MaxedOutMama
Friday, May 26, 2006
It Ain't Over Until The Fat Kennedy Sings
See below for more, but this Washington Times article about the Senate immigration bill is easier to read and does provide specifics. The conclusion is a rare, rare exercise in truthtelling:
This bill should not have passed the Senate. This is one of those tipping points that cannot be ignored.
The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. We have had several amnesties since the big amnesty in 1986. The results have been an exponential increase in illegal immigration, burdening the taxpayer, crowding the schools, closing emergency rooms and providing a third of the prisoners in the federal prison system. The Senate bill, which would change the status of 15 million to 20 million from illegal to legal, is just "deja vu all over again."The country is being told to bend over and take it. I say this is not over, and the political elites will reap what they sow. It's time to let your voice be heard. I am in favor of immigration in general, but the Senate bill, which I will read this weekend, appears to be a purely political exercise of stupidity and short-sightedness. We need to get rid of half of the people in Congress, and unfortunately voting for neither party will be the solution. The idiots are doing their level best to reenact the Great Depression, secure in the knowledge that the rich always get richer and that government employees will not suffer the fate of the private sector.
I know why Teddy Kennedy and his ilk want a bill that would bring in an estimated 60 million to 100 million people over the next 20 years: It is a ready source of new Democratic voters. Unskilled immigrants depend more on government services than they pay in, making them a natural Democrat constituency. On the other side of the equation, Republicans are beholden to the big-business, country club lobby. Their need for cheap labor trumps the need for strong enforcement and border control.
Middle-class Americans will be bowed and broken under this burden being piled on their shoulders.
This bill should not have passed the Senate. This is one of those tipping points that cannot be ignored.
Comments:
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Great post title, indeed.
One thing that is driving some supporters of expanded immigraton is the need to cope with the demographic meltdown that has been going on in all western societies. A relative fall in the numbers of people of working age vs the numbers of people of retirement age puts a lot of strain on the economy.
Of course, the strategy hasn't worked out well for Europe, but the balance of work opportunities vs welfare entitlements is quite different there.
I don't think that everyone supporting expanded immigration is driven by cynical and selfish reasons, although certainly many of them are.
One thing that is driving some supporters of expanded immigraton is the need to cope with the demographic meltdown that has been going on in all western societies. A relative fall in the numbers of people of working age vs the numbers of people of retirement age puts a lot of strain on the economy.
Of course, the strategy hasn't worked out well for Europe, but the balance of work opportunities vs welfare entitlements is quite different there.
I don't think that everyone supporting expanded immigration is driven by cynical and selfish reasons, although certainly many of them are.
David, I am greatly in favor of substantial immigration overall. I am in favor of letting in many more from east Asiam etc.
However completely throwing open the doors to immigration from Mexico is not something I agree with, and regardless, this bill has serious problems.
Your point about welfare/entitlements is well taken. We have different rules than most European countries in part because we have a different demographic composition.
Also, if wages rose you would see the American birthrate rise as well. To a large extent, our current policies enrich Mexican families at the expense of American families, and we are seeing this in wage rates for skilled and unskilled labor.
However completely throwing open the doors to immigration from Mexico is not something I agree with, and regardless, this bill has serious problems.
Your point about welfare/entitlements is well taken. We have different rules than most European countries in part because we have a different demographic composition.
Also, if wages rose you would see the American birthrate rise as well. To a large extent, our current policies enrich Mexican families at the expense of American families, and we are seeing this in wage rates for skilled and unskilled labor.
I certainly agree with you that we can't have unrestricted immigration. Phenomena are nonlinear...something that is very good at a million a year may have all kinds of problems at ten million a year.
I'm not sure how much of an effect a wage increase would have on the American birthrate. My perception is that many of those not having kids, or stopping at one, are in fact pretty well off. I'm sure there would be some people for whom additional $ would mean having another kid, but I wonder how many.
Of course, a reduction in the rapaciousness of college costs, and improvements in the public schools, would also have an effect.
I'm not sure how much of an effect a wage increase would have on the American birthrate. My perception is that many of those not having kids, or stopping at one, are in fact pretty well off. I'm sure there would be some people for whom additional $ would mean having another kid, but I wonder how many.
Of course, a reduction in the rapaciousness of college costs, and improvements in the public schools, would also have an effect.
Yes, but David, most people who are well off are well off because of dual careers and the mother delaying motherhood. That is probably the biggest single factor restricting birthrates.
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