To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Clearing Up Some Misconceptions
During the coverage of the illegal aliens/amnesty/ guest worker/ border debate, I've heard a couple of things that are just... wrong. They're tied together, and it's really been bugging me.
First, there's the concept that illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans won't do. Take one look at a West Virginia coal miner, and then tell me that Americans are unwilling to do a job... any job. What Americans won't do is do a job for far below minimun wage. (OK, I'll admit that there are some Americans who choose to sit on their rears, collecting a paycheck from the government for their laziness... I'm not talking about them. That's for another post.) Illegal aliens, quite resourcefully, can and will do many jobs for wages far below what employers have to pay legal immigrants and citizens.
Which leads us to the second problem. No "guest worker"/ amnesty program will work, because of my first point. You see, if you give out "guest worker" IDs and give them all amnesty, well, that's all well and good, except for the fact that many of those now legal immigrants will find themselves jobless. Employers use illegal alien labor because it's cheap, and they don't have to pay FICA or other payroll taxes on their workers. If all of these workers are suddenly legalized and documented, then the government knows where they work... which means they will hunt the employers for those taxes and to make sure they are paying their workers at least minimum wages. Their costs will skyrocket, and they'll have to lay off at least half of their work force.
My final "gripe" is only marginally tied to the first two. It's the idea that the bills in Congress right now will "criminalize" illegal aliens. What else would "illegal" mean? They're criminals already. They are breaking the law every day that they are here, no matter how noble and honorable their intentions are.
I stand by what I've said before. The only solution that I can think of that will work (and will really, really annoy La Raza and other confused organizations) is to profoundly tightening the borders, rounding up the illegal aliens by the busload, and sending them back home (especially since they are so fond of waving their home country's flag and not the flag of the nation they want to live in). Americans, I hope, will be willing to pay more for goods and services if it means that our borders are safer and people aren't breaking the law left and right.
First, there's the concept that illegal aliens are doing jobs that Americans won't do. Take one look at a West Virginia coal miner, and then tell me that Americans are unwilling to do a job... any job. What Americans won't do is do a job for far below minimun wage. (OK, I'll admit that there are some Americans who choose to sit on their rears, collecting a paycheck from the government for their laziness... I'm not talking about them. That's for another post.) Illegal aliens, quite resourcefully, can and will do many jobs for wages far below what employers have to pay legal immigrants and citizens.
Which leads us to the second problem. No "guest worker"/ amnesty program will work, because of my first point. You see, if you give out "guest worker" IDs and give them all amnesty, well, that's all well and good, except for the fact that many of those now legal immigrants will find themselves jobless. Employers use illegal alien labor because it's cheap, and they don't have to pay FICA or other payroll taxes on their workers. If all of these workers are suddenly legalized and documented, then the government knows where they work... which means they will hunt the employers for those taxes and to make sure they are paying their workers at least minimum wages. Their costs will skyrocket, and they'll have to lay off at least half of their work force.
My final "gripe" is only marginally tied to the first two. It's the idea that the bills in Congress right now will "criminalize" illegal aliens. What else would "illegal" mean? They're criminals already. They are breaking the law every day that they are here, no matter how noble and honorable their intentions are.
I stand by what I've said before. The only solution that I can think of that will work (and will really, really annoy La Raza and other confused organizations) is to profoundly tightening the borders, rounding up the illegal aliens by the busload, and sending them back home (especially since they are so fond of waving their home country's flag and not the flag of the nation they want to live in). Americans, I hope, will be willing to pay more for goods and services if it means that our borders are safer and people aren't breaking the law left and right.
