May 20, 2007
And, Just In Case You Weren't Already Upset Enough...Part 2
Discussing the illegal immigrant tax issue highlighted in an earlier post, Mark Steyn - once again - says it better than anyone else:
I always thought the requirement in last year's bill was pretty sweet: You had to pay two out of three years' back taxes. Most legal Americans would love that deal: Pay any two years of tax and we'll give you the third for free!But the President obviously concluded that even this was insufficiently appealing. Which gets to the heart of the problem. Whenever folks use this "living in the shadows" line, they assume that these 12-20-30 million people all have a burning desire to move out of the shadows and live under the klieg lights of officialdom. But, in fact, if you wanted to construct the perfect arrangement for modern life, it would be to acquire:
a) just enough of an official identity to be able to function - open bank accounts, etc - and to access free education and health care; butb) not enough of an official identity to attract the attentions of the IRS and the other less bountiful agencies of the state.
The present "undocumented" network structures provide this. For these Z visas to "work" (in Washington terms), they have to be attractive enough to draw sufficient numbers out of "the shadows". Right now, "living in the shadows" is a pretty good deal. Somerset Maugham famously called Monte Carlo a sunny place full of shady people. Undocumented America is a shady place full of sunny people.
Instead of attempting to draw the undocumented out of the shadows, it might be fairer to allow the rest of us to "live in the shadows", too. My suggestion is that, on the day this bill comes into effect, all 300 million US citizens and legal residents should apply for a Z visa.
More Mark Steyn here.
The key to cutting back on illegal immigrants is to go after the companies that hire them.
No jobs, they don't come. Plus, there's fewer employers than there are immigrants.
So why doesn't this happen? Because the companies have money to buy off Congress. This is a direct result of a market that is unregulated.
So, wail all you want. While companies have piles of cash that they aren't paying to American workers, the immigrant problem isn't going to stop. Oh--and corporate taxes are the lowest they've been in decades. So the companies hiring the illegals aren't even helping to support the drain on schools, hospitals, etc. That's even more money to keep the spigot of low-cost labor open.
As for Americans not wanting these jobs? Maybe not at the rate they're offering. In which case Adam Smith says the price of labor should be increased until the demand is created. No, doesn't happen, because for a few million in bribes--er, campaign contribution, these companies can save billions in "labor costs."
So you see, Corporate America only wants a free market when it benefits them. When it doesn't, they spend whatever they need to get their way.
Remember: Bush's main goal is to enrich his corporate cronies, the rest of us be damned. From that aspect, his admin has been wildly successful.
Free market. Right.
Posted by: klaus at May 20, 2007 6:35 PM"The key to cutting back on illegal immigrants is to go after the companies that hire them.
No jobs, they don't come. Plus, there's fewer employers than there are immigrants."
It's a banner day. Klaus said something I agree with 100%.
P.S. Although we also need to build the southern wall that our weasely Congress approved in theory but not in the Appropriations Committee. The small section that was built has proven quite effective.
P.P.S. And it goes back to the simple truth that we do not need illegal immigration reform, we just need to enforce the laws already on our books.
Posted by: SusanD at May 20, 2007 9:15 PM