Major plaudits for Sen. Graham for putting principle and good policy over petty politics. While this immigration bill -- which has been disensgenously lbaled as amnesy -- isn't perfect, it's a strong first step towards recognizing the role illegal imigrants play in our economy and continuing America's place as a melting pot ofdipsare culutures.
As our population ages, we will need younger workers to fill the gaps in our workforce. Illegal immigrants provide the labor that is essential to keep America competitive in the global marketplace. If you stop the flow of aliens into America, the companies dependent on their labor will just move their operations to Mexico or invest abroad. The fallacious argument that illegals cost Americans jobs is akin to saying tariffs save jobs.
Look at Bush's 2002-2003 steel tariff that according to Gary Hufbauer and Ben Goodrich of the Institute for International Economics saved 3,500 steel jobs, but cost steel users between 12,000 and 43,000 jobs. Similarly, while illegal immigrants slightly decrease the wages of some American workers, they also lower the cost of goods and services, thus spurring growth in Aggregate Demand.
Incisive piece on this issue: http://www.slate.com/id/2168060
We are not talking about stoping the flow of immigrants into America we are talking about stopping the flow of people who break our laws to come here. Also under this amesty bill not only would people who apply under it be able to stay they would be able to bring their familes to this nation, This would most likely mean over a 100 million new immigrants coming to this country over 50 years, That is insanity and would cause in many parts of the United States a complete breakdown of health and educational services as we would be put under tremdous pressure to provide halth care for people who can't afford it which means much higher health care cost for native born Americans and for people who are in the country legally and who are naturalized citizens, Also you would have to intergrate these tens of millions of new people and that is going to cost big time tax dollars and much higher txes imposed on US citizens, and even then this would most likely create a very large underclass of ill educated, very poor immgrants who failed to intergrate into American soicty and become sucessful and would live of welfare handouts and resort to lives of crime and other devent activites to make it by. Not to mention all this would create and open up old wounds left over from the days of racial tension, For example racial and economic issues between African Americans and Hispanics in the South have risen in recent times. So to end this this amesty bill brings more negatives then it does positives and it with the issue of border sercurity addresed in this bill we most likely won't get it, As Senator Clarie McCaskill(D-MO) pointed out that border security was promised in 1986 and we didn't get it.
nice way to pull a stat out of your ass
