Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
Promote to whom? Everyone is located in another city and already has a job you said. I'm confused 
-Rudey
--Governments have a choice in what contractors they hire, contractors have a choice in what workers they use, and Americans have the liberty to apply to those jobs.
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Rudey, you're a smart guy. You're pretending to be dense about this to get a rise out of me. But I'll play along and spell it out for you a bit more...
Most of the legal American workers who work in the fields that are needed most in NO (mostly construction) are happy where they are. Guys up here in Atlanta aren't going to drop what they're doing and head down there for $10, 12 or $15 an hour (which is quoted in the article as being the going rate for the illegal workers) because they're already making that here. There's no incentive for them to make the move.
My point is that the companies in NO could up the pay to attract legal, skilled construction workers. Or they could offer training to unskilled people in the area who are interested in working. They could send a flyer or a recruiter to local colleges and offer training and sign-on bonuses for Christmas and spring break temporary workers. There are alternatives.
ETA: I'm not saying that it's easy to find people to work. Many of the evacuees have decided not to return to the city, which definitely presents a problem for local companies who were counting on them to keep their businesses going. However, I don't buy the argument that illegal workers only take the jobs that Americans won't do. Americans WILL do the jobs. They just tend to expect a bit more in terms of compensation than an illegal person who is excited to get whatever he/she can.