Migrants
today face many problems because of the Great Depression. They are hungry,
homeless, and unable to find steady work. To find a solution that would solve
all of their problems is nearly impossible. But, we can call upon the
businessmen, the wealthy, and the influential among us to bring changes that
will benefit not only the migrants of today’s America, but all Americans, and
the American economy.
The biggest obstacle for a migrant
is finding steady work. Many see handbills promising good wages and easy work
in California. Expecting an easy life there, they pack up all of their
belongings and travel to California, knowing they will have no home to return
to. Once reaching California, they realize that a lot of people have seen these
handbills and will be ready and greedy for work. Big business owners purposely
send out numerous handbills because they know that the children will be hungry,
and the elderly tired when the migrants reach California. They know that the
more hungry, tired, and poor these folks are, the less money they are willing
to work for. This is especially so, the more people there are. The owners can
keep lowering wages and still have men fighting over the work. They can pay
less for the same quality of work.
The solution to this obstacle is
simple, but bringing big business owners on board is the part that makes it
difficult. The solution is to create a minimum wage that is mandatory for all
businesses. This would protect all the migrants. But, this would cost big
business owners a great deal of money, making it undesirable for them. What
they don’t realize, however, is that by paying their workers more they are able
to enlarge the middle class. That middle class is also the consumer class, with
the ability to indulge in the items big business owners want to sell. If the
business owners spend more money, they are putting more money into the economy
and it will help it recover faster.
Another issue faced by domestic
migrants is the inability to find a good place to live after leaving their
homes. Many are forced to reside in tiny, makeshift homes that can barely
withstand changing weather in a Hooverville. A few lucky migrants are able to
find a decent place to stay at a government camp. But, many of those camps are being
shut down by those who don’t want the migrants living near them. However, these
camps provide the migrants with a safe place to stay, and the ability to live
normally, if only for a few days. The camps are contained, and are clean. They
are much more preferable than a Hooverville. Residents must even obey a code of
laws.
Creating more camps would only
benefit the country. Although this is highly unpopular, there are many
benefits, while the disadvantages are only that migrants would be present in
every town where there is a camp. But, that is almost unavoidable, migrants can
be found in most of the country’s towns and cities already. The benefits
include the fact that government camps can replace Hoovervilles, raising the
standard of living for the migrants. It would allow them to lead modest lives.
It would also be more aesthetically pleasing. Hoovervilles are eyesores, while
government camps looks like just that – camps.
Another reason to have camps is
because some camps provide credit to its residents. If the residents are unable
to afford daily necessities, the camp allows them to buy it on credit. The
residents are able to pay the camp back as soon as they have money. It will give
the rest of the country more peace of mind, knowing that there will be fewer
migrants willing to steal for food.
To truly help the Great Depression
end, we have to start with the source of the problem. That is the dust bowl. It
started with a drought, but overfarming led it out of hand. We have to call upon
those who represent us in government to create laws that will allow farmers to
keep native plants on their farms. We also have to encourage a rotation of
crops for farmers. We have to do all that’s possible to keep the soil of the
Great Plains in place.
There are many solutions to the problems
that migrants face today that will also help the economy to recover. The
hardest part will be bringing people together to create real change.
