Serfdom, Republican-style

If today’s name ends in a “y,” then you can be sure that some business lobbyists in Washington are pressuring Congress to expand the role of cheap foreign labor in the US economy, at the expense of American workers and wages. The latest example is a bill with bipartisan support, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026, introduced by Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, Republican of Pennsylvania. Yes, that would be the same Republican Party founded by Abraham Lincoln on the slogan of “Free Labor.” The problem the bill addresses is real. Team Trump’s crackdown against illegal immigration has deprived farmers and ranchers of the low-wage foreign workforce upon which they once relied, in defiance of US employment and immigration laws. To address the genuine short-term labor shortages, the bill