Of Immigration and Elephants
If we want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil maybe someone should figure out how to harness all the hot air that is being generated around the immigration “debate.” So much time is spent talking about nothing. The elephant that no one is talking about is every single power player in this issue has a vested interest in the status quo. No one really wants anything to change.
Labor unions contend that the [proposed guest worker] program would depress U.S. wages and create an underclass of abused foreign workers.
As opposed to an underclass of exploited foreign workers who have no legal standing and thus no recourse to address abuses? What the hell? Who makes this stuff up?
An amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) would impose a hefty surcharge on illegal immigrants granted legal status to help states pay for the medical and educational services such immigrants would claim.
I realize that Cornyn suffers from one of the worst cases of cranial-rectal inversion on Capitol Hill, but who does he think he’s fooling? Services they would claim? Isn’t that what the taxes they will be paying are supposed to provide? (Not that most of them aren’t paying taxes already.) The gall of these people! How dare they cross the border illegally to take jobs eagerly offered by U.S. businesses! This is nothing more that self-righteous preening. “Look at me! Look at what I champion I am for U.S. citizens everywhere! (Well, at least in Texas.) Look at how determined I am to make sure that only the cool people are granted citizenship!” What no one will be talking about is how this pretty much guarantees a continued supply of undocumented labor, because, really, who’s going to want to stand up and be identified to receive that kind of abuse?
It boils down to big business liking its cheap, exploitable labor that they don’t have to pay minimum wage, don’t have to insure and don’t have to pay taxes for. The incestuous relationship that exists between U.S. business and Capitol Hill pretty much guarantees that immigration reform will get nowhere. And what opportunities for grandstanding! Dipshits like Cornyn will get to rage about criminals and justice, all the while slipping his spare change under the table to immigrants tending his lawns.
Now that I think about it, undocumented workers are a great way to solve the coming Social Security problem. Oh, sure, we could legalize them and introduce a whole new labor force to replace the one that is retiring, but why stop there? Why don’t we make sure that they are never granted legal standing in the U.S. so we never have to pay them back? Kaching!
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