There's nothing sleepy about Lake George in the summertime! The place is
a zoo. :-)
We have seen similar incidents in our ski industry here in VT, although
not on that scale. What happened in this article seems like a collusive
effort by the area businesses. Most of the J1 visa workers in the ski
industry are from the Carribean, specifically Jamaica and the Dominican
Republic. Can you imagine leaving the Carribean for a winter loading
ski lifts and changing beds in condos and hotels?
Buck Calabro wrote:
America's strength has always been her immigrants and the energy and
hard work they bring to America.
You'll forgive me if I, a child of immigrants, hold a somewhat more
cynical opinion. America likes immigrants because they're cheap and
easily exploited. I can't think of a single exception going all the
way back to the very first Europeans, who brought indentured servants
with them as well as enslaved the inhabitants they found.
Columbus' journal on the very first day in the West Indies notes the
natives would make good servants, remarking on their docility. This
is not a judgment against European morés in the 15th century. It is
what it is.
But the capitalist drive to reduce costs by exploiting illegals exists
all over the country, not just in the packing plants and farms.
Here's a breaking story on exploitation in the tourist (hospitality -
HAH) industry in sleepy upstate NY.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=636517&category=REGIONOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/6/2007
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2adktf
