Amnesty From Government
Posted 5/29/06
5/29/06 Neoperspectives.com
I've found myself pondering this so-called 'problem' of 'illegal' immigration of late, and suddenly was struck by the simple, yet retrospectively obvious, solution: amnesty from government. The only way us legals can achieve this desperately needed amnesty from government is by becoming 'illegal' ourselves.
As President Kennedy might have said: "Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Soy un inmigrante ilegal.""
Just think of the benefits! No Social Security taxes, no Medicaid, Medicare, Federal Income Tax, State Income Tax, Inheritance Tax, Selective Service, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few! How much greater would our health and retirement benefits be without government throwing us in jail if we don't roll over and let them 'arrange' them for us? The only taxes left to pay might be smallish sales taxes here and there and once again, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, it [would] be the pleasure and pride of an American to ask, what farmer, what mechanic, what laborer, ever sees a tax-gatherer of the United States?
Imagine if businesses could return to voluntarily contracting with their employees and discard the hurtful government coerced workers compensation programs? Think how much more they would be able to pay us! Businesses could also, if they so choose and their employees acquiesced, ignore burdensome 'safety' regulations, bureaucratic red tape, many worker related litigations, and Union regulations/labor laws. These possibilities would all doubtlessly equate to large increase in our salaries and reduce the prices of our consumer goods.
In conclusion, the benefits to us, the American worker, of becoming 'illegal' are more than clear. So, let us take to heart the lessons the present "illegal" immigrants have taught us, stand up for freedom, and lead our nation into the 21st century, creating an orgy of economic growth and prosperity unlike any the world has ever seen. And of course, as Americans always have, we'll do it by sticking it to government.
But wait!, you say, that is it? You're through? This is your solution to the immigration problem? Sure, it all sounds great, but it only deals with us. What about them? What are we going to do about the 12+ million undocumented illegals already in the United States and the many more continuously flowing in?
Well, I'm not sure I understand the question. It is the legals, us, who are the problem, we are the ones who have fallen into err; so what is there to do that 'needs doing' to the 'illegals'? From whence does this urge to 'do something' about others arise? History has showed the greatest catastrophes have occurred not when free peoples act in their self interest, but when men try to rule other men, via ever expansive and oppressive government. Besides, since we are now all 'illegal', I'm not quite sure who 'they' are anymore.
Let me now ask you some questions: Did 'they', the illegals, voluntarily choose to take incredible risks to immigrate to a country they knew little or nothing about, sometimes knowing no one, often flat broke or in debt, and perhaps not even speaking the language? Were 'they' voluntarily hired by employers here and did 'they' voluntarily agree to be employed by those employers for an agreed upon amount? Do 'they' voluntarily rent or own shelter and do these persons who sell or rent to them do so voluntarily? When 'they' go to the store and buy consumer goods do 'they' voluntarily choose their purchases and do these stores voluntarily choose to sell to them? Since 'they' are doing all these things voluntarily, with the full consent of those around them, please explain what business of it is 'yours'? As Ayn Rand might have said:
If this is evil, do whatever you please about me, according to whatever standards you hold. These are mine. I am earning my own living, as every honest man must. I refuse to accept as guilt the fact of my own existence and the fact that I must work in order to support it.
But, you protest, it is my concern because my wages are being driven down by illegal immigration, and my job is threatened.
Boo hoo! You sound almost like a Union member bashing Wal-Mart. Why is it that you require government to protect your job or your wage? If your own skill, hard work, diligence, and talent do not intrinsically define your individual value in a position of employment, then you probably didn't deserve the job in the first place.
Regardless, I'd bet it could be shown by facts and figures that restrictions on immigration, illegal or otherwise, cost Americans jobs and lowers our salaries:
Gone in a Day, a Year's Supply of 'Skilled' Visas
10/6/04 Miami Herald
The U.S. used up its supply of 65,000 temporary visas for skilled foreign workers in a single day.
At first glance, one might think that these incoming workers will lower the salaries of American 'skilled' workers who are now competing with these foreign workers for the available jobs. This flawed reasoning can be traced to the faulty premise inferring there are only a set number of 'skilled' jobs available. Just like our friends on the left believe there is only a fixed amount of wealth and resources available to society, which need to be 'equally divided' among the populace, ignoring the fact that wealth creation is dynamic and correlated with liberating governmental policies.
Besides, companies will get around government imposed barriers in order to get the most talented labor for the best cost. If the talent cannot come to the company, the company will go the talent and there will be a drastic increase in outsourcing. And the American workers previously employed by the relocating company? Now they have no job. Funny how those in favor of expanding government to restrict immigration also tend to be in favor of expanding government to restrict trade and outsourcing. It's like drilling a hole in a boat and then trying to bail the water out!
We must also consider that someone will need to train, integrate, and manage the foreign worker as he begins work for the company. Who better for this task than the American worker? As these companies prosper, by hiring cheaper and more available labor, those already with the company, ie the American worker, will have opportunity for advancement. With more efficient and profitable companies, the resulting drop in price of consumer goods is a boon to all Americans, along with the added purchasing power of the immigrants and higher real estate prices.
In this case, the above brief analysis was done with high tech workers, but it bodes true for any immigrant, migrant, 'illegal' or legal, who comes to the United States.
Now, it has also been said that we must be 'concerned' because 'illegal' immigrants are costing us, the US taxpayer, a great deal of money. First, this is patently untrue. Study, after Study, after Study, after Study, not to mention common sense, have shown that immigrants, legal or 'illegal', contribute more to 'society' than they receive, especially in the case of the so-called migrant worker. Some studies have concluded there is often an increased burden on state governments, as most taxes go to the Federal government, while many 'services' are provided by the state; but this is a problem of the ever expansive and overreaching Federal Government, not immigration.
Which group costs American taxpayers the most money? Legal Americans, especially those in poverty with children. Again, it is us, the legals, who represent the problem! However, as documented, this government spending itself is largely the very reason for poverty! If immigrants, 'illegal' or otherwise, and even our own citizens, can escape our government's crushing attempts to help them, chances are they will be free from poverty and become prosperous contributing citizens.
Secondly, and most importantly, all of the above completely misses the point. Even if it were true that immigrants, 'illegal' or otherwise, placed an undo burden on taxpayers, the whole issue is a secondary problem of socialism, not of immigration! If a thief stole your money and gave it to a third party, would you be angry at the third party? No! You'd be angry at the thief, which, in this case, as in so many others, is government.
Thirdly, even if it were the case that immigrants placed an economic burden on society and even if these problems resulted from immigration, not socialism, I would still argue against passing restrictive immigration laws because of the innate dangers directly associated with the expanding power and growth of government.
Since government, as a political institution, is never a neutral party, the power to regulate immigration will and has become corrupted, with politicians and bureaucrats quickly succumbing to the temptation to pick winners and losers in industries and fall sway to corrupting foreign influences and foreign policy considerations.
For example, in the posted news story above there were visas available for 'skilled' workers and I'd bet the definition of 'skilled' is worth big bucks to some industries, which politicians can now shake down for funds. Similarly, before Sept 11th, Saudi citizens enjoyed a program called: "Visa Express," an unprecedented program that literally delegated visa processing to travel agents to speed it up. The basic legal requirement that applicants provide accurate and persuasive information was ignored.
This program existed because of intensive bipartisan Saudi lobbying of US officials and generous financial gifts to presidential libraries, speaking fees, and think tank salaries.
Another example of proposed government expansion:
NYC Mayor Advocates U.S. Worker Database
5/24/06 Associated Press
Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg thrust himself into the national immigration debate Wednesday, advocating a plan that would establish a DNA or fingerprint database to track and verify all legal U.S. workers.
Donna Lieberman, director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said a DNA or fingerprint database
"doesn't sound like the free society we think we're living in."
"It will inevitably be used not just by employers but by law enforcement, government agencies, schools and all over the private sector," she said.
She is right.
This corrupting influence and abuse of power by government, injecting society with immorality and staining our culture, should be fought at every turn. Arguably, terrorism checks and protections should be the only immigration related power allowed to government and even this should be closely monitored for signs of abuse.
So, imagine my surprise to see this headline from one of the leaders of the conservative movement:
"Immigration" Bill Is an Attempt to Expand the Federal Gov't and Kill Conservatism
5/26/06 Rush Limbaugh
Make no mistake, folks, this is the expansion of government on parade. This is the importation of new people in poverty necessitating an expansion of the safety net and expansion in tax rates to pay for it. Another transfer of wealth and an expansion of government in order to accomplish all this, thereby cementing even more dependency among these new arrivals.
Of course, precisely the opposite is true! As aforementioned, the more immigration is regulated and restricted the more government expansion is necessary and needed.
Increases in immigration no more result in poverty than an increases in college graduates would. Both groups start with empty pockets or in debt and then gradually work their way to prosperity. The same process occurs with folks working at minimum wage jobs, which serve most often as stepping stones to higher paying positions. It may be true that American born college graduates, statistically speaking, will become wealthier in the long term, although the reasons for this are debatable, but this doesn't take away from the overall picture of immigrant advancement. We know this to be true because all of us, the legals, came from immigrants!
Rush has, correctly, argued against attempts to raise the minimum wage and has denounced onerous legislations such as the Family Medical Leave Act, which also places burdens on employers. In addition, he has argued in favor of free trade, noting its clear benefits and recognizing expansive government is necessary to restrict it. The arguments for free trade and immigration run parallel, in fact, it would be accurate to categorize immigration as a free trade issue. Little wonder then that the vocal Buchananite wing of the Republican party supports neither, but it is certainly surprising to hear people like Rush and Thomas Sowell repeatedly contradict themselves on this issue and even, in Limbaugh's case, stoop to bashing big business!
It's about big business! It's about big business, and everybody that has any experience at all, the objective of any business is to keep costs down as much as practicable, and you know what it's like trying to get a raise. Every trick in the book will be tried on you to say you don't deserve it or, "You don't like the job? We can find somebody else to do it for you."
In my humble opinion, the worst part about this 'Conservative' outrage over immigration is the apparent lack of understanding over what it fundamentally represents. The United States is the freest and hence the most prosperous and moral nation in the history of the world. Despite my constant denunciations of our present government, I can at least maintain the proper perspective that we have it better than anywhere else. Our government is smaller and our citizens more vigilant in their protection of liberty than anywhere else on earth.
It is for these reasons we have had wave after wave of immigrants from all over the world flocking to the United States. People vote with their feet, fleeing socialism, collectivism, tyranny, corruption, and all other forms of government imposed wackosim :), and seek refuge in capitalism, freedom, and Conservatism/Libertarianism. The more Conservative/Libertarian a country's policies, the greater its attractiveness for prospective immigrants!
Immigrants do not come here for higher minimum wages, universal health care, worker protections, higher taxes, more regulation, more lawsuits, or bigger government. Whether they know it or not at the time, people flee those policies, leaving them behind in their home countries. Why do many in the Conservative movement apparently not have pride in the reasons for which these immigration 'problems' exists?
The Statue of Liberty says:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
Unfortunately, this engraving is often misinterpreted. While, it is true that many immigrants, especially 'illegals' are poor when they arrive, 'wretched refuse' is hardly an apt description. These immigrants are brave, they are bold, they are courageous, they are risk taking, they are imaginative, they are actively self interested in making better lives for themselves and their families. And what became of those timid souls that stayed in their home countries and rotted in poverty, enduring socialism under the worst type of criminals known to man? What choice would you make?
There are those that stayed and those who patiently waited years and years in line for a legal visa. Then, there are those, the 'illegals', who said, "to heck with the law, to heck with my criminal government, to heck with the Federal Government of the United States, I'm going to get mine, I'm going to improve my lot, I'm going to the USA, and I'm not waiting." What choice would you make?
This dogged self interest, along with individual freedom, the equal application of law, and a 'don't
tread on me attitude', is what has kept the United States relatively free of government
domination and tyranny. As author Ayn Rand
said:
America's
abundance was not created by public sacrifices to "the common good," but by the productive
genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private
fortunes.
Some believe not 'doing something' about the 'illegals' is a slap in the face to the legal immigrants who dutifully obeyed the law. I don't make this distinction. If anything, it is the 'illegals' who have demonstrated their distaste for authority, their distrust of government, and their disdain for immoral laws. I trust they will make good Americans.
You see, as previously stated, I don't believe there are many laws of government that deserve our respect or obedience. A law should be obeyed not because it is 'a law', but because it is morally correct. It's hard to argue that restrictions on the movement of free persons and limits on self determination meet any moral standard.
Immigration is what has made our country great and the desire to immigrate here is reflective of our greatness. For over 200 years, various domestic elements have respectively favored restricting immigration on all groups or various selected groups such as Irish, Poles, Italians, Jews, Blacks, and Chinese. The dire predictions and sometimes accompanying prejudices towards these groups turned out to be dead wrong. There is no reason to think the recent surge of Hispanic Americans will differ in any significant way from their historical brethren. And, I do not mean to imply anti-immigration forces are intolerant or racist or any of the other accusatory rotgut ginned up by the left. They are well intentioned, but simply mistaken and ignorant. Some 'Conservatives' oppose immigration based on the notion that these persons will become Democratic voters. In time, I'd say the opposite will surely be the truth, for those seeking liberty will vote for what they have sought. Whether the Republican party will still represent what we are looking for is the more pertinent question...
Perhaps these 'Conservatives' would do best to remember the concluding words from Ronald Reagan's 1988 farewell speech:
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated
what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than
oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a
city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls,
the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.
That's how I saw it and see it still.
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and
happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that; after 200 years, two centuries, she still
stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And
she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all
the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
How to become an illegal (if you really want to go the 'official' way).
See also 'Voting With Your Feet'
See also 'Secondary Problems of Socialism'
Earlier Posts:
(posted 3/8/05)
Far-Flung Ethiopian Emigres Begin to Rediscover Their Home as the Business Climate Blossoms
3/6/05 Washington Post on Ethiopian immigrants who often arrived in the US with little or nothing, but because of the structure of our political system are able to become successful: Last year, Ethiopians in the United States sent home $6 million in remittance money, eclipsing coffee, the country's biggest export, which earned $4 million. <..> At present, there are more Ethiopian doctors living in the United States than in Ethiopia. Corroborating my view that socialism/corruption, two sides of the same coin, are the cause of poverty in Africa, the Ethiopians that return home are attempting to bring the American principles that foster prosperity and wealth creation to Ethiopia: Government officials said at least 1,500 emigres had returned to Addis and that they were launching an aggressive campaign to woo more, offering tax breaks on importing belongings and flexible land ownership laws. (emphasis mine) Additionally, it is always puzzling to hear the constant clamor for government assistance for the poor who already live in the USA, yet since our founding penniless immigrants have consistently succeeded.
Posted 9/17/05
Federation for American Immigration Reform
An interesting article I accidentally stumbled across (btw, I don't agree with their platform):
For example, more African
scientists and engineers work in the United States than in all of Africa—leaving the entire
African continent of 600 million people with just 20,000 engineers and scientists.1 The
United Nations calls brain drain one of the greatest threats to economic development in sub-Saharan
Africa.2
A few years ago, Zambia
had 1,600 doctors; now only 400 practice there. More than 21,000 doctors from Nigeria are working in
the United States while Nigeria suffers a shortage of health care workers. Sixty percent of
Ghana’s doctors left during the 1980s, leaving the health care system in critical condition.3,
4
There reportedly
are more Sierra Leonean doctors living in the Chicago area than in all of Sierra Leone.6 Seventy
percent of graduates from the country’s College of Medicine and Allied Science have left the
country.5
More than half of all
Ghanaian medical doctors have emigrated.9 One third of Ethiopa’s general practitioners
left the country between 1988 and 2001.
While twelve percent of
Mexico’s labor force lives in the United States, 30 percent of Mexicans with PhDs live in the
United States. Mexico reports that 79 percent of the science students it funds to study abroad never
return to work in Mexico.13
75 percent of Jamaicans
with a higher education live in the U.S.14
Four of out every ten
Indian software developers are now working in the U.S. In 1998, the renowned Indian Institute of
Technology sent 30 percent of all of its graduates to the United States, including 80 percent of its
computer science graduates.19
Why do all these people come to the United States? Why is the United States the most powerful nation in the history of the world? Liberals have trouble answering these questions, because people don't come here for the policies they advocate (higher minimum wage, universal health care, higher taxes, more regulation, more lawsuits, bigger government), in fact, people come here to flee those policies elsewhere. The answer to these questions can be found here: 'The Founding of the United States and the Constitutionality of Charity'.
Posted 10/6/06 (By Travis)
Border Security, Job Market Leave Farms Short of Workers / Growers Frustrated by Delay in Agriculture Legislation
10/4/06 Washington Post
P-R Farms, like farms up and down California and across the nation, does not have enough workers to process its fruit.
"We're short by 50 to 75 people," said Pat Ricchiuti, 59, the third-generation owner of P-R Farms. "For the last three weeks, we're running at 50 percent capacity. We saw this coming a couple years ago, but last year and this year has really been terrible."
The problem is now reaching crisis proportions, food growers say. As much as 30 percent of the year's pear crop was lost in Northern California, growers estimate. More than one-third of Florida's Valencia orange crop went unharvested, Regelbrugge said. In New York, apples are rotting on the trees, because workers who once picked the fruit have fled frequent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, said Maureen Marshall, an apple grower in Elba.
Big Government raising the price of our food and hurting our farmers. Thanks guys!
Further Articles:
(GREAT READ!)
5/23/06 LA Times Tim Cavanaugh (Reason editor)
But here's one good idea you won't hear about. Let's allow the North American Free Trade Agreement to live up to its promise and permit citizens of Canada, the United States and Mexico to move and work freely among the three countries.
If that sounds crazy, it's only because a century's worth of regulatory corrosion and toxic bureaucracy have made us forget that this is how things used to be. For most of American history, immigration was either open or so lightly regulated that the United States was effectively open to everybody.
The War on Immigration Will Fail
5/10/06 Misses Institute
What do these three examples have to do with illegal immigration? They are just examples of what we might expect to get if we demand that government do something about this or any other problem. Do we think for a moment that the new war on illegal immigration will be any more successful than any of these previous programs? The market will overcome any obstacle government can place in its path. As long as there is a market for anything, the demand will be met.
Why
Ruin the World's Best Anti-Poverty Program?
5/25/06 Tech Central Station
Why do economists think more favorably of immigration than the general public? I think there are three reasons: theory, empirical research, and ethics.
Growers fear worst in immigration reform debate
5/29/06 Chicago Tribune
Then federal authorities found that three-fourths of the workers were illegal immigrants, and that left the peak harvest in ruins.
Hallstrom remedied her 2001 crisis by hiring farm workers through the federal government's temporary guest agricultural worker program. The program is shunned by most farmers because it's too costly and its bureaucratic delays threaten crops, she said.
Mexico Works to Bar Non-Natives From Jobs
5/21/06 Associated Press
The foreign-born make up just 0.5 percent of Mexico's 105 million people, compared with about 13 percent in the United States, which has a total population of 299 million. Mexico grants citizenship to about 3,000 people a year, compared to the U.S. average of almost a half million.
Speaking of the hundreds of thousands of Central Americans who enter Mexico each year, chauffeur Arnulfo Hernandez, 57, said: "The ones who want to reach the United States, we should send them up there. But the ones who want to stay here, it's usually for bad reasons, because they want to steal or do drugs."
Criminalizing Economic Self-Interest
5/16/06 Tech Central Station
But how can the government make thousands and thousands of small businesses feel certain that they would get caught except by actually monitoring, on a virtually day by day basis, their hiring practices? And how much bigger would our already big government have to get in order to achieve that ability to micro-manage all the independent businesses that use illegal immigrants as laborers? And who would pay for this new army of bureaucrats, but the American people themselves?
<.>
Should this surprise us? Considering the history of legislative attempts to regulate trade and commerce, no it should not. There are some things that law can do; but it can never be able to make people act against their economic self-interest. And every time that the law has been used for this purpose, not only does it fail -- it does much worse, it backfires. The French National Assembly during the French Revolution tried to control the price of bread; but the result was less bread available at an even higher price. Similarly, the attempt to raise the wages for American labor by passing laws criminalizing the hiring of illegal laborers will end not in higher wages for Americans, but in lower wages for illegals, thereby creating a bigger gap between what the wages at which illegals are willing to work and the wages at which Americans are willing to work. This was not the intent of the Georgia legislature; but then the French National Assembly didn't mean to raise the price of bread, either.
Bordering on Defeat: Immigrant bashing is for losers
6/23/04 Stephan Moore
In some ways the politics of immigration is similar to the politics of free trade. In some local markets with dying industries and lost jobs, protectionism is a political winner. At the statewide level, and much more clearly at the national level, free trade is a political necessity--nationwide, the consumer benefits trump the localized losses. Moreover, anti-immigration, anti-trade candidates expose themselves as fearful of the future and fearful of America's ability to compete and win. These are unattractive traits to voters.
17 Chinese Restaurants Raided in Mich
6/10/05 Associated Press
"It cost them X number of dollars to come to this country and they're trying to work off that debt," Schram said. ``It's some sort of modern version of indentured servants,'' Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman said.
What
Would Happen if no Mexican Workers Crossed the Border
4/1/06 Robert Barnstone
Here is a basic question. If we could wave a magic wand and in a short time every illegal worker returned to his native county, would we be richer or poorer? The answer is substantially poorer. In fact it would trigger an economic crisis that could well shatter our economy.
Migra raid tears parents from kids
8/6/05 Workers World
Undocumented immigrant workers contribute billions in profits to the U.S. capitalist economy. But they face what can only be described as state terror, as this news item shows.
La Migra—the despised immigration police—raided a poultry factory in Arka delphia, Ark., on July 28. The agents arrested 119 workers and dragged them off to face deportation. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid left no time for the parents of about 30 children to call and make arrangements for their care. Kids as young as 3 months old were left behind after the police siege was over.
Meeting Danger Well South of the Border / Central American Migrants Brave a Risky Trek
7/8/06 Washington Post Added to 'Amnesty From Government'
Miller did not always live comfortably. His father, who immigrated from Russia, stitched suits in a New York factory, and his mother worked as a clerk in an insurance company. Now, however, he savors the rewards of heading a company that sells 600,000 helmets a year and pulls in nearly $100 million in revenue.
"I live the American life," he said.
Story: An immigrant on the scene told 11 News they had arrived at the house on Monday evening after paying $2,000 each to be brought to the U.S. from Mexico.
Posted 2/26/08 (By Travis)
Study
finds immigrants commit less California crime
Reuters
on Yahoo ^ | 2/26/08 | Duncan Martell
People born outside the United States make up about 35 percent of California's adult population but account for about 17 percent of the adult prison population, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California showed.
According to the report's authors the findings suggest that long-standing fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified. The report also noted that U.S.-born adult men are incarcerated at a rate more than 2 1/2 times greater than that of foreign-born men.
"Our research indicates that limiting immigration, requiring higher educational levels to obtain visas, or spending more money to increase penalties against criminal immigrants will have little impact on public safety," said Kristin Butcher, co-author of the report and associate professor of economics at Wellesley College.
The study did not differentiate between documented immigrants and illegal immigrants.
Posted 5/20/08 ( by Travis)
Immigration
Raid Jars a Small Town
Washington
Post Online ^ | Sunday, May 18, 2008 | Spencer S. Hsu
"I like my job. I like my work. I like it here in Iowa," said Escobedo, 38, an illegal immigrant from Yescas, Mexico, who has raised his three children for 11 years in Postville. "Are they mad because I'm working?"
..the sudden incarceration of more than 10 percent of the town's population of 2,300 "is like a natural disaster -- only this one is manmade.
Rounding up of families, mass deportations, separations of children from their parents is a step on the road to a police state and should abhor, rather than excite conservatives.