Well written and true, having been to Mexico City countless times through the past years, and enjoyed their amazing resorts, Cancun, Cabo and such, I know the wonderful gracious people of Mexico. I felt a racist element in his post, and got caught up. Mexico and America especially L.A. had a wonderful relationship, and now this and what for. Don't act like America doesn't have a huge drug problem and shootings on a daily basis.
My post had nothing to do with the border problems...just the rise in food and I didn't blame Mexico or avocado's...lol

Not all people who come via Mexico are intending to harm anyone or anything. Some of them want a chance for a better life than they had. However, there are factions and activists who want to cause harm. It is not so easy to identify everyone quickly and accurately.

This is unfortunate for everyone! People who would like a smooth entrance into their new life in the US might be hindered by bigotry in addition to delays in the system. People who might want to do as much damage as possible when they get here might not be identified in time to prevent harm.

*sigh*

First, why blame Trump for your grocery bill? Do you blame him for your high gas prices in CA too? High home/rent prices in CA? Born and raised in CA I left after 51 years because of the way the state was being run - 20 years ago an never looked back.
I'm all for legal immigration. I'm against the invasion we now have. I have lived in a 3rd world country and can say 85% of these folks are not escaping violence, they are escaping poverty.- yet we are not allowed to detain them to vet them. We are seeing crime increase and gang members recruiting at schools but more importantly we are seeing diseases America eradicated years ago now coming back to life. There is no check and balance. Soon we will look like Mexico and other Central American countries. Mexico should not be allowing free passage for these caravans.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2019 01:32AM by lbtweety47.

@lbtweety47
* Trump and Groceries: That has already been answered.
* Home Prices in CA: Home prices are high because folks want to live there. Supply and demand rules the free market. Conservatives like this.
* Invasion: This is a false narrative perpetuated by some right wing propagandists. The last two years of Obama's administration and the first of Trump's administration had some of the lowest illegal immigration totals in decades. It has spiked more recently.
* We do detain folks who cross the border.
* Escaping violence and poverty: The two issues are linked. I've studied and spent time in Mexico. Both are real.
* Diseases: Now, which diseases are you blaming on immigrants? Measles? We did that to ourselves by allowing and anti-vaccination trend to flourish.

@MFJohnston wrote:

They are no more prone to crime than the average white U.S. citizen.

Actually I'm going to correct you here. Immigrants who are here illegally commit less crimes per capita than legal immigrants, who commit less crimes than first generation Americans, who commit less crimes than second or later generation Americans.

The narrative of people who are here illegally are rapist and drug dealers and murderers is simply completely false.

Back to grocery prices. Yes tariffs may play some part but I would bet, at least here in California, the rising minimum wage has caused a jump in prices. The stores are paying workers several dollars an hour more this year than just a year or two ago. That has to come from somewhere.

@sandyf wrote:

Back to grocery prices. Yes tariffs may play some part but I would bet, at least here in California, the rising minimum wage has caused a jump in prices. The stores are paying workers several dollars an hour more this year than just a year or two ago. That has to come from somewhere.

Right.

Also, contrary to what MFJohnston posted earlier, Target is NOT planning on raising prices across the board:
[www.usatoday.com]

I don't know about Wal-Mart. I never shop there. It's gross.

The article says they plan to “limit” and “mitigate” price increases. My read on this is that they are going up, but Target is trying to minimize it.

@MFJohnston wrote:

The article says they plan to “limit” and “mitigate” price increases. My read on this is that they are going up, but Target is trying to minimize it.

They'll just cut hours. Do more with less. That's the Target way. They cut hours so hard this last holiday, I arrived at just the right time to get seasonal stuff directly from the backroom being unloaded directly onto a 90%-off endcap. Never saw the salesfloor.

People should quit buying that crap at the front of the store (Dollar Spot, Bullseye's Playground etc). It's dirty, gross, and all from China. It's complete junk.

I haven't noticed any prices going up at Kroger/Ralphs at all.

I don’t watch prices closely enough to notice day-to-day changes. I only know what their executives have said to reporters. I also suspect that many retailers are trying to hold off raising prices as long as they can, hoping the trade disputes are resolved soon. However, at some point, prices will have to go up as tariffs do cause their expenses to increase. Only so many labor hours can be cut and still keep a business operational.

Okay, I did notice that the price of my latte increased last week. (I’m not blaming tariffs, but that is one price change I did notice,)

I totally agree with you about the racial element. Considering how active the moderator is on here, it’s interesting to see what they choose to moderate.

@Irene_L.A. wrote:

Well written and true, having been to Mexico City countless times through the past years, and enjoyed their amazing resorts, Cancun, Cabo and such, I know the wonderful gracious people of Mexico. I felt a racist element in his post, and got caught up. Mexico and America especially L.A. had a wonderful relationship, and now this and what for. Don't act like America doesn't have a huge drug problem and shootings on a daily basis.
My post had nothing to do with the border problems...just the rise in food and I didn't blame Mexico or avocado's...lol

@lbtweety47 wrote:

they are escaping poverty.- yet we are not allowed to detain them to vet them. Soon we will look like Mexico and other Central American countries.

I would suggest you read this, [www.uscis.gov]. It will tell you the process for seeking asylum which requires being on U.S. soil, does not require detention but does require vetting and adjudication. Asylum is either granted or denied. If denied the party is deported.

If "looking like Mexico" means whites will no longer be the majority in 25 years as predicted by some, what scares you? Before 1607 whites weren't the majority on this continent either. I'm sure those who are minorities now won't treat you as badly as they have been treated.

Almond milk has gone up at least .50 on the brand I buy. Speaking to the Manager, he acknowledged this happening (price increase) on a daily basis, and said yes, tariff's do increase prices on all levels. I don't run into the grocery and buy the three allowed items, i shop, really shop and notice, taking time to do this, so I know prices have increased, I used to buy celery for .99, now it's 1.49, when you add all the increased items, yes it makes a big difference in the total. I never left without spending at least 20.00, now it's 28.00. Not noticing is fine, just means you don't have time to look, running in and out. With the newer non Gluten items being so expensive, and everyone trying to eat healthier (me), grocery bills have gone off the hook. Home delivery may have helped the industry adding another option, but things have definitely changed. I only shop my jobs on the weekends when Ralph's has their Wednesday through Sunday sale...tip of the day. Mexico tariffs not in effect yet, so not sure of all the reasons this is happening.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2019 05:26PM by Irene_L.A..

It's just funny to me when someone says, "America." Mexico is America, Central America. Canada is America, North America. Brazil is America, South America. You get my point. There are a whole lot of Americas.

@sestrahelena wrote:

It's just funny to me when someone says, "America." Mexico is America, Central America. Canada is America, North America. Brazil is America, South America. You get my point. There are a whole lot of Americas.

My mistake, I thought Mexico was another country and they do speak Mexican, having been there hundreds of times, doesn't feel like America, which is why it is so interesting to go to different countries and learn about their history, language and differences ......yes, American's live everywhere, if that's your point.
Corrected to say Mexicans speak Spanish, trying to be funny, didn't work.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2019 03:08PM by Irene_L.A..

Be careful, the official name of Mexico is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", so they can rightfully claim to be from the United States!

More seriously, in Mexico, the official language is Spanish, not Mexican.

I have always tried to get produce from the US. and Canada. I am more concerned about pesticides in our foods. Although California uses way too much. I'll stick with mostly organic. I buy olive oil, first cold pressed from Italy and Greece. I am not trust worthy of China or Mexico. U.S.A. does not do the job on removing cancer causing products in this country. Europeans probably don't want to eat our products, they are much stricter about additives in our food and cosmetic.

@bgriffin wrote:

I have increased my profit every single year I have been a mystery shopper. Not necessarily by a lot, but by some every year. My after tax profit is roughly what I was making in the IT industry. You wanna talk about fees dropping, that industry is crazy.

If all you're doing is taking base pay shops off the board you're not gonna make any money. I ignore 99% of those and most people should too.

As for the end client knowing how much we're paid. Why should they care? When you hire a lawn care company do you ask them how much they pay their workers? I don't. I couldn't possibly care less. I want the best price for acceptable work. That's what they want too.

However, lawn care companies are not paying people to evaluate you and your job performance for your employer.

@MFJohnston wrote:

Blanket statements that paint them as criminals are, to be very generous, unfortunate.

A criminal is someone who commits a crime. Improper Entry is a crime. Therefore...

But, beyond that, the Center for Immigration Studies (a pro-immigrant group) has detailed statistics showing that there is indeed a higher rate of crime and incarceration among non-citizens. The overwhelming majority of the violent crimes are in border communities. They attribute it to overall youthful age rather than immigration status. They could be right, but it makes no difference. More importantly than the crime rate, imho, is the rate of taxpayer services -- more than half of legal and illegal immigrants use some form of welfare. Even though illegal immigrants are barred, there are ways around it.

I don't have a big problem with someone who wants to come here, work, pay taxes, and assimilate into society. I do have an issue with those who simply want to leech off those who are forced to support them.

@iShop123 wrote:

@MFJohnston wrote:

Blanket statements that paint them as criminals are, to be very generous, unfortunate.

A criminal is someone who commits a crime. Improper Entry is a crime. Therefore...
.

1. Were were talking about theft. Crossing the border illegally is a totally different thing.
2. Speeding becomes a crime at about 20mph over the speed limit (varies by state).
3. By your logic all folks who have ever done this is a criminal.
4. Therefore most adult U.S. Citizens are criminals.
5. So, by your argument, most U.S. Citizens can be classified as thieves.

Note: The Center for Immigration Services has a mission to lower immigration., They openly state that they want to have many fewer immigrants - but treat those that arrive better. Therefore, you need to treat any data coming from them as having a significant bias. One glance at the titles of their articles should tell you this. For example: "Idiot Lights Blinking: Vetting Failures Still Favor Lying Terrorist Migrants" was posted 4/30/19.

From ABC News:
[abcnews.go.com]
Washington Post:
[www.washingtonpost.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2019 05:27PM by MFJohnston.

Sorry iShop. I have to call you on this one. As a statistician, I learned a long time ago that statistics can be made to support anything you want them to. Here's another study by the Oxford World Immigration Study that contradicts what you quoted:
In the context of crime, victimization, and immigration in the United States, research shows that people are afraid of immigrants because they think immigrants are a threat to their safety and engage in many violent and property crimes. However, quantitative research has consistently shown that being foreign born is negatively associated with crime overall and is not significantly associated with committing either violent or property crime. If an undocumented immigrant is arrested for a criminal offense, it tends to be for a misdemeanor. Researchers suggest that undocumented immigrants may be less likely to engage in serious criminal offending behavior because they seek to earn money and not to draw attention to themselves. Additionally, immigrants who have access to social services are less likely to engage in crime than those who live in communities where such access is not available. In regard to victimization, immigrants are more likely to be victims of crime. Foreign-born victims of crime may not report their victimization because of fears that they will experience negative consequences if they contact the police. Recently, concern about immigration and victimization has turned to refugees who are at risk of harm from traffickers, who warehouse them, threaten them, and physically abuse them with impunity.

@iShop123 wrote:

@MFJohnston wrote:

Blanket statements that paint them as criminals are, to be very generous, unfortunate.

A criminal is someone who commits a crime. Improper Entry is a crime. Therefore...

But, beyond that, the Center for Immigration Studies (a pro-immigrant group) has detailed statistics showing that there is indeed a higher rate of crime and incarceration among non-citizens. The overwhelming majority of the violent crimes are in border communities. They attribute it to overall youthful age rather than immigration status. They could be right, but it makes no difference. More importantly than the crime rate, imho, is the rate of taxpayer services -- more than half of legal and illegal immigrants use some form of welfare. Even though illegal immigrants are barred, there are ways around it.

I don't have a big problem with someone who wants to come here, work, pay taxes, and assimilate into society. I do have an issue with those who simply want to leech off those who are forced to support them.

Jeez can someone lock this thread already?!

Didn't know that Mexico or China were producing much olive oil, LOL. I tend to buy EVOO from Italy, Greece, or California. Agreed that Europeans have good quality products overall and love that they are non-GMO.

And WTF happened to this thread since I looked at it last? SMH.

@shopper8 wrote:

I have always tried to get produce from the US. and Canada. I am more concerned about pesticides in our foods. Although California uses way too much. I'll stick with mostly organic. I buy olive oil, first cold pressed from Italy and Greece. I am not trust worthy of China or Mexico. U.S.A. does not do the job on removing cancer causing products in this country. Europeans probably don't want to eat our products, they are much stricter about additives in our food and cosmetic.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

And WTF happened to this thread since I looked at it last? SMH.

Think aliens-- illegal or otherwise-- took it over for their as yet unrevealed purposes...

@sestrahelena wrote:

It's just funny to me when someone says, "America." Mexico is America, Central America.

Actually, Mexico is a part of North America.

And thus NAFTA - North American Free Trade Association

@lowcloud wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

It's just funny to me when someone says, "America." Mexico is America, Central America.

Actually, Mexico is a part of North America.

I should have fact checked, sorry. So it's still America, good.

@myst4au wrote:

Be careful, the official name of Mexico is "Estados Unidos Mexicanos", so they can rightfully claim to be from the United States!

More seriously, in Mexico, the official language is Spanish, not Mexican.

I know, humor gets lost on forum/Internet....have thirteen first cousins in Mexico City, one in Cancun (I know),

I was taught a very long time ago at my High school "George Washington High" America consists of our beautiful 50 states, have things changed while I turned my back?

That would be the United States of America, which is just a segment of the Americas. That's what sestrahelena was trying to convey.