Mr. Speaker. a week ago. we heard a gentleman say some rather amazing things about the bracero program. We were told that the lot of the migrant worker is a hard one and that the bracero program would be "an efficient. .humanitarian solution to the migrants cruel plight." Now nothing could be further from the truth. The bracero program does not help the migrant -any at allunless depressing a mans wages makes him feel better. .Or it might maKe a man feel better to know that over a hundred thousand jobs are held by semislaves. Somehow I doubt that it would make me feel any better. We are going to have migrant workers in this country whether there is or is not a bracero program. The real question is how we are going to to about improving his lot in life. I would think that one of the best ways we can help the domestic migrant would be to clear the farm labor market of its flood of foreign workers. If we would just let the labor market be subject to the laws of supply and demand. I feel that wages would b& improved at least some. But by using braceros. we drive the market price of labor down. In addition to removing the glut on the labor market. we ought to consider carefully Senator WILLIAMS proposals aimed at improving the living conditions of our migrants. What we do not need is another argument that slavery is a peculiar institution that prevents our workers from having to do tough work.
Identified stereotypes
Bracero program uses semislaves.