Mike wrote:
> The plantation owners got rich precisely because the slaves were not free.
> Farmers in Texas and California would not be able to make a profit if they
> employed legal workers. These things are related. They are not
coincidence.
> There is no choice here. These exploited workers are / were not 'free to
have
> their own system' any more than many countries, including Afghanistan, are
> free to choose.
Well, when we try to "export" our notions of freedom, it gets us in hot
water. I don't agree in exploiting people, but those people coming here
from Latin America have a much better chance and opportunity than they do in
their native countries. I personally have friends whose families came from
Mexico and started at the bottom here and they are proud of the U.S. and see
exactly what is what. I have been just as much of a slave, starting out
at wretched jobs at minimum wage for five years after college (which I paid
for, by the way), being grossly underpaid for years, being paid about 25
cents on the dollar compared to men for years before the notion of equal pay
for equal work became more standard, living on pasta and potatos and even
off fish I caught at the beach for a time! So I am not some fat, spolied
capitalist American who has never known hardship and does not know what it
is like to struggle..
> It is not just 'their problem'. Poverty is a global problem, i.e.
everybody's
> problem and we should all (not only the USA) beat ourselves up about it.
I am relieved that you are not singling us out here. Other countries should
take a look in the mirror, especially the very corrupt and oppressive ones.
I do think we deserve some credit for all the aid we have sent around the
world for decades (whether we applied it appropriately or not - we meant
well and at least did something).
Kakki
