What's really going on

In the early '90s I lived in Long Beach, Calif., during that state's attempt to financially eliminate illegal aliens' (primarily Mexicans') access to social services. It was called Proposition 187.

But it occurred to me one day that I knew what was really going on. Wealthy growers and other users of unskilled labor in this country desire illegal workers — those who can be stiffed since they lack legal recourse, and also lack Social Security accounts and other benefits requiring contributions.

Of course, these employers claim they aren't competitive if they use American workers. But the unanswered question remains: competitive with whom? The answer, I suspect: other users of illegal workers.

Now, watch the immigration debate in Congress. See if the wealthy, as represented by their lackeys (usually conservatives), don't manage to kill or at least seriously weaken it (though probably that will cost them the Hispanic vote).

What do the wealthy want with workers who have rights? They're too expensive. And it would be a significant reversal in their ongoing war on middle-class income.

— Hartley Anderson, Medford