Comments on: Iowa Town Teeters On Edge Of Ruin

CBS Evening News: A Series Of Events Has Destroyed Tiny Postville's Economy

[jrs1951]

So, to me this looks like there is not much difference between a meat packer and a mortgate packer. It''s all about making the most money for the least effort.

[acmoney8]

Dear igotitdidu the bottom of you comments do not make sense with the rest of the paragraph you state stop blaming immigrants for problems in America and then you say if we weren''t making money from them they wouldn''t be here. That is the point isn''t it? Big coporations like Wal Mart, Bank of America etc making big money on the illegal alien market giving them credit cards, interest only mortgages, low wage jobs (Wal Mart) without proper documents. When they can''t pay their mortgages, credit cards that effects the whole economy. They take off move, strip their homes leaving them with thousands of dollars worth of damage before they can be sold and billions of dollars in credit cards with high interest and no documents and no way of finding them since their documents or lack there of were bogus to begin with. Also the huge numbers of identify theft, in my state alone (VA) we need an additional 600 new State Troopers just to deal with the ID theft so do a little more research on this there is plenty of blame to go around. Yes I agree Wall Street is a big problen too we got crushed by both and as usual we are supposed to pay for everything. I have a good friend who works in Immigration criminal divison she told me if the American public had any idea the numbers of crimes these folks commit the dollars in money laundering alone there would be riots in the streets and she just works on cases in one state at a time trust me you have no idea!

[missingamerica]

[...] these laws are not for everyone. If these workers in Iowa were white people from Ireland or Sweden, the laws would never be enforced! The people from South and Central America are getting SPECIAL treatment, special bad treatment. They are being targetted for deportation and harassment simply because of who they are.

Posted by fsw3 at 11:45 AM : Nov 24, 2008

You need to document that by showing areas where "white people from Ireland or Sweden" are in the country illegally while the INS turns a blind eye.

The fact is almost ALL of our illegal immigrants are from south of the United States'' southern border - it is physically IMPOSSIBLE to deport "white people from Ireland or Sweden" who are not here.

[centerfall94]

Well, Bush didn''t fly a plane into this town''s courthouse, but he destroyed the town just the same.

Heckavajob, Bushie!

[igotitdidu]

People, do you really think that Wall Street was making money off of immigrants and low income individuals? No sir, Wall Street got greedy; they were making millions off of mortgages and selling them off as bonds to other countries as safe investments. The mortgages were packaged and marketed as AAA rating bonds without any historical data proving that it was indeed a safe investment. Only after the market was saturated with mortgages did they start the subprime loans market to make more money, what worse, is Wall Street executives knew the bottom was going to fall out but didn''t care because it was very profitable for a lot of people in the business. Middle class people bought homes that they couldn''t afford not low income people; most had good credit but got suckered into getting a subprime loans rather than conventional or government backed loans, realize there wasn''t much money in packaging these loans. We were bamboozled by some smart people who figured out a way to make a fortunate off of packing mortgages to sell to investor at our expense. Stop blaming low income individuals and immigrants for everything that happens in American. If America wasn''t making money off of immigrant labor trust me immigrants wouldn''t be here, our borders would be closed off and security would be tight. Realize the biggest WELFARE farce was just created before our very eyes by white guys who made millions and didn''t give a *** about the rest of us hard working people.

[nolalou]

I am seriously angered when the media presents a soft story on illegal immigration, sadly watching as families struggle to meet mortgages and put food on their tables. What the media isn''''t mentioning are the culprits behind the struggle: corporations hiring illegally, getting caught, and being forced to shut down due to egregious business practices. Hire legal immigants and citizens -- not illegal immigrants. The problem would likely go away, or wouldn''''t have happened in the first place. It''''s simply common sense. Follow the rule of law.

Posted by nnbodens

We would all like a simple solution to the problem, but yours is not one! Like it or not, our economy is based on the availability of cheap labor, and if Americans won''t work for those wages, immigrants will, rather they are legal or not. Sure a crack down on illegal hiring in the first place might have kept this from happening, but a nationwide crackdown would lead to millions awaiting trial for deportation, cost millions to tax payers (all those arrested illegal immigrants are entitled to court appointed lawyers, who do you think pays for that!)

[slim1h2o]

Posted by fsw3 at 11:21 AM : Nov 24, 2008

These laws apply to everyone. The white guy from England, the red guy from Japan, the yellow guy from China, the purple guy from Mars, the red, white and blue guy from Antarctica. And yes the Brown people from all over too.

Apparently you think somehow people from south and Central America deserves special consideration above everyone else? Why?

Think about this before you call people racist, when in fact, it is you that is racist.

[bobnjersey]

[The current financial crisis in the housing industry has it''''s roots in illegal immigration. I''''m not saying it was the immigrants fault. The banks were government-mandated to make loans to low-income, minority applicants. Governments fault, but who were the benefactors?]
[Posted by fahr451 at 10:12 AM : Nov 24, 2008]

this is not true ... there was no signifigant contribution to the mortgage crisis a result of illegal immigrants. and they surely weren''t ''benefactors'' of the crisis.

[gbdmd]

Wait a minute, I guess I don''''t understand....389 illegal people arrested and the company shuts down? The town doesn''t have 389 unemployed "legal" people who needed jobs and therefore the company can still operate? So what is it the immigrants were doing that others can''''t do?

Posted by igotitdidu at 10:42 AM : Nov 24, 2008
------------------------

Wow! I read this article and was about to take a very different position until I read the post above. I think that''s an EXCELLENT point. Exactly what where these illegal immigrants doing that legal U.S. residents can''t do.

Why hasn''t this town banded together to find out what specific jobs were vacated by the arrested immigrants and applied for those now vacant jobs. If this company goes out of business, it will have nothing to do with illegal immigrants, but everything to do with people NOT DOING what they need to do to ACTUALLY PARTICIPANT and not watch and whine.

There only excuse is if the government has prevented this company from operating, which doesn''t seem to be the case.

[slim1h2o]

If you read the post, the point seemed painfully obvious.

Posted by fahr451 at 10:16 AM : Nov 24, 2008

Well I have read that post once more, and still come away with same conclusion. Correct me if I''m wrong,
But it sounds like you implying the guy is smehow racist,,I guess. But the reason I am reading that into the guys post, is that some moron on here has been calling me a racist, for simply wanting our laws followed.

Which, I think is racist in itself, to call somone that. It shows a lack of understanding of the situation. It could also be calling ignorant as well.

But then again, in these forums, when sonebody can''t debate with intelect, they resort to name calling.

[igotitdidu]

Wait a minute, I guess I don''t understand....389 illegal) people arrested and the company shuts down? The town doesn''t have 389 unemployed "legal" people who needed jobs and therefore the company can still operate? So what is it the immigrants were doing that others can''t do? Or is it that some American''s think that some labor is just beneath them? Isn''t that the case with most jobs that immigrants obtain? What''s really going on?

[ioweign]

I was born here, and frankly, I don''''t want to have to compete with someone who has no intention of reporting their income or paying taxes. I can''''t go to Guatemala and expect to get a job and live off that country.

Illegal immigrants get free school for their kids, and free health care from general hospitals legally bound to treat them. If I go to the ER, I have to wait behind them, and my property taxes are high to enlarge the schools for them.

We need to protect our borders, then maybe we''''ll be able to afford to give charitable contributions to people in other countries.

Posted by downtowner97 at 08:57 PM : Nov 23, 2008

Property taxes pay for public schools - even rental property has a portion of its property tax go to the local public schools.

There is Federal and State income tax on earnings and there is withholding for Social Security - so it is not like the illegal worker is getting a free ride...

[drputt45]

OK, there are laws regarding imigration, just like speeding, robbery, etc. When you break the law, you should be punished. We should not get to elect which laws to follow and which to ignore.

I live in Texas and work with a number of "legal, or documented" immigrants and they are hard working, wonderful people. They have similar opinions about illegal immigrants. Go home and come back legally. Then, the processing plant does not get shut down.

[evian_ycnan]

And when the potatoes failed yet again, they starved in their hovels on the shores of a bountiful sea.

Oh, never mind, it seems we are killing the seas too.

[ffoulkes-2009]

What society do you live in? Do you not notice that in 21st United States of America, there is much work to be done, and that many current occupants do not or cannot do these jobs? This land is still wide-open, millions of acres, no millions of square miles are uninhabited. Immigrants throughout the time of this nation have greatly benefitted our society. These immigrants have also benefitted our society and I hope they will have the capability to continue.

Posted by fsw3 at 09:57 AM : Nov 24, 2008
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so...how many square miles = food for 1 family? Just because there is acreage enough to fit everyone does not mean there is room for everyone in the world to park here.

[slim1h2o]

Posted by ffoulkes at 09:51 AM : Nov 24, 2008

Arguing with that guy, is like arguing with a wall.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Well...time to go people...starting my ''weekend''.

Enjoy your posts and I hope life keeps you well.

[slim1h2o]

Any questions!?!??

Posted by fahr451 at 09:44 AM : Nov 24, 2008

Yes. What''s your point?

[cassndra-2009]

Perhaps the people of Postville shouldn''t have made it so easy nor so comfortable for illegals to harbor in their town?

They should have all screamed loud and clear when the illegals started entering their town and then they should have protested when they were hired by ANYONE! And hears a novel idea...how about calling I.C.E. a little earlier. Like when the first illegal was hired locally?

Calling an illegal alien an ''undocumented immigrant'' - - - Is like calling a drug dealer an ''unlicensed pharmacist'' Get REAL people.

[ffoulkes-2009]

So you are saying that we should not in our own best interests. People have come from other lands to do hard and undesirable labor. They produce a useful product. They are paid poor wages. Yet because they receive schooling and medical care you say they are a drag on our society. That is obscene. Why didn''''t our ancestors from Europe stay where they were and work on their society''''s problems?

Posted by fsw3 at 09:44 AM : Nov 24, 2008
___________________________
My, but you are really off your rocker, aren''t you? First off...we have a population of 300,000,000...rather than closer to 300,000 which was the population when settlers arrived here. There was plenty of land then, however now there is not. You keep up with these apples to oranges comparisons. CENTURIES have gone by. Times change as do people and needs. Society has evolved. You should try to evolve with it.