Un Día Sin Latinos
May. 2nd, 2006 12:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eggwardsMy "Day Without A Mexican" went pretty easy. I didn't drive by any rallies, The grocery store wasn't packed or anything, and I used the self-checkout, and I cooked dinner tonight, so I didn't really notice anything but the news reports of what was going on.
I didn't really notice anyone missing at work. of course in our field, there really aren't a lot of illegal aliens that are going to get hired. There possibly could be some down in the cafeteria, and it's likely that some of the grounds crew are, so there could be some impact, but it's not something I noticed. Since all of us who work with financial and client data have to be screened and many of us licensed, there's just not the opportunity.
So, I like many Americans will not be challenged for a job in my field by illegal immigrants, so that's probably why I don't really fear them being here. Perhaps if I were in construction, or food service, or farming, this could be a problem, but really, I don't want to work in those fields, many American's don't.
Here's one of those things, educated workers in Mexico are not the ones streaming across the border. It's those who would have difficulty finding a higher paying job in either country, especially since neither country does well in teaching job skills and vocational instruction.
Certainly Mexico could do more to raise their citizen's welfare, and I have to admit that the policy of Presidente Fox to keep illegals crossing the border and sending money back home does bother me, but I have a hard time trying to come down hard on an individual trying to make a better life for him and his family? isn't that what we're all encouraged to do in the Capitalist system?
Obviously we would eventually recover if we were able to ship all the illegals home, but we'd likely pay higher consumer prices for it, and wages would rise, and there wouldn't necessarily be the same amount of jobs available as there were for the lower wage workers.
We already spend a lot of money on the border, and in immigration and deportation. Why can't we do this smarter, where we beef up patrols to try to stem the tide, and not waste it on trying to round up the ones that are already here. If anything, we should encourage them to become citizens so they can get better wages and they can pay into the system, just like the rest of us do.
It's the Republican's that are painting us into a very bad corner here. once again, their world is only black and white, you're either in or your out. What will be interesting, and what good I see out of today's actions is that the growing Hispanic populations of this country will rise in political power, if they can keep active. There's still a very large, untapped voting group there who can be a major power in states like Texas, Arizona and California.
When they go to the polls, they will see that Mexican's were used this year as a chip to bring people to the booth this fall. While not all agree that illegals should stay, or be granted amnesty, many will vote against those who pulled the class and racial warfare into the debate about border security.
Increased border security should be a goal of ours, just as tighter air security has been, and port security should be, but to try to take out the illegals who are hard working people, and already here because our border security was lax in the first place is not seeing the true problem, it's just pandering to people's lowest thoughts. something that the Republican's have been doing very well at these last few years.
How about this, encourage them to return home by working with Mexico, and the other Central American Nations to make their economies stronger, and get tough on employers who hire illegals. just like a tariff, if you make it more expensive to hire an illegal, wether through taxes, or fines, or enforcing the minimum wage to all, then you would cut most of the problem.
The business of America is still business, just how you make it cost-effective is all the difference.
I didn't really notice anyone missing at work. of course in our field, there really aren't a lot of illegal aliens that are going to get hired. There possibly could be some down in the cafeteria, and it's likely that some of the grounds crew are, so there could be some impact, but it's not something I noticed. Since all of us who work with financial and client data have to be screened and many of us licensed, there's just not the opportunity.
So, I like many Americans will not be challenged for a job in my field by illegal immigrants, so that's probably why I don't really fear them being here. Perhaps if I were in construction, or food service, or farming, this could be a problem, but really, I don't want to work in those fields, many American's don't.
Here's one of those things, educated workers in Mexico are not the ones streaming across the border. It's those who would have difficulty finding a higher paying job in either country, especially since neither country does well in teaching job skills and vocational instruction.
Certainly Mexico could do more to raise their citizen's welfare, and I have to admit that the policy of Presidente Fox to keep illegals crossing the border and sending money back home does bother me, but I have a hard time trying to come down hard on an individual trying to make a better life for him and his family? isn't that what we're all encouraged to do in the Capitalist system?
Obviously we would eventually recover if we were able to ship all the illegals home, but we'd likely pay higher consumer prices for it, and wages would rise, and there wouldn't necessarily be the same amount of jobs available as there were for the lower wage workers.
We already spend a lot of money on the border, and in immigration and deportation. Why can't we do this smarter, where we beef up patrols to try to stem the tide, and not waste it on trying to round up the ones that are already here. If anything, we should encourage them to become citizens so they can get better wages and they can pay into the system, just like the rest of us do.
It's the Republican's that are painting us into a very bad corner here. once again, their world is only black and white, you're either in or your out. What will be interesting, and what good I see out of today's actions is that the growing Hispanic populations of this country will rise in political power, if they can keep active. There's still a very large, untapped voting group there who can be a major power in states like Texas, Arizona and California.
When they go to the polls, they will see that Mexican's were used this year as a chip to bring people to the booth this fall. While not all agree that illegals should stay, or be granted amnesty, many will vote against those who pulled the class and racial warfare into the debate about border security.
Increased border security should be a goal of ours, just as tighter air security has been, and port security should be, but to try to take out the illegals who are hard working people, and already here because our border security was lax in the first place is not seeing the true problem, it's just pandering to people's lowest thoughts. something that the Republican's have been doing very well at these last few years.
How about this, encourage them to return home by working with Mexico, and the other Central American Nations to make their economies stronger, and get tough on employers who hire illegals. just like a tariff, if you make it more expensive to hire an illegal, wether through taxes, or fines, or enforcing the minimum wage to all, then you would cut most of the problem.
The business of America is still business, just how you make it cost-effective is all the difference.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 06:36 am (UTC)If the guv'mint ever does crackdown on the undocumented aliens working in this country, you can bet that the first place it will be felt is at the grocery store; produce and meat prices will rise in price.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:22 pm (UTC)Not only will food prices rise, so will the cost of housing, and that's something that this administration really doesn't want.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 01:05 pm (UTC)Food prices will definitely rise. Housing, not so much. Contractors here in Austin have said in no uncertain terms that illegals in construction are making scale wages. They may have started out cheap, but now that they're good at what they do, they demand the same pay as everyone else.
As for amnesty, it doesn't work. We tried it in 1987 with the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Based on various research papers (e.g. http://www.dallasfed.org/research/papers/2001/wp0103.pdf), it may have actually made things worse.
So what should we do? Honestly, I don't know. Deportation is impractical. Amnesty doesn't work. Most immigrants are established here and contributing to society. A few aren't. Smarter people than me are wrestling with the topic. I hope they find a good answer.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 12:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 01:11 pm (UTC)Amen...
Date: 2006-05-02 06:27 pm (UTC)I assure you it isn't true, but apparently only sometimes both opinoins are valued.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-02 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 04:31 am (UTC)NOW!
Date: 2006-05-03 04:35 am (UTC)and a golden goose.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-03 04:33 am (UTC)