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Greed at a higher level

Dear Editor:”Hey Zeus is your gardener” is what the T-shirt should have said, ’cause I ain’t even got a garden. That T-shirt is just a little jibe at the Bible thumpers. You know, those fat cats will be trying to shove their came of riches through a needle’s eye when faced with their own mortality.The Latino caricature on the shirt is especially apt for Aspen since all these good Christians couldn’t afford to build or maintain their multi-million dollar palaces without using cheap, illegal labor. They have no moral qualms about exploiting these mostly honest, hard-working trespassers.Funny thing, rich folk know what a “No Trespassing” sign means when they post them all around their little kingdoms. And they damn sure will prosecute any interlopers to the fullest extent of the law. But yet, these fine Christian folks ignore the USA’s No Trespassing signs. They hire and hide the illegal horde that will work for cut rate pay, no benefits, substandard working conditions and slum housing.Why must American citizens compete for jobs and housing and education and health care with people that aren’t even supposed to be here? So Bush’s Big Buck Buddies can make a few more bucks?Steve Skinner was right by naming greed as the culprit in our valley’s problems. But Aspen and all the valley are by no means unique. We ain’t the Lone Ranger, Steve. This scene plays out across America. Our fair valley just plays at a much higher greed level.When I first moved to the valley in 1980, maids and dishwashers and, yes, even gardeners made $10 per hour or more. Their pay was three times more than almost anywhere else. Aspen hadn’t been spun into the family-friendly PG rating of today. Then, it was the best winter-party town in the country, where incidentally you could also get in some excellent skiing.The point is that jobs were filled without illegal workers. We Americans were more than willing to work and work hard for decent wages. That holds true all across the USA, then and now.I don’t think I deserve Skinner’s “Goofy” hat for wanting our borders secured and our immigration laws enforced. I do not want parts of the USA turned into third world ghettos by a naive and dangerous open border mentality.Most important to me is leaving my children and grandchildren the same opportunities that I had growing up in this great country. But like the saying goes, “money talks.” And the fat cats pick and choose which No Trespassing signs they obey.Oh, and Steve, Glitzburg’s castles will be torn down for farms and ranches when the next ice age comes and free range penguins are on the menu. Don’t hold your breathBruno KirchenwitzSilt