Vote for my Blog! It Won't Kill You! and Buying Locally, Hiring Internationally

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     This past Wednesday, I was the onsite correspondent for ecoRI.org at the 6th Annual Local Food Forum at Brown University. Over 200 organizations, businesses, and institutions were in attendance, and the whole experience lifted my spirits. There are so many people in RI that care about sustainable living practices, and molding a clean, positive future for our state, country, and planet. There were a few restaurant owners/ managers in attendance. Matt Gennuso the "tres" talented chef/ owner of Chez Pascal, and Derek Wagner, the innovative chef from Nick's on Broadway, to name a couple.It's fantastic that these restaurants are getting on board the sustainable movement, and I urge all restaurants in RI to buy fresh and local produce when it is available, which is all year long thanks to the organization of the Winter Farmers Market at the Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket.
     But what good is buying locally, if businesses aren't hiring locally? You get what I'm driving at? Buying locally keeps money in the local economy. Hiring illegal labor, and paying under the table, usually amounts to money being sent directly out of the country, not to mention the lack of local, state, and federal taxes being levied on these cash transactions. Really, why bother doing the former, if you're also going to do the latter?
     Let's examine the differences between outsourcing, and hiring illegal labor and paying them under the table.
Companies that outsource jobs to other countries successfully avoid paying local, state, and federal taxes, and manage to pay people in those countries less than they would pay people in the States to do the same job. Hiring illegal aliens and paying under the table amounts to the same thing, although some of the money stays in the local economy, due to the purchasing of comestibles. So the differences are slim and none. I'm coining a new phrase here, "Domestic Outsourcing." It sounds nicer than hiring illegal labor, and shirking your duty as a business owner to PAY YOUR F*&%ING TAXES!
    I worked at one Providence cafe/ bakery where almost half of the help was paid under the table, citizens and non- citizens alike. Seemingly intentionally to add insult to injury, many of the LEGAL, TAX PAYING employees had to endure weeks on end of BOUNCED PAYCHECKS, while the less than kosher employees received ENVELOPES FULL OF CASH MONEY at the end of the week. I wonder how many of the restaurants and markets (including Dave's Marketplace, and Whole Foods) would continue to buy from this bakery if they knew about their lousy, culture destroying hiring and payment practices. Anyone who knows me knows exactly which cafe/ bakery I'm talking about, and anyone who doesn't, leave a guess on my comment board. It's pretty easy to figure out, go to the Whole Foods on N. Main St. in Providence and check out the bakery section. There are only a couple of Providence bakeries represented there. Then go to those bakeries and take a look around, you'll know which one I'm talking about. I urge everyone to not buy products from this bakery, or stop for lunch, (or brunch on Sat. and Sun.), at this establishment.Their commitment to local goods and produce is commendable, but their hiring and payment practices should be investigated by the ICE and the IRS.

Love, Peace, and Bacon grease!