Musings on Illegal Immigration

So.  There is more and more in the news about immigration, and building a wall, and keeping those job-stealing Mexicans out.  Good stuff.  The longer it goes on, the more it proves just how incredibly stupid most people are.  Yes, Laura.  I realize by the very definition of the word, the majority can't be stupid.  Coin me a word then.  Until that happens, they are stupid.

  What jobs are these nefarious folks stealing?  Picking fruit?  Digging ditches?  I'll tell you something, I'm not doing that crap.  Few people I know are willing to do it either.  There is produce rotting on the vine all over this country where illegal immigrant crack downs have occured.  Few will do the work for what it pays.  So of course, the answer given is that the jobs need to pay more.  Do the wall builders realize what would happen to prices if this was done?  Hey, I like food price increases as much as the next guy, but there are a few of us on a kind of fixed income.  Yes, yes.  Greedy businesses and farmers.  Blah, blah.  That is a fiction, but I'm digressing.  That is material for another conversation.  The bottom line is, if labor is shut off or costs more, food prices will go up.  That, or the domestic farms won't be able to compete with imports and will shut down.  And that would be great.  Now is where the subject of tariffs comes up.  I'm not gonna bother to comment on the stupidity of that.

  So let's build that wall anyway.  Now usually I'm all for the government wasting money.  Any they can throw away without causing harm is good in my book.  It's just that the sheer, monumental ignorance of this is so very great.  Plus the fact that it does cause harm.  It threatens to undo years of environmental programs aimed at salvaging wildlife habitats all along the border.  That, and it pisses our neighbors off.  It's not a bad idea to stay friendly with the neighbors.  And besides, it's pointless.  The Great Wall in China really kept those Mongol hordes out.  The Maginot Line really kept those Germans out of France in WW2.  Yeah, walls have a history of working well.  All walls along the border will do is make the smugglers richer.  That is how it works.

  So we build the wall to stop those nasty terrorists.  Well, sure.  Of course, all the new intel indicates that the known terrorists have been entering through Canada.  Canadian intellegence agencies report that the lax immigration policies there have lead to terrorist cells from every major group being formed there.  Why aren't we building the wall in the north?

  Another good argument.  If it isn't bad enough that those nasty law-breakers are stealing good Americans jobs, they are taking tax dollars as well!  After all, we foot the bill for all those unpaid hospital bills and the like.  That, and they pay no taxes either!  Except, of course, that isn't true.  They pay sales tax and property tax.  They buy goods, helping fuel the economy.  A recent study shows that there is actually a net gain of tax revenue generated by illegal immigrants in the state of Texas.  Perhaps they cost a bit less than it would seem.

  And then there is the fallback position.  They are breaking our laws!  Well, golly gee.  Let's get rid of all the law breakers!  We can't have that.  Yeesh, woe to the speeders and litterers!  Damn, people.  Get some sense already.  Let's legalize 'em all.  Hell, if I was in charge, I'd set up tables along the Arizona border to nationalize citizens.  If you can cross the hell that is that border, I'd be proud to have you as a citizen. 

  I guess that is enough ranting for now.  In closing, I'll say this.  If you agree with me, that is great.  If you don't, I'm right and you are wrong :) .  And one final thought.  We might wanna hold off a bit on that fence for another reason.  If the trade imbalances stay where they are, that fence may get in the way of the Americans streaming across the border to find jobs.