A better price is the most important thing

Lisa Williams
Published: August 2, 2008

This is in response to “A nation of laws that must be respected,” by Ellen Meir. In her letter, she states that “legal citizens would be able to make ends meet if the illegal Mexicans didn’t sneak across the
border illegally, do menial work and receive low wages, lower wages than an American will accept. The American employer has no interest in the illegal worker, except that they work for less wages than
Americans, making the American employer wealthy.”

The argument seems to be that illegal workers, working for less money, cause detriment to the economy. I would argue, on the other hand, that the fact that there are people out there who are willing to
take on such low-paying jobs, may actually be good for the economy. One can relate this to the argument for not raising the minimum wage, in that every time the minimum wage goes up, the price of
everything else also goes up.

American employers are not getting wealthy from the source of cheap labor that illegal workers provide, as the more that business owner has to pay his employees, the more they are likely to pass those
costs on to us, the consumer. I, for one, if given the choice between two establishments, would choose to frequent the one where I am going to get a better price on the goods and services being offered.
Assuming that other consumers feel the same way, that is the business owner who is more likely to stay in business.

LISA WILLIAMS

Woodbridge