The Cost of Doing Business (Illegal Immigration, Arnold, Bush, and Hillary)

Chicago Tribune ^ | 5/11/2005 | Clarence Page

[nj26]

Leave it to the nation's most famous immigrant governor to trip himself up over the issue of immigration.

In a recent policy speech to newspaper publishers gathered in San Francisco, Arnold Schwarzenegger prescribed an unintentionally inflammatory remedy for illegal immigration: "Close the borders. Close the borders in California and all across Mexico and the United States."

When the stuff later hit the fan, particularly in California's immigrant communities, Ahnuld clarified that he meant "secure the borders," a politically safe position these days for politicians as diverse as President Bush and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Yet if stopping illegals, whether at the border or in the workplace, is such a politically safe position, why can't Congress and the White House do more to secure the borders?

The answer seems to be a variation of what Pogo, the cartoon possum, famously said about meeting the enemy: We have met the open-borders crowd and they are us.

"This country has become hooked on cheap labor," Rep. Tom Tancredo said when Bill O'Reilly recently asked why Congress doesn't order the president to secure our borders. "A lot of pressure is put on individual congresspeople to not do anything about the borders for fear of impeding the flow of cheap labor."

Tancredo is on the right track, but I would go a step further: Employers--from factory owners to large-scale vegetable farmers to families seeking a nanny or a gardener--want the cheapest labor. The problem is that Americans are not hooked on cheap labor as much as they are devoted to cheap prices.

Illegal immigration is attractive because cheaper labor leads to cheaper prices for goods or services.

Bush and others refer, for example, to "jobs that Americans don't want." More Americans might want those jobs held by illegal immigrants if the jobs paid more.

[nj26]

Another liberal pointing out the problems caused by illegal immigration. The HRC '08 campaign must already be distributing talking points.

In my opinion, illegal immigration benefits a small elite of the country, at the expense of many working Americans (in terms of depressed wages, higher taxes, etc.) The question is whether our party wants to represent a small elite or the average working American.

And the risk is that Hillary runs in 2008 on a "close the border.. preserve a middle class America" platform. We need a candidate to make sure that our party runs on the CONSERVATIVE side of this issue.

[janetgreen]

We need a candidate to make sure that our party runs on the CONSERVATIVE side of this issue.

BTTT

[JesseJane]

~ping~

[HiJinx]

Missed one...

[television is just wrong]

Ms. hitlery has no plans of closing the border. She only has plans of talking about it to get votes.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Arnold made a tremendous difference!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1403023/posts
Billboard Causes Panic: Los Angeles Population Plummets 14% in Three Days

[A Human Events report about how the illegals fled LA]

If only Arnold could understand the pro-life plank. Convince me of that, as well as gun rights, and I'd want to amend the Constitution for him.

I might even hold my nose and support Tancredo in the primary, if no one like Rohrabacher or Hayworth or Alan Keyes steps forward. We need a genuine safe-borders-conservative: or bust!

[DumpsterDiver]

In my opinion, illegal immigration benefits a small elite of the country, at the expense of many working Americans (in terms of depressed wages, higher taxes, etc.)

I agree and I question the validity of the this assertion made in the article: "Illegal immigration is attractive because cheaper labor leads to cheaper prices for goods or services."

I'd like to see some proof to back this up. Are the prices really cheaper, or is the employer's bank account the only thing that's reaping the benefits of "cheap labor"? Do these "cheaper prices" in any way at all make up for the cost to taxpayers that illegal immigration begets (schools, health care, incarceration, etc.)?

How do people rationalize their behavior vis a vis illegal aliens, anyway? Is breaking the law acceptable to that many people as long as this "cheap labor" (allegedly) produces low prices? What of the ramifications of all this illegal behavior? The breaking of one law begets the breaking of the next law and on and on it goes. This is not going to come to any good end.

[Travis McGee]

U.S. Constitution Article 1 Section 8 Clause 15:

"The Congress shall have Power to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections

and repel Invasions;"

---

U.S. Constitution Article 4 Section 4:

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,

and shall protect each of them against Invasion;"

---

Invasion \In*va"sion\, n. [L. invasio: cf. F. invasion. See Invade.] [1913 Webster]

1. The act of invading; the act of encroaching upon the rights or possessions of another; encroachment; trespass. [1913 Webster]

[blackie]

Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!

Be Ever Vigilant!

Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!

[janetgreen]

Do these "cheaper prices" in any way at all make up for the cost to taxpayers that illegal immigration begets (schools, health care, incarceration, etc.)?

We both know the answer to that is NO! California taxpayers pay a high price for the so-called "cheaper prices", to the tune of BILLIONS every year, while big companies line their pockets.