Crimin-aliens? Or an opportunity for the US?

Estimates indicate that roughly 14 million illegal immigrants reside here in the United States. What is that,, a little less than the population of the entire state of Florida? Actually, we don't really know. It could be less,, but is probably more like 20 million, roughly the population of New York state! Has anybody done any kind of scientific study showing the economic impact of these illegals? I mean, it seems to depend on which special interest group you talk to--some say they are good for the economy, but most estimate that each person living illegally in this country drains a net $30,000 from this country annually. Personally, I don't know how they can make this claim, but under present circumstances, I wouldn't necessarily disagree with such a statistic. But I will say this, we, the legal citizenship and subsequent Government of this great nation are to blame--not the hundreds of illegals that pour across our borders every day.

You may be reaching the conclusion that I am an advocate of shutting down our borders. I really don't think that I am. You may assume that I want to deport all illegals using whatever means possible. I don't necessarily think so. Perhaps you are reaching the conclusion that I think we should enforce the immigration laws we already have established. I'm not even sure about that!

No,, what I really think we should do is leave it up to the undocumented aliens whether or not they stay here, and if they stay, whether or not they apply for citizenship legally. Or for that matter, let people from other countries decide for themselves whether or not to immigrate to our country in the first place. Yep, the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure that the United States should open up our borders all together! Bienvenido!

Before you discount me altogether, and indict me for utter lunacy, please allow me to explain. As I mentioned before, if in fact these illegals are a net loss to the economy, it's our own fault. It's our own fault because we, as a nation, have decided to provide those costly social services to these people. Let's stop those entitlements. To clarify, it's the right to services we give the illegals that ultimately "costs" us as a nation. This isn't rocket science, or even college-level economics. If we paid the illegals less than the value of their labor, and refused all services and every possible costly right allowed them under present circumstances, how could they be anything but a net gain?? They wouldn't..

A farmer employs a strapping young laborer from Mazatlan to pick 4 acres of strawberries a day at a wage of $3 dollars an hour. The legal but undocumented laborer works 14 hours a day, makes more money than he would in Mexico, and substantially increases the farmers profitability by harvesting his strawberries at a cheaper rate than any other method he could otherwise employ. In fact, the American farmer is now actually able to compete in the world strawberry market because his overhead is now comparable to that of foreign producers since they aren't subject to the same minimum wage laws that we are here in America! That farmer turns a greater profit, spends the money he makes in the marketplace, pays taxes on the increased income, re-invests in his own farm, etc., etc... The net gain is felt by many, and the positive effect on the GDP is exponential considering the multiplier effect. That's just one farmer, employing one laborer. This same effect would occur throughout all sectors of the economy as long as we don't pay these people minimum wage. Pay them whatever they are willing to work for--$4 an hour, $3,,, maybe even $2--whatever the market for "undocumented" labor pays.. It's still probably more than they would make in Mexico. In fact, they are probably unemployed in Mexico. And by the way, please don't make the argument that they will be taking Americans' jobs. What self-respecting American would want to work fourteen hours a day picking strawberries in the hot sun for $3 an hour? Even high school kids can do better than that at McDonald's. I don't really want to go into it, but that high school student working at McDonald's will be paid more than the current minimum wage because McDonald's will be able to pay them more due to decreased costs for their raw materials (burgers, fries, buns, mustard, etc.). I don't really want to go into the economics of it,, but it would happen. All capable, ambitious, English-speaking American citizens would be gainfully employed making more than minimum wage--I guarantee! Speaking English isn't necessary for working sweat shop textile mills in Indiana, weeding alfalfa fields in Oregon, or even automobile assembly lines in Michigan, but it is for every service related job in America. And believe me, GM, Ford, and even Chrysler might be able to produce a quality automobile at an affordable price if they aren't paying through the nose for unionized labor. All those "displaced laborers" in Detroit could quit paying big dues to line the pockets of union bosses, and get higher paying jobs elsewhere, more suited to their skill-set. Believe me, the automakers could afford to hire more white collar labor if cheap undocumented aliens were performing the menial repetitive factory-type labor. The likelihood is that we wouldn't even need a minimum wage, because companies could actually afford to pay their employees the value of their employees' marginal product (VMP) which is MORE than the current minimum wage. They will no longer be artificially paying more than the VMP of a non-English speaking laborer to produce their raw materials, or work in their factories. Americans that take advantage of their right to a high school education, or Americans that learn a specialized skill will certainly be paid more than the current minimum wage, because they have a skill set that other less qualified individuals don't have. So instead of paying everybody with up to and including a high school diploma the same across the board because of an artificially imposed minimum wage, employers could afford to pay their workforce based on their value. A high school graduate working in a T-Mobile call center should get paid more than the T-Mobile grounds maintenance worker that quit school at age 10, immigrated to America at age 11, and hasn't bothered learning English since. But under the present system, T-Mobile is forced to pay both workers exactly the same rate because of the minimum wage. Obviously, if employers could pay certain unskilled positions less, they could afford to pay their skilled laborers more. Plumbers, welders, mechanics, blue collar workers of all kinds would actually make more money than they do now, all with a LOWER rate of unemployment, because their employers could afford to do so! Believe it or not, the white collar professionals would make more money too! If you don't believe me, pick up any Econ 101 textbook and see what effect cheaper labor has on any given company...

Of course, all this "utopic" almost unbelievable hypothetical thinking is pending one critical aspect. We, as a nation, don't pay a dime out of our pockets for these undocumented aliens--not as individuals, and certainly not as a nation. We simply don't afford them access to medical care of any kind unless they pay full price for it. We don't give them a single red cent in our welfare program. We don't give citizenship to their babies born here. We don't pay for the education of their children in our public schools. We don't pay them minimum wage. We don't give them any rights at all. We don't spend money on trials. We don't spend money on jail cells for them. We don't even afford them the right to due process at all. If they are suspected of a crime, they are automatically sentenced with monetary punishment to pay for their transgressions after a trial in front of a judge not to exceed five minutes in duration,, i.e. their wages are garnished until they pay for their crime in full. And, unfortunately, if it's a capital crime, they are shot to death. I don't even like the cost of the execution, or the court costs associated with the 5 minute trial, but I guess there has to be some means of finding justice. Furthermore, they are given NO money for educational grants, NO seats in our public schools, NO preference for employment, NO driver's licenses, NO social security cards, NO allowances for low-income housing, NO food stamps, and NO protections under OSHA, worker's comp., labor unions, employers' group insurance, etc.,,,, absolutely NONE of the rights, services, or protections we afford legal citizens.

Does this scenario seem harsh? Cold? Calloused? Inhumane? Am I a monster? Perhaps,,, but let me say this: It is imperative that we make it perfectly clear to everybody what they are to expect when they come across our borders illegally. If they choose to subject themselves to the aforementioned circumstances, then it's of their own accord. They CHOOSE to live and work here--however harsh and inhumane the circumstances may be. I presume that even under those conditions, it will still be better than the third-world environment they are fleeing from! If not, they won't come. Or, if they CHOOSE to follow our immigration laws and achieve citizenship legally, then of course, afford them that option as well. Either way, we benefit as a nation!

So, all that is left is the presumed increased security risk. Well, this is how I would address that concern. Kill them. If we think about all the resources that we presently put into border patrol, customs, TSA, and the like, think of the billions of dollars we could dedicate to tracking down terrorists by doing away with those non-value added agencies and dedicating our resources to the investigation of suspected perpetrators of terror. Like before, make it perfectly clear to the world that if a foreigner performs an act of terror against the United States, we will react with military force times 10. If a suicide bomber comes across a seaport in New York and blows up a cafe in Soho, we track down the group (or country) that is responsible and take out a small town that houses or supports that terrorist group with a tactical nuclear warhead. And let's face it, how many suicide bombers are coming from Mexico or Guatemala? I'm not saying that all Muslims are terrorists, but I am saying that all terrorists in the last 50 years have been Muslim. If we have any doubt about who is responsible for the attack, carpet bomb a town in Iran or Syria. They publicly sympathize for jihadist terrorist groups. Punish them for it. Until "the village" purges terrorism from within, the terrorist "problem" will never be remedied. Ultimately, that is the only way we will defeat radical Muslim terrorists that act in the name of Jihad,,, but that topic can be addressed in another post.

So, to recap.: Open our borders wide. Reap the benefits of cheap labor. Net gain for us as citizens and net gain for the US Gross National Product. Pay absolutely nothing to illegal immigrants. Afford them none of the rights ensured to legal citizens of this country. Scare them into following our laws by threatening (and executing if necessary) medieval punishments without due process. Due process is a luxury we can't afford to ensure for illegals. Remedy the increased security risk by adopting the Israeli way of dealing with terror--they bomb one synagogue, we bomb 10 mosques. Before long, the upside of a terrorist attack just won't exist. Oh,, and for all of you that are thinking that I'm some kind of sociopath, keep in mind that we make the world absolutely aware of what we plan to do... That's the difference to keep in mind. I'm not proposing a renewal of the slave trade, or even the legalization of indentured servitude. ALL undocumented aliens will CHOOSE for themselves to come here knowing full well the circumstances under which they will be subjected.

Am I naive enough to believe this plan would actually ever be instituted here in the United States? No, I'm not. I know that we are much more "civilized" and humane than that. Perhaps I myself am more civilized than the solution that I proposed, but it is still food for thought. This "immigration problem" is something we brought on ourselves, and it is something that we as a nation can remedy. If not exactly the way I proposed, then perhaps some of the same thinking may be applied in the next "immigration bill". It certainly can't be worse than the present iteration.

Guess that's about it. Maybe then I could get my pickup truck washed, waxed, and detailed for 20 bucks up here in Boston like I used to down in San Antonio!!! That would be nice..