This.
We have a broken two-party system, and we're forced to "choose" between the lesser of two evils. We choose because of the rhetoric that one or the other spouts, but as soon as that shiny new face you elected gets to Washington, they get ground up in the cynical political machinery.
This is my take on immigration. And the liberals will hate it because it's not "caring" enough. The Republicans will hate it because it involves "amnesty" and "not cracking down on illegals". What I'm going to say will piss off everyone that had to suffer through the ineptitude of our immigration process - which, yes, I agree is a boondoggle (I have many clients that are immigrants and fight tooth and nail to get their green card so I feel I have a unique perspective on this). It's just not fair to them because they went through that, and now people don't? Well.....the consolation prize is that they don't have to write the check I propose below.
We're all immigrants, it's just a question of degree. Was it your grandfather, or great-grandfather, or great-great-great-grandfather that came into this country on a boat? My point is that at some time in the past our ancestors came from somewhere else (unless you are descended from Native Americans, in which case....that's life in the big city, see all the other posts about conquest for that one, sorry because you got a pretty raw deal). We're here, this is our country, we pay taxes, we have the right to live here, because we set up laws and boundaries to protect the nation we built. This is why we have the right to choose who comes in and who does not. We are a nation of law. Cheiron, it's ours - that's why we have the right to live here. We built it. I don't have the right to bust into your house in the dead of night and sleep on your couch and drink your beer and play your Xbox do I?
In addition, our country is spending trillions of dollars that we don't have in an attempt to get us out of this recession. Printing money we don't have to buy our way out of the recession. I don't want to argue what's being spent, or what it's being spent on, that's not what I'm getting at here. What I AM getting at is that our country needs money, and it can only get it by raising taxes (which illegals don't pay), or by cutting social services/entitlements and other spending (which will get everyone all in a lather because no one wants their pet pork project cut). And let's face it.....for the pols, it's all about the money. Because money = power.
So, you can solve this whole issue by legitimizing the people that are here illegally. Call a spade a spade! They're here....they're not leaving....you can't find them all or fight it effectively...and it's a political and populist nuclear bomb.
In my opinion, the government should create an amnesty program. Now, I don't mean "happy flowers, it's ok, you're in for free". Not at all. You're here illegally.....there are consequences.
We all have paid to be here since we were born in the form of taxes, and by following the laws of the land. So you came across a desert in the night and almost died of dehydration? Worked under a false identity that you stole or something? Worried about getting deported? Great, that's dedication. Doesn't give you a free pass though, it just means you wanted it, the hardships are, again, life in the big city. So you want to be legal after crawling over the border in the night?
Fine. You pay. Show up at the immigration office, fill out an application for a SS card, fingerprints, whatever is appropriate, pass a criminal background check, and write a check.
Set a dollar amount that makes some economic sense - $5000 - $10,000 - whatever, I don't know what it would be - but allow people to legally BUY their citizenship. They pay into the system, they get the benefits of citizenship (or even a green card, and then they apply for citizenship through the normal process, whatever). They then pay taxes....and social security....and so forth. They become productive members of American society and do not have to worry about jackboots in the night. Maybe they can finance their payment by payroll withholdings or something. Don't ask me all the mechanics....
If you want to come here from your third-world toilet, that's great. We welcome you if you play by our rules. Currently our rules are that you follow a certain immigration procedure, and we welcome you with open arms. If you do not, that means you do not respect the rule of law in our land....and if you don't respect the laws that keep our nation intact, then why the hell would we want you here? And why would YOU want to be here, if you don't respect what makes our country what it is? Really....if you go into someone's house and steal their property, how do you claim you respect that person or their property?
I think this levels the playing field significantly. Sure, people will gripe about "how does some poor soul come up with $5000" or the like. or "what about those people less fortunate than us" or whatever. To this I say.....tough shit. Life is filled with obstacles, and I daresay that someone resourceful enough to survive a late night border "incursion" in the desert while dodging armed people can find a way to come up with some money. Why not make people have some skin in the game?
By all estimates, there are somewhere between 12-20 million illegal immigrants in our country. Let's use 12 to be conservative.
12,000,000 x $2500 citizenship fee = $30 billion in revenue.
12,000,000 x $5000 citizenship fee = $60 billion in revenue.
Now go off of 20 million:
20,000,000 x $2500 = $50 billion
20,000,000 x $5000 = $100 billion
Then think about the money you save in enforcement. Who knows what that is. Then think about the increased tax revenues. If you have 20,000,000 people making $20,000 per year at a 10% nominal tax rate.....that's $40 billion per year in tax revenue. And so on.....really, think about the numbers. When you think about how it flows through the economy, you've got states getting income tax, you have the federal government getting income tax, you have Social Security getting funded at a higher level via payroll taxes, you have more people paying into the healthcare system which theoretically would lower premiums on insurance by creating a deeper pool of insured bodies to spread the actuarial risk around on. The list goes on.
Some will say it cheapens citizenship. I can't say I disagree. But does it cheapen it any more than all of these people camping out in our country and mooching off of everyone that pays taxes?
And then.....maybe it will help pay for the free health care we give out to illegals, or the insane budget deficit. Maybe it would defuse the powderkeg of anger over the subject, after all....money talks.
The funny thing, is that this will piss off a LOT of people. Maybe that's a good sign, if it pisses off all people equally, maybe it's the nasty-tasting medicine we need to take to get rid of the infection.
Oh....I don't know who said it, but whoever stated that we need a Guest Worker plan? It's called a work visa. We give them to people with skills we need in our economy.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1275.html
