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« Sculpted Jets | Main | Eternal Recurrence, American Style »

April 22, 2008

Fact for the Day

Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

As L.A. goes ...

In Los Angeles, immigrants make up half of the city's workforce. Most of these workers are unskilled; as many as 60% of them speak little English. A local official of some hard-to-determine sort asks an apt question: "The question is: Are we going to be a 21st century city with shared prosperity, or a Third World city with an elite group on top and the majority at poverty or near poverty wages?"

Source.

Steve Sailer notices a study trying to sort out the implications of the above facts. A nicely-understated quote from a news report about the study: "The looming mismatch in the skills employers need and those workers offer could jeopardize the future economic vitality of California and the nation, experts say."

As Steve likes to say, "The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is -- stop digging."

Best,

Michael

posted by Michael at April 22, 2008

Comments

As someone who is a bit of a moderate, I challenge my left-leaning compadres to look at the evidence around this issue, just as I challenge my right-leaning compadres to look at the evidence piling up around climate change, and the both of those groups making some rational decisions based on such evidence. Both issues are incredibly complex and of course there is no defining fact. These issues are similar in the way they get incredibly politicized.

Posted by: JV on April 22, 2008 2:02 PM

Why is rational immigration control impossible to discuss? The bigotry of the left colludes with all the greedy forces in society to destroy society's future. It's plain to see and while it no longer angers me, it continues to bewilder me.

American is the overcomingest country going, but this madness is going to be tough. Frankly, I've begun to tell myself that America should just hold it together until I'm gone (25 years, give or take)and then devil take the hindmost.

I also recognize that point of view as weak and unAmerican.

Posted by: Larry on April 22, 2008 2:32 PM

In a history of the Dark Ages I found this remark about the barbarian invasions of Gaul. "The rich barbarian became Roman and the poor Roman was barbarised".

Posted by: dearieme on April 22, 2008 2:57 PM

Of course, the UPI story said nothing about where these low skill, non-English speaking immigrants are from, but we all know the answer to that.

50 years ago, Southern California was the envy of the world. Pleasant, mild weather all year, relatively affordable housing, first-rate infrastructure and schools, and a dynamic economy built on aerospace and defense, entertainment, tourism, manufacturing, and even oil. What's left? OK, the weather and the entertainment industry, but how long will the studios stay here? Yeah, we've got the LA/Long Beach port, but it's very congested and is vulnerable to competition from Seattle and SFO/Oakland, and maybe even Mexican ports at some point.

I don't think LA can pull out of the nosedive it's in. There are too many things wrong that need fixing, and too many of the city's so-called leaders derive some measure of their power from the dysfunction and chaos that now passes for normal.

Posted by: c.o. jones on April 22, 2008 3:24 PM

JV: "Moderate Man"...arriving at consensus by splitting the difference. Bush 1 would be your idol? Gerald Ford? Everett Dirkson? I'll bet THEY would do something if THEY were in power!

Posted by: Bob Grier on April 22, 2008 3:58 PM

Are we going to be a 21st century city with shared prosperity, or a Third World city with an elite group on top and the majority at poverty or near poverty wages?"

These people, such comedians. The latter choice has long since been made, and was the whole point of the exercise, no? You deliberately support policies that drive down labor costs, and are mystified when you end up with a lot of poor people. I'm sure there's some complex theoretical modeling out there to help us understand this otherwise inexplicable situation.

Cortes, with former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros and others, is to participate in a conference this week at the University of Southern California on how to train and integrate immigrant workers.

Guess you can fund all that training (and "conferencing") by raising taxes on the underemployed/stagnating-wage working and middle-class Angeleños (well, the ones who haven't skedaddled). No wait - I'm sure it'll be federal funding.

Guys, you got what you asked for. Why don't you just kick back and celebrate diversity? (But ixnay on the easantpay, 'kay?)

Posted by: Moira Breen on April 22, 2008 6:13 PM

Well, the mainstream media is even gonna shoot its toy flare gun in the air to warn us of the disaster. Here let me fill their role since they are AWOL from the PC marching formation for one day.

"Racist, xenophobes." Wow, it's so easy; too bad it won't be a paying job much longer. Don't think the media will escape the fall.

So, it is official we are going down the third world drain. Any of the folks who have told us we are overreacting to this invasion care to comment? Anyone want to ask what MB is doing bringing up this dangerous topic? It is oh-so unfashionable to defend your country from ruin. Why what's a few third world cities in your country compared to pointing fingers and sneers at a NY cocktail party?

I know Hollywood, the media, the colleges: They all told you the country would be ruined by Nazis, skinheads and red state zealots goose stepping down the street to power. Who could expect any of you fu--s ...I mean folks (wouldn't want a man to show anger over the death of his home) to have the intellect, the imagination or common sense to think it could happen by a govt.-(foreign and domestic) corporate-peasant alliance. Hell, the peasants don't even know they're in the alliance. You know what that means, you worthless, PC vermin, you won't even get to be in the crappy murals they'll scar this once great land with.

Oh but don't worry; dont listen to the mad man. Education is going to save the day. It reminds me of the scene in "Ulzana's Raid" where the Apaches blow the bugle making the settler think he is being rescued by the cavalry. It turns out the Apaches are blowing the bugle and they kill him. Keep that in mind because there is going to have to be a hell of a lot of bugle blowing by the PC crowd. Listen...I can hear it now...we're saved.

Posted by: sN on April 23, 2008 2:17 AM

"They all told you the country would be ruined by Nazis, skinheads and red state zealots..."

Hey, we're batting .333, that' ain't bad.

Posted by: JV on April 23, 2008 10:43 AM

Nice shot, JV. I always thought Bush's biography could be titled The Anti-Christ for Dummies.

However, I do think the Left has so damaged the national dialogue that you have people like one above who knows his country is being ruined, but seems to think it would probably be best to just hope he can ride it out for 25 years and wave good bye; it's as though they took the Man out of the man, which makes sense when you think of the left's battle plans.

Posted by: sN on April 23, 2008 2:52 PM

I always get a giggle when the left starts to whine about "backlash" which of course sounds ominous but in reality is no more than play between a nut and a leadscrew. What they fear is properly known as a counter-revolution. I imagine even men that had written themselves off years ago will take interest in such a happening and relish the chance to recover at least a measure of self respect. In any event there is more and worse to come.

Posted by: Happy Talk on April 23, 2008 4:37 PM

I've been waiting for someone to start referring to "income inequality" as "income diversity." I think we'd see the first diversity the left disliked.

Posted by: Rob on April 23, 2008 7:05 PM