Replies

"And the BorderBots could, but are too busy arguing the expedience of broadsiding the waves because they think it'll save time and would rather mutiny to control the tiller on principle at the expense of capsizing the boat."

True, they could.

Also, we could all accept a 10% tax increase in order to balance the budget and start paying off the national debt.

But neither of those things is going to happen.

We seem to be down to the core, where any giving at all affects somebody's fundamental interests. Economically speaking, giving the BorderBots what they want will effectively mean a pretty steep tax on labor-intensive business all across America.

Business never, ever, ever loses sight of the bottom line.
Never.
So we know that Business Republicans will not give an inch.
If the Republicans really do close the border and start heavy enforcement of the immgration laws against business, the Business Republicans will immediately change allegiances and direct their money to the Democrats, who will hike their taxes some and impose regulations they won't like, but who will overall cost them less than hiring legal labor with. Business is about making money and keeping it. That means hiring illegal aliens and making sure that flow stays open. There's nothing personal about it. It's a purely economic decision. If the Republicans start squeezing them the Business Roundtable will shift their alliances to the Democrats rapidly. It's just a matter of changing who gets the check.

And we know that BorderBots are personally emotionally committed to the issue.

Looks like they're going to cancel each other out in Congress, so we'll get a legal status quo, but not a political one this year, unfortunately.

Also, we could all accept a 10% tax increase in order to balance the budget and start paying off the national debt.

Wrong. A 10% tax increase would not increase tax revenues as it would destroy economic growth. But congress would anticipate a greater than 10% tax increase (because it would project continued economic growth and the higher tax rates on the growth adjusted income figures) and would accordingly increase spending even more. Therefore, the tax increase would kill growth, lead to unemployment and inflation, and the deficits would increase.

Also, we could all accept a 10% tax increase in order to balance the budget and start paying off the national debt.

I wouldn't accept it. Every time they put together a scam like this, they just spend it all. Just like the increases in the Eighties to cover social security and the Boomer retirement. Scam! They spent it all and wrote IOU's that we have to pay back with borrowed money. That's why the Boomer retirement is a problem. We paid to fix it then. But they just spent it and now they want to make it worse with a flood of low-wage immigrants with chain migration rights for their families.

If the Republicans really do close the border and start heavy enforcement of the immgration laws against business, the Business Republicans will immediately change allegiances and direct their money to the Democrats, who will hike their taxes some and impose regulations they won't like, but who will overall cost them less than hiring legal labor with.

I would agree except that the GOP has more to offer than the tax cuts. Tort reform, another possible pro-business seat on the Court as well as all the lower federal courts. Deregulation across the board. Environmental rollbacks.

Beyond that, they've spent a lot of money buying Republicans and they don't want to have to buy a whole new set of legislators. They regularly complain about having to keep buying congressmen. Beyond that, they don't like the risk of change. They crave stability.