It is outrageous...I think there are some things that are going on in the world that must be dealt with. I am talking about the inevitable war that we are going to face with China. This is an attempt to insulate ourselves from the creeping threat of Communist China. They already control the Panama Canal. They just built the largest shipping port in the Phillipines with air strips and resources capable of landing and servicing long range bombers. They are pumping $200 billion into anti US governments in Central and South America in the name of economic development...ie regional influence. Castro and Chavez are just puppets. Venezuela has just bought 100000 ak47's to equip an army they are building (supposedly in response to a perceived threat of a US invasion of their country). We can ill afford to piss off our Northern and Southern neighbors to the extent that they start developing diplomatic and business relationships with China. Mexicans in the United States send $20 billion a year back to Mexico. This is as big a revenue generator for their economy as their entire oil industry. This is why immigration is such a touchy issue with Bush and Mexico right now and also explains his staunch support of a guest worker program. We had nuclear weapons pointed at our cities from Cuba at one time and I don't think we want to repeat that mistake. If a guest worker program of some sort is agreed upon, these people won't be working for a fraction of US wages. They will be paid the same as anyone else that does the job. They will also be paying taxes. I am not advocating wholesale immigration or naturalization of existing illegals. There is a line that has to be walked though and Mexico knows it. They aren't above using the threat of consorting with the enemy to their advantage. I think it is the responsibility of any administration to protect the rights of American workers first and foremost, but without some sort of radical change in thinking by our leaders, this is the road we are headed down. Competition will lead to eroded wages. With the amount of debt that our average family is carrying in the US, we could be in for some tough times ahead. Then there is the inflation that no one seems to be talking about. Once all the money is spent from the equity mortgages everyone seems to be taking out on their houses, the market could take a real nose dive. Bush just tightened the bankruptcy laws on consumer credit for this very reason. Not a pretty site. If the Dems get back in office, their tax rampage should be just icing on the cake. I think everyone subscribes to the utopian idea that if we let every one come over here and compete from overseas for American jobs that we will increase their standard of living to be on par with our own. What no one seems to get is that at the same time, we will significantly reduce our own, basically meeting them half way.
We can't buy Cuban cigars but go to Walmart and 3/4 of the goods there are from China...i still can't wrap my pea brain around that one.
I believe that America must guard its sovereignty in order to survive, not the other way around.