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Why Don’ t Americans Take These Jobs?
The question is legitimate. If these jobs exist, why don’ t American workers rush to fill them? The answer is simple, but it’ s disturbing: these jobs are grueling, unstable, poorly paid, with no prospects for social mobility. They’ re work that even the poorest Americans refuse when they have a choice. And they have a choice. Not a comfortable choice, but a choice nonetheless. Unemployment insurance, food assistance, Medicaid— this minimal safety net allows them to say no to conditions deemed undignified. It’ s not laziness. It’ s a rational survival calculation. The problem isn’ t a lack of willingness to work. It’ s the systemic devaluation of work itself.
Flashmag! Issue 169 February 2026
The Truth No One Dares to Say: Coercion Rather Than Reform
This is where a line rarely publicly acknowledged appears, but which underlies many current policies. If immigrants disappear permanently, the system will have to force poor local workers to accept these underpaid jobs. How? Through two clear political levers: First, reduce social assistance. Make any alternative to these jobs economically impossible. If you can no longer survive without working, you’ ll accept any work, even under degraded conditions. Then, deregulate labor law. Lower standards rather than raise wages. Expand the pool of exploitable workers. Recent laws adopted in several states, including Florida, perfectly illustrate this logic. They lower the legal working age, bypass protections to allow teenagers to occupy grueling and dangerous jobs. Unable— or refusing— to improve working conditions, the system simply expands the pool of exploitable workers. This isn’ t a policy of dignity. It’ s a policy of coercion.
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