today’s society everything is run by money. In the case of illegal immigrants and the inability to pay to legally immigrate, I am not sure that asking people to only legally immigrate is realistic. People will always want to immigrate to the United States… it’s the land of opportunity (or at least is it supposed to be) and they will do what ever it takes to get here. A green piece of paper is not going to stop them.
I think that immigrants need to be legal for some reasons, but other reasons make that harder and unrealistic. Hard work is almost always going to be involved in anything that people do, especially when you are working from the bottom and trying to move up. I do agree with some of these posts that its not necessarily fair for people who have worked hard to get somewhere to pay for people who maybe have slacked off because they know they can live off others. But this is not always the case, sometimes people work very hard, and the world just doesn’t shift in their favor. I think that people that work hard are deserving, its just the slackers I have a problem with.
I'm not sure I understand your question in the way it's being phrased. I also don't think we discussed the legal immigration process in class, what people have to go through to get legal status, the money (if any) required, etc. I hear a common theme of people who say "well the legal process is too difficult." I believe that the legal process should be streamlined. However, we can't let just anyone in, however, it should not have to be based on socioeconomic status. There need to be venues for workers to immigrate and be able to work (as a documented worker) to earn legal residency status.
I also believe that part of the fact that workers must be undocumented to be able to work for wages and benefits below the minimum regulations. I am one of those people who believes that the minimum wage laws cause black markets for labor and should be reformed. I know that sounds like a cold statement, but minimum labor prevents some types of labor from being able to be legal, and labor laws like this should be relaxed.
Unfortunately the legal labor pool is not suitable for many unskilled immigration laborers. The government through its regulations and taxes has effectively legislated away many types of low skill, low wage employment from the legal labor pool. There are millions of unemployed Americans who would be happy to take low wage low benefit jobs, including some of the jobs that have been off-shored; especially recently with the recession.
I happen to believe that when the government creates black markets like this, there will be all kinds of unintended consequences. For example, drug prohibition may cause less people to use the drug but drives the market underground, forcing people to take incredible risks in a market that does not abide by the rule of law. Similarly, immigrants are forced to sneak in and risk being deported because low wage jobs such as this are illegal, and face intense, often violent competition for underground low wage jobs.
Immigrants are faced with a conundrum; they need legitimate, legal jobs that they can work in order to gain legal status, but don't have much available to them. Unless the immigrant has a marketable skill that they can enter the United States' higher education system or skilled labor pool, they are pretty much forced to work illegal jobs under constant threat of deportation. The problem is that the low skill legal jobs have effectively been legislated away.
In addition, I believe that the public should become more educated about the legal immigration process, why it is so cumbersome, and how it can be reformed to be more fair and give poor immigrants a chance to move up and succeed; though I suspect that the basic underlying cause is the patchwork of restrictive wage and benefit laws that discourage hiring.
This issue is definitely not black and white. Money is always an issue and it is what causes problems and/or happiness. Look at the worth ethic in the United States versus the work ethic in Europe. I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain and most places were closed in the middle of the day for their siesta. By 2 PM, the metros were packed and my friends and I could never understand why no one was at work. Then you think about the U.S. and there are people who work from 9 to 7 or 8 at night. These differences are associated with the values of Americans versus the values of Europeans. Here in America, everything is based around money. When do Americans get to have lives outside of work?
I agree that some immigrants do not have the money to do it legally. Instead, they need to take hard working yet low paying jobs just to support their family. I always wonder why someone who does manual labor gets paid so much less than someone who sits at a desk all day. Physical labor is extremely extraneous and exhausting. There are so many jobs where the salary is way too low for the work that is being done and sometimes I do not understand it. I also do not think that this pertains to only immigrants. I believe there are many legal American citizens who work extremely hard and do not get compensated for it, while others work half as much or hard and get a high paying salary. There are both immigrants and American citizens who have to work 2 shifts of work a day just to get by and provide for their family. It is really unfortunate that if you do not come from money you need to work hard to get by.
My dad works extremely extremely hard as an accountant. During tax season he is up at 4 or 5 in the morning and on a train to the city by 5:30 or 6 am. There are some nights where he doesn’t walk in until 10 or 11 at night. I know he is an exceptionally hard worker and wants to provide for his family. Sometimes I feel like there are so many people who get paid so much more than he does and definitely do not work half as hard as him or the same hours as him.
I know that this question was aimed toward immigrants and what we spoke about in class, but I do not think that it is only immigrants who take illegal jobs or jobs no one would do. I definitely do believe that people need money to have a better life and if they do not have money they need to work very hard to get by in life.
Obviously people need money and hard work to succeed or even come to this country, and they need more to come across the border. To get a better life after coming over the border illegally, you need a lot more than one might think you would for startup money and continuation money when they get in to America, so I think that simply hard work is nowhere near enough. In fact, I would assume that it takes an extreme amount of luck in addition to simply just getting over the border. Overall, I think that it takes a lot of work either way, but unless you are well connected you are in for a very hard time.
Part 2:
Before I go on I want to clarify something else. I am not saying that illegal immigration is right, obviously it would be ideal for everyone to come to this country legally, but unfortunately that is just not possible. The people who come to this country come in the search for better opportunities, for some people it’s even a matter of life or death because the conditions in their homelands are just impossible. When I was in high school I actually used to work as an interpreter for Spanish speaking illegal immigrants at a clinic. The people that I met were incredibly hard working and just wanted a better life for their children and in a way it made me happy to see these people grow and progress in this country. I just feel like a lot of people who are quick to judge don’t really see the human side of this issue. Yes illegal immigration is wrong, but perhaps we should change our system or create some kind of program that will prevent more illegal immigration. I also really liked the video that Sam showed in class about the European immigrants who came ILLEGALLY to the U.S. I think it’s kind of ironic how people forget about that and again this is an example of ethnocentrism.
I do not think that success in America is all about money. Being a hard worker goes a long way in this country, and even if you start at an entry level position you can rise through the ranks and be successful. Also, everyone has their own definition of success so one person may think it is to have a million dollars, others may think that it is just having a healthy family. If illegal immigrants can’t afford to get here legally, maybe they should work a little harder in their country, save, and then do it legally. We cannot just give handouts to these people.
To me people need both a good work ethic and money to achieve things. However you don’t necessarily need to have the two balanced because either one can work in place of the other and you can see examples of this all through out society. We all know someone here at Penn State who was only accepted because his or her parents have money. It isn’t a hard concept to understand. The vice versa of this is also true. We all know someone who has gotten where they are solely on their ability and determination. I can not remember exactly who said it but I recall in one of the short stories from the book Crossing the Boulevard someone said life is like a set of stairs. We can all get to the top but some of us start much higher up than others. This sums up my basic views with money and hard work. Immigrants start at some of the lowest stairs not only because of money, but also because of the language barrier between them. This can either sink someone or act as a catalyst for the intellectual hard worker on the inside. It would be ideal if everyone migrated here legally but that is simply unrealistic. Through out Crossing the Boulevard the story was the same. The immigrant was in a war torn country and had to choose between leaving everything they knew behind or risk death. The people in the stories all were lucky enough to get visas but people who don’t get visas are also faced with that same choice. I for one would not choose death so I would therefore have to become an illegal immigrant. Once they are in the United States they would hopefully be able to obtain a green card and stay here, perhaps even attaining citizenship. I realize that a lot of illegal immigrants are putting strain on the system but I feel the majority of them had very little choice in their decision. My one hope is that more immigrants would take what they have learned in the United States and take it back to their countries and try to make a positive effect on their homelands. I am not saying the United States is perfect, because it is far from it. However the United States is one of the few countries where hard work will result in success. If we were to adopt more European policies and become a more laid back, conservative, government we could truly get close to an efficient and fair system. If we were to develop that system then hard work WOULD be enough the vast majority of the time. With that example for other nations to follow the world could become a much better place.
Illegal immigration as we all know and have experienced in class, is a very controversial topic. However, this video brings up a good point about simply getting through life through hard work. I definitely agree that you do not always need to be rich or have a lot of money to get by in life or succeed. Of course, money can definitely assist with getting far in life, but that is not the only way to do it. While I do not really discriminate against illegal immigrants, I am still unsure about how I feel the situation should be handled.