Pyrian on 27/6/2006 at 22:31
Quote:
There's restrictions on the numbers of legals that we allow in, and they're there for a reason.
This is true, although it's not the reason you seem to think; we reward skilled workers with citizenship in hopes of keeping them.
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Illegals completely sidestep those reasons and screw up any balance we were trying to maintain. Making the illegals legal would also screw up the balances.
That's absurd. You speak as if they're not here. Have you missed the memo? Right now, the balance is
based on illegal immigration. Who's going to work the fields and restaurants when they're gone? We'd face a rather major economic re-adjustment if the government ever did anything serious about illegal immigration. You can't just throw a million workers out of the country and expect that there wouldn't be consequences.
Epos Nix on 27/6/2006 at 23:14
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You can't just throw a million workers out of the country and expect that there wouldn't be consequences.
omg rich ppl wouldnt be as rich :(
Pyrian on 28/6/2006 at 00:27
Quote Posted by Epos Nix
omg rich ppl wouldnt be as rich :(
One reason why it'll never happen. :thumb:
Steezo on 28/6/2006 at 04:29
Quote Posted by Microwave Oven
I think one solution to the immigration problems is to institute a millitary enlistment program
Let me say this now and I'm only going to say it once. The draft does not work and the Commandant as well as his predecessors agree with me. It has taken decades to repair the damage done by the Vietnam era draftee culture and I do not want to be in the position where I have to trust someone with no personal integrity with my life again.
SD on 28/6/2006 at 06:20
Quote Posted by JACKofTrades
Put your money where your mouth is. Isn't that what you suggested
we do?
I did?
aguywhoplaysthief on 28/6/2006 at 08:19
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
This is one of the reasons so many people are anti-immigrant in the USA. The USA is rapidly becoming a bilingual country, and many native English speakers don't like the fact.
I think that's probably true to a certain extent. But I don't see a problem with that as a reason (and I'm not sure if you do - you didn't really say). People can't understand each other very well if they can't speak the same language.
I think the major problem here is the kind of work and the economy has changed. An immigrant from India or China is far more likely (and their offspring are as well) to have a higher-wage job. Immigrants from South and Central America are far more likely to have an unskilled/low-skilled job.
The problem is that in today's economy (as opposed to the 1800s) you need to be far more skilled to make a good wage. When low-skilled immigrants from Central/South America come here to work the problem is that they work here for low amounts of money, but more often than not, they don't "move up", and neither do their offspring. In fact the drop-out rate is higher for second-generation Hispanic immigrants than it is for first-generation immigrants. Most immigrant groups make comparable wages by the second generation - Hispanic immigrants just aren't. I'm not sure why that is - it probably has to do with the education in those countries, or something cultural.
Having a big lump of poor folks who won't get anywhere isn't a good thing for a country, in case you haven't checked.
Responding to the first post in this thread (which wasn't about illegals btw), and going off of TGGP's first post in this thread - people are how they are. It's one thing if you have one person out of ten who is an immigrant. It's different when you have 2 out of every 3 as immigrants. If we moved 200 million Africans (not to pick on them specifically, they certainly aren't alone) to America, guess what?
America would turn right into Africa, and let's face it, most of Africa sucks. Same goes for pretty much any other third-world country that we'd get these hypothetical immigrants from. A country isn't the way it is through magic. A country is the way it is because of the people who live there.
JACKofTrades on 28/6/2006 at 10:36
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
I mean, look at how pissy you guys got over that recent Spanish language version of the "Star Spangled Banner". Never mind that it had been translated into German and Hebrew decades ago, without so much as a minor kerfuffle. But translate it into a language that threatens the dominance of English in the US... BIG problem.
Seems pretty clear to me.
SD on 28/6/2006 at 22:21
Quote Posted by aguywhoplaysthief
Having a big lump of poor folks who won't get anywhere isn't a good thing for a country, in case you haven't checked.
Really buddy, I never had you down as an anti-capitalist ;)
Quote Posted by JACKofTrades
Seems pretty clear to me.
In what way? Where have I said that English-speaking Americans should jack it all in and start speaking Spanish? I don't think I even vaguely intimated at that.
Deep Qantas on 29/6/2006 at 01:47
Quote Posted by jprobs
Immigrants are welcome in the US... As long as they are "LEGAL" immigrants. This country was built by immigrants and there is no problem with taking all we can get. The problem is the millions of illeagal immigrants who don't pay taxes, medicare, social security, etc.. but seem to be able to vote!?
Basically, quit living off of my back and pay your fair share and you can immigrate all you want to.
Give 'em visas or guest-worker status and make the employers pay them minimum wage. Then you have the right to tax them.
Next crisis.
Ko0K on 29/6/2006 at 04:47
What I do know is that at least the vatos that I know came here because the alternative was an unacceptable living condition. I don't think they have a reason to lie about that at all, especially considering that their current living condition isn't something I would look forward to. By now it's pretty obvious, but whether they are associated with negative social elements or not seems to vary depending heavily on individual observations and experiences, and most people align with opinions that reinforce their pre-existing views.
