The Guest Worker program could work.

John Hawkins over at Right Wing News gives us 3 simple reasons why the guest worker program won't work. I don't agree with any of them. The only point he made that was correct was his last one:

Securing our borders and enforcing our laws against illegal immigration should be done first, before a guest worker program comes into place. If that isn't done, we could only end up exacerbating our current problem by pouring more "legal" foreign workers into our country without getting rid of the illegal aliens. If anything, that would just make our current illegal immigration woes worse.

Securing our borders first has got to happen to stop the flow, but that doesn't really address his 3 points anyway. He cites a New York Times article (registration required) where Charlie Bearse, the president of Sidney Coal, laments the work ethic of Americans to do these kinds of jobs like mining citing a deficit of 6000 miner workers in Kentucky and West Virginia. Giving what has happened to miners lately, I can kind of understand that. Mr. Bearse cites declining work ethic, bad attitudes and drug abuse as reasons some Americans won't take these jobs. We may hate to admit it, but he is right about a lot of Americans. We are fat and lazy.

Here are Mr. Hawkins 3 points:

#1) Isn't it interesting that a job paying $18 an hour with benefits is now supposedly one of the jobs that "Americans won't do?" And the solution to the problem is to hire non-English speaking workers (translation: illegal immigrants) who'd undoubtedly be paid cut-rate wages to do the same work.
If that were to happen, in a few years the work force would be overwhelmingly made up of illegals, probably making $10-$12 an hour, and guys like Charlie Bearse would be claiming that he had no choice but to hire them because Americans just don't have a "work ethic" anymore.
Incidentally, that's what illegal aliens do to EVERY INDUSTRY they get involved with from picking fruit, to construction, to meat packing. Because so many of these illegals come from backwards Third World countries with terrible economies, they can come here, work for peanuts, have us educate their kids and pay their medical bills for free, send a big portion of the money back home, and still be doing better than they would have back home.
Whether you think that's good, bad, or indifferent for Americans, understand that is how it works.

If $18 an hour and benefits is such a great deal then why is there a deficit of people wanting the jobs? And the only reason they are paid $18 an hour now is because of the union and the lack of good workers. I don't think lowering it to $10-$12 is necessarily a bad thing. When a company is able to cut costs in such a way, the savings can be past on to the consumer. Mr. Hawkins just assumes that all the money will go into Mr. Bearse's pocket.

I doubt " the entire work force will be overwhelming made up of illiegals." That is just silly. And they would no longer be illegals if they are here under the guest worker program.

There is no way to know how much money goes back home, but one has to live here. One has to buy food, rent, electricity, clothes, shelter, and goods. So quite a bit of the money goes into our economy.

#2) Because of #1, if we actually stopped illegals from coming into the US, a guest worker program would make things real interesting for politicians.
For example, let's say we get a guest worker program and Charlie Bearse gets permission to start bringing in guest workers. Then those guest workers, quite naturally, drive wages into the toilet and start putting tens of thousands of American workers in a position where they have to choose between big pay cuts or losing their jobs.
At that point, the politicians will have to choose between guys like Charlie Bearse, who'll be flush with cash and able to pour money into their coffers for their reelection campaigns and all those workers who'll be screaming bloody murder and demanding that their Senators and Congressman do something about those guest workers "stealing their jobs" right now!

Once again Mr. Hawkins assumes that companies won't pass savings on to customers. If a company knows that it can sell it's product for less, thus selling much more, he knows that in the long run he will make as much money with more product out there. With the examples that Mr. Hawkins has given, construction work, to fruit picking, I haven't seen "wages driven into the toilet" and the company owners "flush with cash." In fact the only thing I have seen is better built houses in a quicker time and lower fruit prices. A good work ethic doesn't care what color your skin it. Higher productivity doesn't care what color your skin is. Company growth doesn't care what color you skin is. I also haven't seen construction workers here screaming about illegal aliens "stealing their jobs." It seems that working on a black roof in 102 degree hot sunshine isn't the ideal job for most Texans. They don't seem to miss it much.

#3) Whatever you think about #2, at least it's much more honest and out in the open than the current situation.
What we have today is illegal aliens pouring into the country, the business owners who are hiring them making cash hand over fist, and the workers not really knowing who to blame when they're priced out of their jobs. Their representatives in Congress SAY they don't think people should be able to enter the country illegally, but nothing ever seems to get done.
Why so?
Because if it did get done, then see #2 for the dilemma politicians would be in. That's why despite talking tough, most members of Congress don't actually want to see illegal aliens stopped at the border -- which is why it never gets done. Even most of the politicians talking about guest worker programs in truth, want those workers to come into the US IN ADDITION TO the illegals that would still be flowing into the country.
Why?
Because it would provide more workers for the Charlie Bearse types out there, which would make them happier and lead to more money for the pols and yet the workers who get screwed still wouldn't know exactly who to blame for it.

The reason there hasn't been much done about illegal immigration is because the benefits have outweighed the complaints. Period. Now, that seems to be changing, so expect something to be done finally. At least Bush stepped up to the plate with SOMETHING. Unlike any other leader.

Deporting the millions of illegal aliens here now cannot be done with the manpower we have. We have to deal with the problem we have NOW. The Guest Worker program is our best bet. It may not be fair since they came here illegally, but at least we would know who they are and where they are working. Businesses would no longer be able to take advantage of them. As much as many may want a giant spaceship to suck them all up and drop them in Mexico, it just isn't going to happen. We have to deal with reasonable alternatives even if we don't like them.

As I said before, the only point I agree with Mr. Hawkins on is securing out borders first. If we don't do that, then the guest worker program will not work.