lynxreign: (Angry Tiger)
lynxreign ([personal profile] lynxreign) wrote2008-07-31 09:19 am

They just don't know how to think

This morning on NPR there was a story about San Francisco. SF is a "sanctuary city". In other words, they don't automatically send every illegal they come across to the Feds for deportation. There was a protest and counter-protest there yesterday, described in the story teaser as a "clash", despite the protest being peaceful, though loud.

On the one side you had hundreds of people from immigrant's rights groups, on the other you had a dozen "Minutemen". You know about the "Minutemen", the idiots who have taken it upon themselves to "patrol" the border with Mexico.

The underlying cause for this appearance by the Asshats, sorry, the Minutemen, was a crime committed by an illegal immigrant. The immigrant in question is a minor who had already been arrested several times for violent crimes. The then committed a triple murder in a drive-by, using an AK-47. Horrible? Yes. Worthy of prison and/or deportation? Sure. However the underlying cause of this crime was not that he was an immigrant or an illegal immigrant.

It isn't as though no American citizen (of any race you care to choose) has ever committed murder. Surely no legal citizen has ever joined a gang or killed someone with a gun or performed a drive-by. I mean, if it weren't for the illegals, there'd be no gun violence or crime in the USA at all!

Using this crime as a prop for their xenophobic, racist crusade makes about as much sense as blaming the British for shipwrecks. It is a complete disconnect, but since so much of this country is completely irrational, they make the connection and get people to agree with them.

What if...

[identity profile] aliwings.livejournal.com 2008-07-31 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
If all the illegals were legalized and had to start paying taxes and businesses had to treat them fairly - what would the impact be on the economy?

I don't see how we "win" by making immigration so goddamn difficult. Hell, just to get our darling boy immigrated here cost $600 and 3-4 months of paperwork and that was completed befgore 9/11.(not discussing the rest of the adoption fees/process).

Re: What if...

[identity profile] lynxreign.livejournal.com 2008-07-31 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
The costs of good would go up because businesses would have to pay legal wages. But the tax revenues would also go up and would go up by more than just the increase in pay would bring because that'd be starting from zero.

Of course, you could reduce the burden on businesses by instituting national health care and pay for it with the increase in revenue from the newly taxed residents.