SBS

The thing is that these people are treated as legal citizens in the eyes of the employers, at least in the cases of which I speak. Therefore, they are not paid less than minimum wage. If they were, that would be a)illegal, and b)a silent admission to the government that the company "knew" that they were illegal so they could be exploited. The problem is that in order to find out if Americans would do the job, which I promise you they would not, it would involve giving up what they already have. It would be "experimental", and put companies out of business, either because the price of produce was too high, or that they just don't have it because they can't find the number of workers necessary to pick their volume. Just as a speculation, I don't believe that there is any amount of money that one of us could be paid that would cause us to do their jobs, and certainly not nearly as well. The conditions that they work in, while not abusive, can be horrendous on the best of days. I'm sure they could find some that would do it, but for example, 400 acres of strawberries takes about 800 workers 7 days a week in the height of the season. So in short answer to the question, I believe that raising the wages and enforcing laws about illegal workers in the industry would cause prices to go up because of hard costs, and then again for lack of supply. That is until enough companies just go out of business and it's not there at all. Does that make sense? _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

It definitely does not have the same value to the world, but I highly doubt that there is not some form of ego in the drive and aftermath of "the first guy to walk on the moon". There are other examples of firsts, this was just the one that came to mind, one that involved training, investment, self sacrifice, and a touch of ego. Unfortunately, we have chosen those people, and despite what we pay them, they are not the ones that are being seen on every major network. Kind of makes me think that if we want our collective voice to be heard in a form that is not Jeb, then we need a better spokesperson and better PR team at USPA headquarters. Regardless of disagreement, they are the closest thing that we have to a common voice that there is. Jeb is not stepping in front of other jumpers or spokespeople for jumping to get these interviews...there is nothing stopping anyone else from gaining press coverage other than the fact that they aren't doing anything that the media deems as remarkable. He is doing something that we are not, and he is reaping the benefits. I have never heard him say anything about stepping up as a representative of this sport, just about himself, what drives him, what gets him off, what he's done, and what he hopes to accomplish. Regardless, though, we have the right to put anyone up there that we want, assuming that we earn that right. He has earned the place where he is through nobody's efforts but his own...nobody has handed it to him, and therefore, he has the floor. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

I would also strongly suspect that he would know before the height of the ramp if he were going to hit it or not. That said, there will be SOME point of no return. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Many do see the card, and the card is a fake. Employers KNOW that the card is a fake. They hide behind the discrimination laws to fight prosecution, but it's not like they have to fight that fight anyway, because the laws are so minimally enforced. Let's say that potential employers in the agricultural industry do call out the fakes. What would you propose be the alternative for the agricultural industry to illegal labor? I would venture to say that the reason that the laws are not enforced is because no reasonable alternative has been found. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Agreed, and frankly, I don't have a problem being second either. I didn't mean to say that one has NO drive if they don't mind being second, third, etc, just that it's not the drive that makes them have to be first. I like to push limits a bit, but this is far beyond my cup of tea as well. If he pulls it off, it will likely be one of the coolest things I ever see. But in the words of a friend of mine, if he misses that hole, I'd hate to be his underwear. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Who wants to be second? Some have a drive and some do not. Why is he any different than any other pioneer in any discipline, skydiving or otherwise? Do you think that Neil Armstrong was just sitting at home after a day at the coal mine and someone called and said "hey, do you want to walk on the moon?" People work their entire lives to be the "first" when that is their passion. He's not a bad guy. Some people are going to like him and some are not. What is a fact, though, is that he has a set of balls that far out size 99% of ours. People can argue about the publicity, but he's growing interest and gaining investment...that sounds like a reasonable business decision if he is to actually try and pull this off. I can guarantee you that he doesn't discount the impact (no pun intended) that this jump can have. But we are sitting here thinking about our sport when he has his life to worry about. It's few people who have the strength and determination to stand up and really try to accomplish something of this magnitude, especially with so much negativity flying around about it. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

How many shots would you expect him to have at it??? In answer to the road rash inquiry, just for clarification, the enormous cost has very little to do with construction of the ramp. It is actually transporting and application of the 17 tons of Crisco and KY to the ramp that create the expense. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Of course they know who they are hiring, but other laws that prohibit discrimination protect them from prosecution. They bring in a fake SSN, and if they are wrongfully accused of being illegal, the employer can be prosecuted. As such, they just take down the SSN and put them on the payroll. It's funny that there would even be talk of "raiding" a company for illegals...they know exactly where to find them, and have for years. It's all for show...if they wanted them out they would be out. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

No, those little baby animals looked delicious! _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

It was Dave Starr's Vector. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Hey hey hey...I didn't make up his name... And lawndart is far better than most names people call me. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

If he does, then does he have to change his name to just "Divot"? _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Sounds like a '70s or '80s cop show theme... _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

And if you don't, please post her phone # on your way out. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

I hope it's worth something...working on one now. If nothing else, it's to get in the door and demonstrate the practical experience. I keep saying that I'm going "just to be able to check the box". That said, I'm sure there's valuable information to be had. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Here's another one that's kinda funny: www.kindagreat.com _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

I have to agree in concept, but with the caviat that there is some point where these just become unlandable. Although it's only 2 square feet, it's still over 5% of the total size. I don't imagine he'll have a problem with it, but if we continue down this path of reasoning, "just a sq foot at a time", eventually we're at a 10 sq foot canopy. It's gotta give at some point. Thoughts? _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Here ya go: http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=147277&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=&ml_runtime=&ml_context=show&ml_origin_url=/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true Problem solved. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

See, something along those lines... _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

I couldn't come up with anything that could do it justice...hoping you could. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

*insert inappropriate sexual comment here*...I'll just let you make up your own. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Dude, couldn't you switch hands??? And technically, rubbing the skin off your palm is not a "wrist injury". _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

In response to your comment about my 'sensitivity' that you changed, I never said that I was sensitive or that you were not. I think this is funny after your comments about me taking your question out of context. I apologize for not properly quoting and making sure that you could follow, but this was in response to a line of discussion that was actually in parallel with this one. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

Because when we say that we skydive we hear the question a ridiculous amount of times. When we have a discussion on here about a celebrity dying, we inevitably have a post that says "why is his death any more tragic than any other"? Don't believe I did. And I'm not referring to your intended message, I'm simply referring to the question. Um, nope. Nope, didn't know him. At least I have some good competition. -S _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

I'm not arrogantly assuming anything, simply saying that you asked the question that we hear so many times "why is a celebrity's death more tragic than any other?" I assume that you are at least owning up to your side of the anger and argument. _____________ I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...