Do you ever get the urge to shout "Oh no! Not another teen movie!" when you see a commercial promoting the latest teen B-movie? Or how about "Oh no! Not another reality show!" Well, you're about to say "Oh no! Not another political post!"
Frankly, I'm the same way. As soon as the election's over, I'm usually just about ready to tune out anything related to politics and let Washington do its job of screwing up America... See no evil, hear no evil. Even though I once contemplated voting for Obama, I couldn't help but feel a strange defeat when he won the election. Instead of being a pessimist, I figured I should look more into the issues and see exactly where Obama stands and maybe try to find some understanding in his positions.
This will probably be the first of several posts in the foreseeable future that will address social issues. It would be far too difficult to tackle different issues and discuss them at length in one blog so I figured I would address them separately. Starting with immigration.
As I write this post, I keep myself in check and remind myself constantly that I have friends out there that may or may not be bothered by about I'm about to write. Last time I checked, this was still America and we still have freedom of speech. Just don't take it personally (unless you're one of them).
I have no qualms about saying that I detest illegal immigrants. Let me explain why. I have serious issues with people that take advantage of the government (whether you're legal or illegal). It's highly likely that illegal people depend more on the government than legal people do. Why? Probably because they can't get a job, a decent one at least. You're required to show proof that you're legal to work. Sadly, there's tons of people out there who will hire illegal people to save money. I have issues with people that smuggle themselves into the country to take advantage of what's not theirs. I have serious issues with people that overstay their welcome and take advantage of what's not theirs. I have serious issues with people that take advantage of what's not theirs and send them home to Mexico and other South America countries to share what's not theirs in the first place. See the pattern?
In the past, illegal immigrants were entitled to rights as protected under immigration laws (my response: #%$!). They were also given equal medical care. They were not turned away at doctor's offices and hospitals just because they weren't a citizen. Citizen or not, they are human beings. Guess that outweighed everything. Who knew? The funny thing is, our Bill of Rights was created to preserve the social balance of America. The rights were reserved for citizens. Somehow along the lines, it got expanded to whoever else just happened to be occupying space in the country. Why? Because they're protected under immigration laws (again: #%$!).
I decided to look into what Obama had to say about immigration.
1. Obama wants to create secure borders. He will add additional personnel, infrastructure and technology at the border and at our ports of entry.
Score one point. I agree with extra security. However, if the money spent on extra security doesn't balance out with the success rate of keeping immigrants out then what's the point of having them? We're better off just handing the money to the immigrants. We should try our best to maintain our borders and do what we can to prevent illegal people from finding a way in. However, one of the major problems we have right now is that the immigrants are claiming to be tourists. They enter the country with a temporary visa and they overstay their welcome. What are you going to do about that? Here's my advice. For those who claim to be tourists and temporary visitors, stick a needle in them and inject a tracking device. When their time's up, authorities will come a-runnin' and boot them back home.
2. Obama wants to fix the "dysfunctional" immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.
Lose one major point. This counts as two points. Increasing legal immigrants to meet job demands? At a time like this? I lost my job! Almost 4,000 people just lost their job at UTMB in Galveston. Thousands others are going to be laid off in the next few months by various companies. AMERICAN people! And Obama wants to let them "help" us with employee shortages? Oh, that's right. Illegal immigrants will do anything to earn cash to send back home so they'll work for far less money than American people deserve to be paid. Pitiful. As for keeping families together - just send them ALL back to Mexico. If they wanna stay together, they've got to go. I don't think the whole family should be allowed to stay in America on the basis that one of theirs is a citizen. No offense to my friends, but in the Mexican culture - they tend to have lots and lots of babies. Babies they can't afford. Babies they put on Medicaid. Babies they feed with our American tax money, not their own money. Just because one child makes it into America doesn't mean that his tons of brothers and sisters should be allowed to as well.
3. Obama wants to remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
Score one point, sort of. More like half a point. While this is a good idea, how does he plan to do that anyway? It isn't 100% foolproof. Employers will still hire undocumented workers and they'll find ways to hide it from the system. Why? Because they're cheap. Paying cash under the table is one way to hide the workers from the system. If he comes up with an airtight plan and implements it well, I'll be impressed.
4. Obama will support a system that will allow undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.
Score one point. My question is - how big of a fine? If it's a teeny tiny fine, I won't be happy. Put the cash earned from fines back into our economy. Learning English is a must. I'm tired of having to cater to immigrants who don't know English. Employers are seeking employees that are bilingual so they can cater to a wider range of customers. Fine - I understand the business side of it. You'd want to make as much money as possible. But it's not fair to us that aren't bilingual, especially in my field. We can't get a particular job we would otherwise be qualified for because it's bilingual-required... and for what? To cater to illegal immigrants who don't deserve our services in the first place? Especially legal services.
5. Obama believes that America needs to work with Mexico and promote their economic development to reduce immigration.
Score one point. Good idea. But it isn't our problem. OK, technically - it is sort of our problem because their poor economy just encourages their people to come in and take advantage of ours. Which is doing pretty crappy right now anyway. We just need to take extreme measures to keep them out. My fear is this: We'll see a repeat of Iraq. Not the war but the dependency on America. If we had just left things alone in Iraq, we wouldn't be dealing with horrible situations over there right now. If anything, we left Iraq in a bigger mess than it was before. They're dependent on us now to complete what we started and help them get up on their feet. If we help Mexico improve their economy, they may become too dependent on us and try to hang on longer than they should. Instead of being rid of them, we'd still be stuck with them. PLUS, my opinion is: What business do we have to "help"another country with their economic problems? Look at our own!!!!
I want to stress that I have nothing against Mexicans in general. In fact, I have a very close friend who's Mexican. I love her and her family. My beef is with the illegal immigrants (whether you're European, Asian or whatever else - but living in Texas, we're dealing with a huge immigration problem with people from Mexico). I do not think it's fair to all the legal immigrants who entered the country legally, who worked hard to become citizens, have jobs, pay taxes and live their lives as Americans just to have the illegal ones to come along and use their tax money.
So far, it seems that Obama has scored some points with me regarding immigration. But we have all learned that politicians don't always do what they promised. So whether this is a false promise or not, we'll see.
Be on the look out for other posts analyzing social issues and Obama's stand on them. Let's see how many points Obama has with me at the end....
Score so far: 1.5 points out of possible 6
Off to a shaky start - but at least he has some points.
Friday, November 14, 2008
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2 comments:
I have serious issues with people that overstay their welcome and take advantage of what's not theirs. I have serious issues with people that take advantage of what's not theirs and send them home to Mexico and other South America countries to share what's not theirs in the first place.
I find this very cynical despite the long history between U.S. and Mexico. Your opinion is debatable and may come across as arrogant and righteousness. But hey that's your freedom of speech.
In the past, illegal immigrants were entitled to rights as protected under immigration laws (my response: #%$!). They were also given equal medical care. They were not turned away at doctor's offices and hospitals just because they weren't a citizen. Citizen or not, they are human beings. Guess that outweighed everything. Who knew? The funny thing is, our Bill of Rights was created to preserve the social balance of America. The rights were reserved for citizens. Somehow along the lines, it got expanded to whoever else just happened to be occupying space in the country. Why? Because they're protected under immigration laws (again: #%$!).
Hmm... it sounds like you have no concerns for illegal immigrant’s well beings. Granted, social balance is important, but when it comes to life or death shouldn't that outweigh regardless of any policy? Whatever happens to cherish all life or shall i say the abstract of life? :-P
2. Obama wants to fix the "dysfunctional" immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.
The key issue here is to identify as many upstanding illegal immigrants and get them into the system by paying taxes like every other citizen. Then government would have better control by sending them back in the line to get citizenship. Government isn’t reaping any benefits if they continue to elude us.
The bigger picture is how do we tackle these issues and use it to our advantage. We pushed back god knows how long and so far we haven't made much progress. People will always find their way back and continue to waste our countless tax dollars. The smart thing is to turn it into some kind of investment opportunity. The strategy is the more people in our system, the more taxes are being paid. Hence more government jobs created, build better infrastructure and whatever improvement that needs to be done. Could be a win win situation.
my opinion is: What business do we have to "help"another country with their economic problems? Look at our own!!!!
It isn't as easy as you think it is. In fact, your statement can be used against you. What business does government have to "help" you with any of your economic problems? Our economy is intertwined with different countries and we're all dependent on each other whether you like it or not. Only difference is how each country manage and distribute their money. The fact is we live in a very complex society that can no longer be viewed as black or white.
My beef is with the illegal immigrants (whether you're European, Asian or whatever else - but living in Texas, we're dealing with a huge immigration problem with people from Mexico).
I think the question is what keeps them illegal rather than be a legal immigrant. Can't really solve anything if you don't know where the problem is.
Anyway, interesting topic... thought I share my 2 cents. :-)
Long
I appreciate your comments and your insight on the issue. I'm excited to think I may have started a worthwhile and meaningful debate.
I could have been more concise with my wording. When I meant by people who take advantage of what's not theirs - I'm talking about people who have chosen to live here illegaly for many years. With the recent Immigration Reform, President Bush gave them a chance to become legal. He urged them to begin the process of legalization. There are still millions out there in Texas and across America that just chooses to hide in the shadows. Whatever their reasons are - I just feel that they shouldn't be allowed here if they don't want to become legal.
To further clarify things, I do not mean to disregard the value of life. Regardless of who you are and where you come from, everyone should be entitled to health care. But I am bothered by those who will take advantage of the legal system and claim that their rights are being violated (fair and speedy trial, for one) - not under the Bill of Rights but under the Immigration laws. I am bothered by the people who take advantage of the clogged immigration system to stay in America longer. Under Immigration laws, they are entitled to challenge any deportation issues. They can claim that they were wrongfully singled out for deportation. They can claim asylum from another country. They can claim that the decision-making process in their deportation case was flawed. The list goes on. In the legal system, if their lawyers can find one teeny tiny loophole, the illegal immigrants could be staying put. Think of it this way - there are people on Death Row that keep appealing their case just to extend their life. I can't tell you how many people have failed to win their appeals - a majority of them ended up being excuted anyways. All they accomplished was living longer and costing the system more money to feed them, provide health care and provide them legal services. They appealed just because they could. The same goes for immigrants. They know they'll be deported in the end - they'll just appeal their cases to stay longer.
Finally, I definitely agree with getting as many people in the system so that they will be required to pay taxes and so forth. More people in the system = more tax money = relief on our economy. I get it. But at what point do we say enough is enough? We don't want our country to be overcrowded. We should preserve some type of balance here. We have enough babies being born to match the number of people that die each day. America isn't in danger of extinction. At what point do we stop allowing people to become citizens? Stopping it alltogether is unheard of but we must take measures to reduce the number of immigrants because we have more than enough natural-born Americans.
I don't know much about Mexico and our foreign trade policy with them - but I would have to assume that we've helped them far more than they've ever helped us. I'm all for being a good citizen country and helping others but again - sometimes enough is just enough.
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