'I feel so stupid': Trump supporters 'tricked by the devil' now facing financial ruin

[Soph0571]

Small business owners who supported Donald Trump are complaining about troubles hiring foreign seasonal labor the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

The newspaper interviewed multiple landscaping business owners who claim they are unable to hire Americans for the same wages.

----------

“I think there’s a war on brown people,” he argued. “I want to know why it’s OK for him to get his workers, but supporters like me don’t get theirs.”

“We live and die by these visas,” said Ken Monin, owner of Monin Construction. “Last year we about went bankrupt. The workers we were supposed to get in March didn’t show up until August because they couldn’t get visas.”

[link:https://www.rawstory.com/2018/05/feel-stupid-trump-supporters-tricked-devil-now-facing-financial-ruin/|

What a surprise! NOT

[greymattermom]

1. Both of my nephews worked in a landscaping job in Minneapolis last summer

after they graduated from college. They stayed until they found another job. High school and college students can work seasonal jobs. Pay a little more and hire them, just give them a little time to get used to the work.

[Dr_Pretorius]

42. Perhaps you can contact these contractors and give them your ideas

Maybe they didn't think about that idea to fill hundreds of landscaping jobs. Or maybe they did already.

[Mariana]

44. "The newspaper interviewed multiple landscaping business owners

who claim they are unable to hire Americans for the same wages."

So, they don't want to raise their wages to attract American students. The students are currently working in air conditioned stores and restaurants and places like that. Why would they go outside and do backbreaking labor, get poison ivy, mosquito bites, bee stings, Lyme disease, etc. for the same wage they are being paid now?

[Dr_Pretorius]

49. Yeah, I got that part.

They should pay at least $14/hour, which is what the Forest Service pays for rigorous seasonal jobs.

[Generic Other]

54. Some backbreaking jobs are hard to fill

1) They are hard work and easier ways to earn minimum wage exist. 2) Some young people are not physically fit or motivated to perform physical labor for the same wages they earn running a cash register. 3) Exploited workers work harder because they realize they are expendable. 4) Field work requires skills and ability to work quickly and efficiently. 5) Higher wages for landscaping means fewer customers and that may mean bankruptcy for businesses.

I have noticed that all my neighbors hiring work crews bring in workers who are Latino. Not all American teens can match their work ethic. Raising pay does not necessarily change that dynamic. Not sure who will do the work when Trump manages to drive the workers out of the country. I suppose he expects those thrown off welfare rolls or social security to perform the jobs?

[Kittycow]

79. The Seniors and disabled can go down the rows of tomatoes on their scooters

and wheelchairs, grabbing the tomatoes one by one with their little reacher aids.

That should work out.

[Generic Other]

94. That's what Paul Ryan would undoubtedly like to see

The utter lack of common sense is appalling. I would like to see the rich pick their own damn tomatoes on their knees. Sad, the seniors on scooters would probably outpick the pampered rich. They deserve a revolution of epic French proportions.

[Hekate]

82. You forgot to add exposure to lethal levels of pesticides. Healthy outdoor work, right?

[FSogol]

95. They're already decided not to pay a fair wage. It is very obvious.

No workers equals the wages are too low.

[LuvLoogie]

50. I don't know many college kids ending classes in March.

Maybe college kids can supplement an already working crew that needs a few extra hands now and then. Landscapers have contracts with clients that extend outside of "summer break." They aren't going door to door with a lawnmower and a gas can.

Landscapers dig trenches, pick up, deliver and install stone, sod, trees, flower beds...

Landscapers are also subcontracted by home builders. If you need someone in March, you need someone in March.

[Docreed2003]

2. ...ugh!! Racist/Fascist regret??

[lunasun]

76. +++ikr

[yardwork]

3. This is what they voted for! What part of "build the wall!!!!" did they miss?

[Roy Rolling]

35. The Problem

[mountain grammy]

4. Gee. Bummer.

Sorry, not sorry.

[AllyCat]

24. With GOP voters, as long as they get theirs, they support whatever sounds bad for people they hate

They do not think these things will ever hurt them. The rules don’t apply to them.

[BSdetect]

5. So your business depended on hiring people for lousy wages and conditions?

Tough now.

Ask drumph for a mulligan.

[Generic Other]

56. I imagine many landscape businesses are small time operations?

The work does not pay well in the best of times. It used to be teens who did this work after school or summers for extra spending money, but fewer do these jobs anymore. It seems it became more and more the job of small time business people who did it full-time. They charge as much as the market will bear I suppose. Charge too much and the homeowners will mow their own lawns. A fine balance between a thriving business and bankruptcy.

That said, we warned them. Don't vote against your own interests because you think politics is a game with teams you root for. What a dumb analogy.

[Vinca]

6. Three words: boo fucking hoo.

I bet this numbnut would show up at a Trump rally and cheer for the wall.

[Generic Other]

57. I wonder if there is any way to get them to rethink their votes?

We need them to switch sides. Hard to do when we refuse to welcome defectors?

[Mariana]

61. "I feel like I've been tricked by the devil," Devine admitted.

This dumbass isn't even taking responsibility for his vote. I bet he still supports Republicans in general, even if he's turned on Trump in particular. It would be interesting to know what he has to say about President Obama.

[Generic Other]

63. We know they have made really bad choices for them and us

I just want them to make better choices next time. How do we accomplish that?

[Mariana]

67. First, we find out if they're the slightest bit interested

in making better choices. This clown, for example, who thinks he was tricked. Does he still support Republicans? How does he feel about women, LGBT people, and minorities who don't work for him? Is he pleased when government policies harm other people, but only gets upset when they hurt him? We don't know.

[Generic Other]

68. Will he vote for a Democrat next time?

I would hope so. You are probably right to question whether he is capable of recognizing his errors and changing direction. I just want him to change his vote.

[bettyellen]

72. Yep, I have a "conservative" friend who agrees with the Parkland kid on 9/10

issues, thinks there should be universal background checks and yet he reflexively posts crappy things about gun control all the time. He’s intelligent, but so invested in the tribalism that he doesn’t actually support his own values. He will never be a passionate advocate for gun control even though he thinks it’s rhe right policy. He’s stuck on being a conservative even though he doesn’t agree with half of what they are doing.

[Achilleaze]

7. Free clue for losers from republican family-values role model, Dirty Donny*

* aka Comrade Casino, republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Putin's racist FB ads part of his plan to disrupt US economy & thus disrupt USA. . . . nt

[sharedvalues]

15. Made possible by the GOP amplifying racism for forty years

If the GOP didn’t pander to racists for 40 years with dogwhistles, those facebook ads would have been a lot less effective.

[Laffy Kat]

9. Sad, we should all send our thoughts and prayers. nt

[Fullduplexxx]

13. Liked ... since the like button is gone

[A HERETIC I AM]

55. Gone?

This isn’t Facebook

There never was a “Like Button”

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Link to origiinal article..

'Tricked by the devil.' They backed Trump. Now, his foreign labor cuts may ruin them.
By Tom Eblen
[e-mail]
May 10, 2018 11:34 AM

See: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/tom-eblen/article210676214.html

More:

Devine says he lost a $100,000 account because he didn’t have enough men to do the job. He’s worried he may be out of business next year if things don’t improve.

He isn’t alone. Cuts in H-2B visas are hurting small businesses across the country that can’t find Americans willing to do hard, manual labor: Maryland crab processors, Texas shrimp fishermen, and Kentucky landscapers and construction companies.

“We live and die by these visas,” said Ken Monin, owner of Monin Construction, which specializes in home additions, roofs, decks and garages. “Last year we about went bankrupt. The workers we were supposed to get in March didn’t show up until August because they couldn’t get visas.”

Monin applied for eight H-2B workers this year, but he isn’t optimistic he will get any. Employers seeking H-2B workers must prove they have advertised and tried unsuccessfully to hire local workers.

“Americans don’t want most of these jobs,” said Monin, who pays his workers about $17 an hour. “I’ve been in this business 20 years. It’s hard, hot work.”

-------
It's gonna be damned expensive to get my next roof replacement done.....

[Nay]

41. Kentucky landscapers can't find workers??? Where are all those out-of-work miners?

Aren't they crying for jobs? Here are some Republican business owners looking for workers, and they can't find any other Republican voters to work for them, in KENTUCKY??

[MineralMan]

58. Well, they can't find workers willing to work for chump change.

That's the real problem. You can't line your pockets if you have to pay workers a living wage, they think. So, now, they're whining.

[Nay]

60. The $12 or $17 per hour mentioned isn't bad -- better than min wage. But my

post was more about mocking all the folks in KY, WV, etc., who would be the first people to tell black people to take any job, no matter how lowly paid, in order to 'better themselves.' As usual with these folks, it's "do as I say, not as I do."

[treestar]

91. They can find them - they are undocumented immigrants

They are willing to be in those conditions as there is no better alternative.

[pstokely]

74. they think coal is coming back, they won't even retrain for anything else

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-effect-coal-retraining-insight/awaiting-trumps-coal-comeback-miners-reject-retraining-idUSKBN1D14G0

[Nay]

75. Oh, I know that. But if other sectors of workers sat and waited for THEIR jobs to

come back, these nimrods would be calling them "snowflakes."

[sharedvalues]

11. Tricked by the GOP PROPAGANDA MACHINE

Thousands of right wing radio stations
Fox, NY Post, WSJ, online lying conservative sites.

They existed before Trump and they will exist after Trump.

That propaganda machine is the reason the GOP can get traction in the mainstream for-profit media. The propaganda machine lied to people.

[Girard442]

12. "Help! A leopard is biting my face off!"

Says man who voted for the Leopards Biting Faces Off Party.

Hat tip to Atrios over at Eschaton for that one.

[rpannier]

38. How can you be so cruel

You should be like me and send them your thoughts and prayers
They seem to think it works wonders

[Renew Deal]

14. I don't think this guy was tricked

In this case, Trump has been clear about his anti-immigrant views. This is exactly what he voted for. Don’t know why he didn’t take it seriously.

[Mariana]

45. "Seasonal workers" aren't necessarily immigrants

so that's probably how these assholes rationalized it to themselves. "Oh, my workers don't plan to stay here, they aren't immigrants, they just come here to work for a few months each year. They'll be exempted, sure." Idiots. It was obvious to everyone that Trump wants to keep ALL of "those people" out.

[joshcryer]

16. Sorry for their loss.

[sarge43]

18. Thoughts and prayers. n/t

[rpannier]

40. They seem to think it works wonders

That should cheer them up

[sarge43]

46. Yes. The evidence certainly supports the hypothesis.

just in case

[sarge43]

17. Getting out the world's smallest violin to play "Our Hearts Pump Purple Piss for You".

We're especially touched by your concern about losing money as opposed to any thoughts about thousands of people being treated like dirt.

Any 'good' business owner should know that you get what you pay for.

[bucolic_frolic]

19. Brainless knee-jerk ideologues

You could not convince them of truth if it hit them between the eyes with a 2x4

[heaven05]

20. oh well

I don't care how much harm they cause to themselves and their families. They believed the lies. They want white superiority applied to all law. They want POC, AA mainly, underfoot. Fuck them.

[dawg]

21. That's just weapons-grade stupidity.

I *do* feel sorry for Trump supporters who have lost their health insurance (or have had their premiums soar). His promises of replacing Obamacare with something much, much better were never believable, but he did, at least, make promises.

But small business owners who hire immigrant laborers have no such excuse. The man told them, right up front, exactly what he was all about when it came to immigration policy.

Some people are just too damn stupid to run a business.

[JHB]

22. No trickery involved, fella. Don't blame the devil for...

...your own willful blindness.

There's nothing about Trump now that you couldn't have found out the moment he came down the escalator.

[OliverQ]

23. Stupid people. They always whine about immigrants taking their jobs,

but they were too clueless to realize Americans won't work manual labor jobs for the tiny pay they give immigrants.

[Perseus]

25. "Stupid is as stupid does"...Forrest Gump

Again, they think that because they voted for trump that they are immune to the bad policies and evil ways of the swamp they helped elect.

Oh, you voted for trump?...ok, these rules don't apply to you, you are exempt...you can go ahead and hire anyone you want and pay them whatever you want...continue helping MAGA

[hatrack]

26. This is what you voted for, Ken "Choad" Monin . . .

How does it taste?

Fuck off.

[keepleft101]

27. How about you pay more

[Cartoonist]

30. He can't

He had to turn down a $100,000 account because his own greed wouldn't let him pay his employees more.

[hatrack]

31. $12/hour working five eight-hour days a week for a year - $24,960

Before taxes, of course.

And these are seasonal jobs so you'd actually work for four or five months before starting to look for something else.

Ooh, sign me up!

[Cartoonist]

32. Not to mention the perks

Working in the hot sun
Lifting heavy materials
On the job injuries

No wonder there are caravans of people coming here.

[hatrack]

33. Oh yeah - I'm sure health/dental and 401(k) are included for seasonal workers

[Nay]

43. Gosh! You'd think all the unemployed MRA-type men ("We work the hard, dangerous

jobs, so wimmin should fall at our feet!!1!" ) would be throwing their tough selves onto these jobs, if only to prove how utterly manly they are.

[Rustynaerduwell]

28. "Uh, suck it up buttercup"

Remember that one? A trumpster's favorite reply to people who didn't like what Trump was doing.

[CincyDem]

29. His supporters take him seriously, but not literally.

Guess they should have listened a little more literally to the guy who effectively said "My goal is to destroy the social and administrative structures that enable this country to function for all".

So now, as chit stops functioning for small business owners...they're surprised ? Sorry, you're on your own. But don't worry too much. When you've filed bankruptcy and can't find other work...just sign up for the Affordable Care Act and the exchange in your state. Oh. Wait. You voted for McConnell and Bevin too...that's right...the two guys who with every breath whisper "How can I f*ck poor people today".

Too bad. Good luck.

[alfredo]

34. If trump gets his way, we'll see our crops rot in the fields.

We will see small businesses and farmers losing it all because of trump’s hatred of brown people.

[IronLionZion]

36. There are DUers on this board hoping he stops the H1b guest worker program

thinking Americans are going to do these jobs again that have been outsourced/contracted out on a short term basis. Americans won't even go on the website and submit an application.

DUers should try the migrant guestworker life and see how long they last. H-1bs move apartments every few months, drive 4 hours a day, and are let go without notice every few months. I've reviewed resumes for these jobs and rarely got any US citizen applicants.

When we would get one or 2 US citizen workers out of hundreds of foreign guest workers, the Americans would quit after a few months even if they didn't have another job lined up. It's a shitty way to live. Moving is very expensive and these companies don't reimburse any expenses. Good luck suing them when you can't afford the legal fees.

[Kittycow]

80. The migrant life sounds terrible.

I never really thought it through since my Social Studies classes when I was in grade school fifty-five years ago.

Usually I just wonder how the workers can be so adept at stoop labor since it really kills your back.

[IronLionZion]

83. Lost Art Of Bending Over: How Other Cultures Spare Their Spines

Here's a good article that shows how people in developing countries manage to have healthier backs while doing backbreaking work their whole lives. I tried it and it feels better than one might expect. In some cases, the traditional ways of doing things might be best.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/26/587735283/lost-art-of-bending-over-how-other-cultures-spare-their-spines

Migrant work sucks very hard. The lifestyle sucks and the racial hostility sucks and there are better job opportunities and conditions in other countries. I visited India in January and fewer people have any interest in coming to America like they used to. Canada and Australia are friendlier, and the Indian job market has improved a great deal.

[Kittycow]

85. Oh thanks for the article!

I'll be sure to read that; it really interests me.

[Hugin]

37. Awe, I bet he didn't get any pussy grabbing either...

Hang in there, bub.

I hear there's some hard labor positions opening up in North Korea.

Dumbass.

[PatrickforO]

39. Republican policies kill people.

They do, because they are all based in stealing wealth from what was the middle class and routing it to the few very rich.

This experience is a sad one for the rural people who have consistently voted Republican. They have voted against people who advocate safety net programs, which they tend to see as promoting laziness, with the help, of course, of Fox News and other right wing propaganda outlets.

Now these policies are affecting them. Shall we say, "Those construction company owners are lazy. All they want is a government handout. They need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, like we did!" That is what they have said about urban Democrats and those they support for decades.

[lindysalsagal]

47. But, some day, HRC will be in jail, right???

Her emails are what really matter.

[Hugin]

73. He got his 2 seconds of Hillary Hate in on election day.

I hope it was worth it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

48. Stuid is as stupid does. nt

[Lil Missy]

51. But .... but .... EMAILS!!! BENGHAZI!!! LOCK HER UP!!!

[stonecutter357]

52. Now facing financial ruin ,, GOOD ! Dumbass RWNJ's

[DonCoquixote]

53. This is hitting Florida

Where many of the same farmers that said "build the wall" are now wondering why no one is there to pick their fruit for slave wages.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-06/crops-rot-while-trump-led-immigration-backlash-idles-farm-lobby
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-editorial-trump-immigration-florida-20170223-story.


But, some have what they think is a solution:
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2012/may/15/prison-slave-labor-replaces-freeworld-workers-in-down-economy/

How very very Dixie...

[OnDoutside]

59. Even stuff like landscaping and handymen work. My brother finds it hard to find

people in Florida who will do the work.

[Generic Other]

62. And let's be honest -- the farm workers ARE skilled labor

I have done farm work as a youngster. It is backbreaking and hard, and not everyone can just be plopped down in a field and be fast and efficient. Kids used to harvest lots of produce in my area. They were slow, distracted, and paid by the amount of produce they picked. Then the laws against poisoning them with toxic pesticides forced farmers to hire seasonal adult workers who were much better at harvesting the crops. Some earned actual hourly wages, but I can assure you they were fast and efficient if they did. We sometimes forget that even farm labor requires skills that not everyone has.

Replacing these workers with prisoners will only work if the prisoners can quickly acquire the farm laborers' skills. I suppose that having an overseer (prison guard) will provide motivation to work, but it cannot replace skilled labor entirely.

[DonCoquixote]

69. not to mention

Replacing these workers with prisoners will only work if the prisoners can quickly acquire the farm laborers' skills. I suppose that having an overseer (prison guard) will provide motivation to work, but it cannot replace skilled labor entirely.

Not to mention the fact that many of these guards, especially ones in private prisons, already have a mentality not that far removed from those with the whips in antebellum times. Expect ABUSE.

[Generic Other]

70. Bingo!

That is what chain gangs will resemble. Legal forms of slavery.

[Dawson Leery]

64. Justice is finally served.

The farmers are going to take well deserved hit too.

The next time the big three go under, send them to bankruptcy court.

[Jake Stern]

65. Awww poor babies

"Ah voted fer Trump 'cause he said he'd make 'Murika great again but now he's sayin' I can't have my Metsican workers? How am ah sposed ta mow all the lawns at Boogerville Glen apartments and such without them Metsicans? When he said he was gonna build a wall to keep 'em out I didn't think he was talkin' 'bout Jose, Arturo and Hector!"

[Gothmog]

66. Trump supporters are idiots and racists

They are being screwed by trump and are just figuring this out

[raccoon]

71. They asked for it, they got it. And it wasn't Toyota. nt

[RandySF]

77. Where are all the American workers

who were supposed to bust down the door for one of these jobs? People on the right AND left promised they would.

[tazkcmo]

78. No shit.

Dumb ass.

[oasis]

81. The result of the Trump/Russia/GOP 2016 orgy.

60,000,000 "trick babies".

[xor]

84. Ignoring the Trump aspect of this... Why does this guy need employees on H-2B visas?

Sounds like he's saying that if he can't exploit people then his business cannot function. Perhaps I am wrong, but I don't think the H-2B visa programs are meant to be used like that. These Trump supporters are just pissed off at Trump because he didn't make it easier for him to exploit "brown people." I'm sure Trump will do something make these guys happy by making it easier for them to acquire indentured servants or perhaps even full-fledged slaves.

[JI7]

86. Fuck Them

[lpbk2713]

87. They wanted a change. They got it.

Like the half wit half governor said ... "How's that hopey changey thing working out for ya?"


BWAHAHAHA

[Luciferous]

88. What did they think would happen?!

[S.E. TN Liberal]

89. Things have changed since I was a kid.

When I was a kid, we mowed grass and shoveled snow for a few bucks. We were happy to get the work.

In the neighborhood I grew up in, in recent years, you would get a few kids and occasional adults looking for a few bucks to offer to mow or shovel.

Then, I met my wife. She lived in a much better neighborhood than I did.

Never once in the five years I lived in that neighborhood with her did we ever have a local kid offer to mow grass or shovel snow. And, they have snow throwers and riding mowers they could have used.

The kids are too busy with video games and TV to do odd jobs or even to come out and play games outdoors.

The businesses that want to pay poverty level wages to adults for hard work are going to have very little luck hiring Americans.

[Lifelong Protester]

92. I agree.

Never had a kid offer to mow or shovel, and I'm a teacher! I've asked students and they all raised their hands-but never showed up when it snowed!!

[pstokely]

93. blame parents for spoiling their kids

where else do they get the $$$ for video games if they don't work?

[VOX]

90. WHERE ARE MY SLAVES? Massah got his, and I backed him, so what about MINE???

Sorry, dipshit, but you wanted this racist piece of shit, his hatred sounded good to you. But in all that down-home, feel-good hate-fest, you forgot about your own exploitative livelihood.

Well, Mr. Overseer, just like the rest of the country, you're thoroughly fucked. Now get to the back of the line and quit whining, you fucking hateful snowflake.

[Blue_Tires]

96. Fuck 'em... Even when they're right, it's for the completely wrong reasons...

1. They were warned but they kept on believing what they wanted to believe...

2. "Yeah, I voted for Trump because he swore to kick all the Mexicans, Muslims and other undesirables out, but I never expected him to kick out *MY* Mexicans!" Doesn't help your case, chief...