It’s the Money
I read President Bush's statement on immigration to the nation just now. It was good. I wouldn't be sending National Guard out to the border (despite assurances to the contrary, it seems to me that they've been pretty busy these last few years), but on balance it was an altogether logical and coherent position. But then, when you have pretty much no credibility, you can sneak these sensible ideas in and no one will notice. (Up is Down watch: sending 6,000 soldiers somewhere doesn't actually constitute militarization. OK.)
The thing that bugs me about the immigration debate we've been sort of having in America recently is the absolute cluelessness most people have about the effect$ of illegal immigration on their lives. Simply stated, a LOT of things are really inexpensive because of cheap, undocumented, immigrant labor. You can't have your tacos and talk to the cooks, too.
This is the dirty little secret of the immigration debate. Far too many people are willing to mislead or be misled about this issue: that illegals are taking our jobs, driving up our taxes, covertly replacing English with Spanish at Lowe's, and so on. That's the easy, xenophobic aspect that we'll always have roiling under the surface of a civilized world (I think it's biological, which doesn't excuse anyone's bigotry, of course).
A lot of "realistic" people say that immigrants are doing the jobs that Americans don't want, but that's only sort of true. They're doing the jobs that Americans won't do… for cheap. Hey, I'll clean toilets for $50 an hour, but not for $5. Of course, if toilet cleaning costs $50/hr, that McWhopper is about to go way up in price (especially once the counter help gets wind of how much the janitor's making!)
And since I can't resist: The president thinks that American employers would gladly follow the law, if only they weren't tricked by those crafty immigrants and their fake papers (man, for all the tut tutting at those pesky undocumented Mexicans being criminals, I don't hear as much about those felonious corporations breaking the law by hiring them. And since the law's the law, I'm going to call you all criminals too. Bet you a dollar you broke the speed limit today…) Here's a tip for our nation's job creators: if you're paying Pablo $2 an hour, and you have to lock him in the store overnight, that photocopied work visa might not be legit…
May 16th, 2006 at 12:37 am
Yes excellent speech. Now lets hope the new presidential candidate in Mexico understands what is going on and improves conditions over there. I heard a new party called Accion Por La Justicia is soon to be launched.