What to do about our immigration “crisis?” Simple. Just listen to what President Ronald Reagan had to say.
He is not with us today so all we are left is his legacy and his words. Amesty and tough provisions against those who hire the undocumented – that was the Reagan immigration agenda.
President Obama should pay heed. It is time once more for Amnesty.
But why stop there? We need to make it easier to come here. Immigrants pay thousands to be smuggled here. Why not let them pay our government instead?
As for employer sanctions, the fact is our employers have a hell of a time competing with foreign countries, where workers make a lot less. They need help. They hire the undocumented so they can pay less and try to be more competitive.
What we need is to get rid of the minimum wage, for starters. Good workers will always end up making more money, and lazy, unproductive workers will get fired or make a very low wage. Getting rid of the minimum wage will also help young people compete in the marketplace.
And we need to lower the tax burden on employers. There is a reason why California has the highest unemployment rate in the country – we are taxing everyone far too much!
Lastly, we need to reign in the lawyers. Workers comp rates are going through the roof again and litigation costs businesses in our state millions of dollars. Enough! The trial lawyers are bankrupting California. Small wonder then that they are part of the Democratic Party’s base.
Here is a simple fix – if a workers comp case turns out to be fraudulent, the claimant attorney must pay the employer for any legal costs he incurred.
So there you go – we need another amnesty. And our employers need help so that they won’t have to resort to hiring underpaid immigrants. Lower their taxes, get rid of the minimum wage and put the brakes on trial lawyers.
What about Mexico? Again, the solution is simple. Defuse the drug war by decriminalizing drugs in our nation. Make peace with Cuba so we can increase trade in the entire Western Hemisphere (Mexico already has full diplomatic relations with Cuba). And encourage investors to build retirement housing in Mexico so we have somewhere to send all our retiring government workers!
the reconquistas are at it again . one of the few things that good old ronnie was wrong on . NO AMENSTY . GET IN LINE . you got it back then . you want it now and 10 years from know when the rest of mexico wants to come here we will have the samething . NO SE PUEDE .
the geat one,
You mean like the Cubans and Viets got in line?
You sound familiar, but something is a little off…
Geat (gēt, yāt)
n. A member of an ancient Germanic people of southern Sweden conquered by the Swedes in the sixth century A.D.
Amnesty and shut the door at the same time. Amnesties will NEVER work unless we shut the door right after the amnesty because we are rewarding bad behavior. We need to decrease the incentive to come across the border illegally. The Amnesty of 1986 did not do much to solve the illegal immigration issue and an amnesty of 2010 or 2011 will do nothing either.
Art, we welcome well over a million legal immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America every year. There is limit to how many the government can screen and process. There has to be a line, regardless. I agree that the number one priority should be workplace enforcement. Shut off the jobs, the problem will solve itself. Agreed on the taxes as well.
“Art, we welcome well over a million legal immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America every year”
Now that I did not know. Interesting.
The claim that immigrants do work US citizens will not do is a myth. There is not a job in the USA that US citizens do not do. The problem is that undocumented workers drive down wages because they work for low pay, and mostly under the table. They depress the rate of pay for everyone else. Reagan’s 1987 Immigration and Reform Act, also known as the Simpson-Mazoli bill, only did half the job – it granted amnesty, but its promise to stop employers from hiring the undocumented was not enforced, thus the magnet of low paying jobs has continued – at least until the last couple of years when our whole economy has sunk. By the way, the data from that late 80’s cycle of amnesty shows that about 10% of Orange County’s population at that time sought amnesty – around 220,000.
reconquista pedroza you mexicans are just ticked off because if cubans get here to land ,guess what they are here to stay . blame your boy slick willie for that . also mexico is right next to california last time i checked florida and viet , are a little far . also you cant compare the two . you leave cuba and get caught, sent back , guess what happens to you . YOU GO TO JAIL . MEXICO you get a try it again card . and for clueless vern . did you play your song the other night . the commi national anthem . el national . i think you had a red beret on with a che shirt . and anonster in the building yelling go vern go .
# 7 so does that mean we need to raise the minumun wage and make sure it is enforced? I think that is a great idea.
Additionally enforce and strenghten the penalites for hiring undocumented persons and include private individuals who hire people for work around the house also.
Increase staffing and reduce paperwork time for those who are following the rules.
A earned citizenship program and/ or legal resident program, where one has to pay a fine, take English classes if needed, not have a felony criminal offense in the last 5 year and go to the back of the line for processing.
A micro loan program for small family businesses here and abroad to help create jobs for everyone.
“We need to decrease the incentive to come across the border illegally.”
And what exactly IS that incentive?
I’ll tell you what it is. It’s the vast number of very powerful AMERICAN industries, like agriculture, meat processing, textiles, food service, hotel services, that knowingly hire those here illegally from south of the border. That is not THEIR problem…that is a problem of our own making.
But then, you like to have cheap lettuce, don’t you?
Amnesty, has been tried, did it work?
If so then why is the same problem still so persistence?
Is there something wrong with the USA that makes low educated and low skilled citizens of Mexico migrate to the USA? (And most importantly why illegal immigration)
Where is the wrong taking place, that requires 10 percent of a country’s population to seek refugee status (illegal immigration) in a neighboring county.
I think any amnesty that makes the USA take 10 percent of the Mexican population should also, at the same time, take that portions share of land and resources.
Is it now time to bring the troops home from the middle east and use them to expand the USA border south and free the abuse Mexican citizens.
To be fair, any Mexican citizens who DO NOT want to become USA citizens, because of the border moving south, can be herded up into reservations. This being the American way and history.
One more question, please.
Why do some posters, pro-illegal, want to keep a “people” as a sub-group? The Illegal alien is the current “slave labor” of US society. Why the pro-illegal / slave labor?
Q – Amnesty, has been tried, did it work? If so then why is the same problem still so persistence?
It worked for those here at the time but didn’t offer anyway for those coming in the future to become legal as citizens or temporary workers. Also a wall of metal and border agents went up that keeps those that are hear from returning home in the off seasons or to visit family (so they bring them along).
Q – Is there something wrong with the USA that makes low educated and low skilled citizens of Mexico migrate to the USA?
The taxpayers subsidize agriculture, particularly corn, to keep prices low which has killed off the small subsistence farmer in Mexico so they come up to pick crops and process meat – giving us cheap burgers. And there’s no immigration line for this type of worker.
Q – Why the pro-illegal / slave labor?
Duh, what employer doesn’t love cheap wages.