Via
Angry Mike
Vermont's self-professed socialist senator is a man I've never agreed with --
until now.
Sanders took to the Senate floor to defend young, job-seeking
Americans saying they are being completely ignored by the corporatists
who want to drive down wages through open borders.
...There are millions of young people who graduate high
school and want to go out and start their careers and make some money
and move up the ladder. There are others who have dropped out of high
school. We cannot turn our backs on those young people. They need jobs
as well. If young people — young high school graduates, for example —
are unable to find entry-level jobs, how will they ever be able to
develop the skills, the experience, and the confidence they need to
break into the job market? And if they don't get those skills — if they
don't get those jobs and that income — there is a very strong
possibility they may end up in antisocial or self-destructive
activities...
...At a time when poverty in this country remains at an almost 50-year
high, and when unemployment among young people is extremely high, I
worry deeply that we are creating a permanent underclass — a large
number of people who are poorly educated and who have limited or no job
skills. This is an issue we must address and must address now. Either we
make a serious effort to find jobs for our young people now or we are
going to pay later in terms of increased crime and the cost of
incarceration.
Now, why is this issue of youth unemployment relevant to the debate we
are having on immigration reform? The answer is obvious to anyone who
has read the bill. This immigration reform legislation increases youth
unemployment by bringing into this country, through the J-1 program and
the H-2B program, hundreds of thousands of low-skilled, entry-level
workers who are taking the jobs young Americans need...
