Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

"Unfortunately, the simple minded bloviating that dominates the debate in most quarters hardly bodes well for rational lawmaking.”

A comment fairly made about virtually any issue that attracts any public attention.  Pandering demagogues are a democracy’s price of admission.

I read Henninger this morning and was quite annoyed.  I thought I was reading a liberal MSM doppelganger.  I got out of it a ration of omission, distortion and misrepresntation.  No time to go into detail. 

What he and the WSJ want is lower real wages.  I guess if you have no sons working along side these chaps and foreign engineers (real engineer wages have declined) you can take their illegal cause.  Lower real wages, boys and girls, is not good for our indigenous lower classes.  It’s a supply and demand thing.

I agree with the Christian duty to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, etc.  But, I question them taking a job at the expense of a lower caste American. 

One question for Mr. H:  what was the Federal income tax rate in 1924?  Was it 1%?  What is it today?  Do you all like paying taxes?  That’s also at issue here. 

Rome did not decline and fall just because the Germans, Goths, and Huns invaded.  The Romans won almost very battle until 400 AD. Rome fell because the invaders brought their wives and children with them and destroyed Roman polity. That is happening in cities and towns across America. 

For Mr. H and WSJ, I guess lower real wages trumps American polity. Oh, I get it, now.

This is a great example of Crunchy Cons vs. the Mammonist Right.  Do we worship the lower costs of illegal labor (ignoring, of course, costs to our educational, health and legal systems) or do we take into account the effect of mass immigration on American culture.

Of course, we could just ignore the sea of Mexican flags in recent demonstrations or calls that “this land is their land.” I’m sure there’s no danger there.

Aside from the profits associated with low wages, what does the WSJ crowd of “conservatives” actually favor conserving?

I guess I ought to state up front that I support:

(1) Tripling or quadrupling the quota of immigrants from countries such as Mexico.  We obviously handle far more than the current quota.  Time to face facts and set it at a more reasonable level.

(2) Start a decent guest worker program.

(3) Jail people who hire illegal immigrants (10 days first offense, can be served on weekends, then 20 and 30 days for repeat offenders).  Who?  Whoever is responsible for the hiring decision, whether that is the owner, a manager, or somebody else.  Why jail time?  Because it will change behavior faster than hefty fines.

Why?  Because 90% of the people coming in are not a threat (being poor is not a threat; we have a history of massive immigration of poor foreigners), and we ought to recognize this.  But 10% of the guys coming over are a threat, and we need to make sure they don’t find a welcome mat when they get here.

/* Do we worship the lower costs of illegal labor (ignoring, of course, costs to our educational, health and legal systems) or do we take into account the effect of mass immigration on American culture.
*/

If the costs on our educational, health, and legal systems are too much, we can always make adjustments.  For instance, we can decide that naturalized citizens can’t get welfare for the first two years of their citizenship.

Max,
As to poor immigrants not being threats, Max, if you’re willing to pay the tax costs for me and my family, then you’ve got a point.

But your proposal does not address the issue at all.  According to the Robed Masters, we cannot keep the children of illegals (and the costs attached to them) out of our schools.  Nor would denying welfare benefits do anything about the inordinate amount of illegals in our jails.  Gee, imagine that, illegal immigrants not respecting laws.  Who’d have thunk it?  But I digress.

Finally, your proposal would not have anything to do with the use of emergency rooms for medical care, which has led to dozens of hospital closures.

Nor do you address the irredentist claims by this group of immigrants to large swaths of American territory.  I don’t think you ever heard large amounts of Irish, Italians or Cubans claiming a right to be here because it’s “their land.”

Bainbridge calls them “guest” workers, which is a completely false designation.

They’ll have three or six years here, then they’re supposed to go home. In those three or more years here, they’ll have U.S. citizen children, they’ll buy homes, they’ll start businesses, join community organizations, etc. etc.

So, when it’s time to send our “guests” home, guess what happens?

Those same forces that support illegal immigration now will support keeping our “guests” here.

In fact, I can practically hear Teddy Kennedy proposing his Guest Worker Status Adjustment Act of 2010 right now.

So, Bainbridge’s complete article has just collapsed into so many pixels.

Also, there’s the small matter that 58% of Mexicans think the U.S. southwest - including Westwood - rightfully belongs to Mexico. You just saw the fringe manifestation of that in the signs proclaiming this to be their “homeland”.

If you just bring people here to work, expect that to get even worse: our “guest” workers will join the current marchers to create even larger marches.

There’s also the small matter of Mexico meddling in our laws. Search my site ( lonewacko.com ) for much more on that.

A “guest” worker program will give Mexico even more political power inside the U.S. They have a lot, as a little research will show.

They might have even been involved in some of those marches; the Georgia march was organized by a former Mexican consul.

For those reasons and more, the “guest” worker plan is almost as immoral as the illegal immigration supported by various “humanitarian” groups and by Cardinal Mahoney. The only moral solution is to enforce our immigration laws, not to invent new laws which will be worked around.

Summary: the “guest” worker plan is not just unworkable, it’s insane.

Why is that so many conservatives are willing to treat the economic impact of immigrants as a zero sum game?  Short term there are always impacts of massive immigration.  Long term if the citizenry grows by 10-20%, the number of goods produced will have to grow 10-20%. 

Yes, we are losing the middle class in this country.  Anyone who has looked at the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s reports can see the evaporating middle class.  This has been occuring over a 30-year trend.  There is a cause for this, but it isn’t immigration.

I would like to see the starving poor at our gates -there are none -I would also like to see the oppressed running from evil dictatorships -there are none -there are ways for those that are. This is about a better life. America has been generous especially to Spanish speaking people -no other group of immigrants in our history has been afforded the language accomodations as they. I would also like to see a guest worker program that works -there are none (France? uh uh) If you wish to argue more immigration fine, but a law person should know that to undermine justice and law, is to only encourage more of the same. Europeans are now diciding to visit and stay -$2000 is a bargain. What about the slap in the face to those honest enough to come through the front door?  Since law can now be ignored by politicians (and lawyers?)Many might feel it justice to not pay their taxes now, as they support illegals who haven’t paid their share and refuse to assimilate. If breaking law is okay then we can pick and choose - the road to anarchy is being greased by this mess. Maybe you missed the Mexican Flags and their implication for our sovereignity? What will you say if suddenly Iraq blows up and millions invade our border - guest workers?