TooCute
02-13-2003, 10:28 AM
Since this seems to be the forum to do it in, and since Heck (ahem) apparnetly didn't go about bringing up this worthy topic of discussion in an appropriate fashion....
What is your opinion of illegal immigrants? I suppose I am largely targeting this towards the US-Mexico border, as I believe around half of the illegal aliens in the country are Mexican(I'm seeing numbers ranging between 40-70%). I do not ask this in the context of terrorism beyond that clearly having such open borders means that if they want to, terrorists can gain access to the country quite easily, nor do I want to hear any arguments that invoke the threat of terrorism as a reason to line our borders with land mines, as the issue of illegal immigration into the US has existed long before we were thrown into our current state of affairs.
Should we line our borders with landmines or the equivalent?
Essentially the US taxpayer is subsidizing illegal immigrants, paying their insurance, education, welfare, etc etc. They are contributing to urban overpopulation, taking jobs that could be done by american citizens, and affecting politics though they are not citizens.
Keep in mind, however, that in the past, though nothing so extreme has been implemented, efforts to raise the cost of entering the US illegally (by placing more guards on roads heavily used by illegal immigrants, forcing immigrants to travel through inhospitable areas and increasing the number of potential illegal immigrants dying on their way) have had generally little impact on the number of people who attempt illegal border crossings.
Similarly, such efforts provide incentive for illegal immigrants who would otherwise return to Mexico to stay in the US, where they may become an economic burden.
Or do you advocate a freer flow of immigrants between the US and Mexico? Much of the economy in southwestern states is dependent on illegal workers who take jobs for pay much lower and far fewer benefits than what americans would be willing to take. Many of these illegals also do eventually become US citizens.
I'm not an economist by any means, but I imagine that generally immigration in to the US rates are the highest when the US economy is the strongest, and lowest when the economy in Mexico is the most prosperous. I can not think of any good economic arguments against the sort of 'Bracero' program that existed in the past; workers I imagine would work in the US and make money when the US economy was strong and there were many jobs (not necessarily being filled by americans), and they would send their money back to Mexico; when things are well economically in Mexico people would be more likely to stay there. That is theoretically, of course. In reality, I would imagine that the allure of $$ in the US is almost always more compelling to individuals living in the poorest areas of Mexico from whence many illegal immigrants come, and in a more idealistic vein I find the thought of companies that 'exploit' workers (though they are willing volunteers for this exploitation) appaling.
There really aren't any easy answers, I suppose, and I can't say for certain that I know where my own feelings lie. My gut instinct is to encourage a freer flow of workers between the two countries, but I think that there are far too many factors in place right now that make that undersirable in reality.
<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
ADF makes great sigpics!
What is your opinion of illegal immigrants? I suppose I am largely targeting this towards the US-Mexico border, as I believe around half of the illegal aliens in the country are Mexican(I'm seeing numbers ranging between 40-70%). I do not ask this in the context of terrorism beyond that clearly having such open borders means that if they want to, terrorists can gain access to the country quite easily, nor do I want to hear any arguments that invoke the threat of terrorism as a reason to line our borders with land mines, as the issue of illegal immigration into the US has existed long before we were thrown into our current state of affairs.
Should we line our borders with landmines or the equivalent?
Essentially the US taxpayer is subsidizing illegal immigrants, paying their insurance, education, welfare, etc etc. They are contributing to urban overpopulation, taking jobs that could be done by american citizens, and affecting politics though they are not citizens.
Keep in mind, however, that in the past, though nothing so extreme has been implemented, efforts to raise the cost of entering the US illegally (by placing more guards on roads heavily used by illegal immigrants, forcing immigrants to travel through inhospitable areas and increasing the number of potential illegal immigrants dying on their way) have had generally little impact on the number of people who attempt illegal border crossings.
Similarly, such efforts provide incentive for illegal immigrants who would otherwise return to Mexico to stay in the US, where they may become an economic burden.
Or do you advocate a freer flow of immigrants between the US and Mexico? Much of the economy in southwestern states is dependent on illegal workers who take jobs for pay much lower and far fewer benefits than what americans would be willing to take. Many of these illegals also do eventually become US citizens.
I'm not an economist by any means, but I imagine that generally immigration in to the US rates are the highest when the US economy is the strongest, and lowest when the economy in Mexico is the most prosperous. I can not think of any good economic arguments against the sort of 'Bracero' program that existed in the past; workers I imagine would work in the US and make money when the US economy was strong and there were many jobs (not necessarily being filled by americans), and they would send their money back to Mexico; when things are well economically in Mexico people would be more likely to stay there. That is theoretically, of course. In reality, I would imagine that the allure of $$ in the US is almost always more compelling to individuals living in the poorest areas of Mexico from whence many illegal immigrants come, and in a more idealistic vein I find the thought of companies that 'exploit' workers (though they are willing volunteers for this exploitation) appaling.
There really aren't any easy answers, I suppose, and I can't say for certain that I know where my own feelings lie. My gut instinct is to encourage a freer flow of workers between the two countries, but I think that there are far too many factors in place right now that make that undersirable in reality.
<img src=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/toocute2.gif>
ADF makes great sigpics!