"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy." (Amos 4:1a NIV)
This strong and colorful description of rich women in ancient Israel was uttered by God's spokesman to those who were guilty before God of living a plush and luxurious lifestyle at the expense of their own poor neighbors. We many even find some humor in this picture that he paints for us, but the warning is very plain. God is never happy with us when we sport a lavish lifestyle while at the same time pushing down the poor and oppressing their rights.
CNN recently aired a special on Paula Zhan's show about the plight of several poor people who have been put into slavery in our country and some other places. This only reminded us of what we already know from various news accounts. The rich and greedy of this country and other countries will do anything it seems just to impress their equally showy acquaintances. BBC has a comical show called "Keeping up Appearances". The writers and actors do a wonderful job or portraying how ridiculous we are whenever we attempt to "keep up with the Joneses." We may laugh at the shows, but God is shocked at how low we sink when we treat one of His precious creatures with such contempt.
We have heard in recent years about high government officials and famous Hollywood people who have un-documented domestic workers serving them without the benefits that other workers in America receive such as disability, retirement, and health-care from programs such as are provided in Social Security.
It is no mystery to us why our governing officials of both major parties continue to look upon the problems of illegal immigrants with closed eyes. These neighbors of ours from south of the border come here seeking work so that they can achieve a better life for themselves and their families. In most cases, the people who hire these undocumented workers pay them off the books. These workers provide much needed skilled labor for the agriculture, housing industry, highway and other construction industry, landscaping, stevedores as well as workers in the hospitality industry. A 2002 study entitled "The Value of Undocumented Workers" suggest the following information about agriculture workers. Source: http://www.ailf.org/ipc/policy_reports_2002_value.asp
In the same study, agricultural labor economist Philip Martin estimates that from 1 to 1.4 million unauthorized workers are employed in the agricultural sector. His research also suggests that between 430,000 to 530,000 currently unauthorized workers would be eligible to participate in a guest worker program where participants are required between 90 to 120 days of agricultural work to qualify for permanent immigration status. If specific legalization privileges were given to agricultural workers in a joint agreement, Martin concludes the need to fill jobs would be tremendous as many of the migrants would leave the agricultural sector in search of higher wages in other areas of the economy.
Several other research groups found similar data to support these findings. According to a report prepared in 1990, undocumented immigrants paid $547 million in Illinois state tax, while the national aggregate contribution equaled $7 billion. Surprisingly, The Urban Institute also found that undocumented immigrants contributed a national total of $2.7 billion to Social Security and another $168 million to unemployment insurance taxes, both programs they will be unable to access because of their legal status.
Many immigrant workers find their way to Florida. Let us remember that they not only provide much needed labor, but they are also helping make all those Social Security payments that provide lots of gas to Florida's economy. The next time we encounter some of these poor families at our local Wal-Mart, let's treat them with a little more respect.
God will judge us harshly as he did Israel long ago if employers do not begin treating workers with respect and human dignity. It is a shame that many of our local workers do not have normal benefits because employers juggle their time around so that they are not counted as full-time employees.
Employers should rejoice and find great comfort in the knowledge that they have workers who are willing to show up on time and do the mundane tasks that they themselves do not have time to do. We have a great community that is becoming even greater as we all treat one another with fairness and respect as God expects of us. You are invited to all services of the Cedar Key Church of Christ. Write me with any comments or questions at PO Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or binkley@bellsouth.net. | 