If you are serious when you say you applaud the new immigration law in Arizona then you are clearly part of the problem rather than the solution.
So called "Dip shit" liberals are not the problem, neither are immigrants. Immigrants are our salvation. The problem in DC is belligerence and ideological posturing to look good for the folks back home who can vote you out of office if you don't give lip service to their particular prejudices - and at the same time pay homage to the corporations that fund your re-election war chest.
Pragmatism without prejudice is the only thing that is going to save us.
The argument that it is a bad precedent to grant aliens illegally in the country the right to stay blinds us to the basic economic realities of the situation. It's like the band on the deck of the Titanic arguing over what song they are going to play while the ship goes down.
We need immigrants to support the "age wave" and keep Social Security/Medicare solvent. The USA is in better position to weather this coming shit storm than other developed countries - we have a higher birth rate - but still not high enough to handle the age shift. The countries that are really in trouble are those in Europe (the current Italian birth rate is one per couple) plus Japan and China.
Even in Africa where we still see high birth rates, the trend is downward as more women are educated and enter the workforce.
Criminalizing immigration is sheer stupidity. Did Prohibition work? Did criminalizing marijuana work? Did the Bush administration's macho "my way or the highway" foreign policy work? Pissing people off and criminalizing their attempts to better themselves economically only increases the profitability of BEING A CRIMINAL! There are always people ready and willing to rush into that economic void - whether just evil…or desperately in need of some way to make a living.
A simple, straight forward immigration policy will work for all. Tear down the fucking wall, welcome them with open arms, make it easy to immigrate legally - but with conditions.
Whether waiting to immigrate, or already here illegally, they need to be given economic incentives to register, agree to be tracked, report in regularly and have a job within a certain period of time - one that has associated taxes and payroll deductions.
Threatening them with criminal repercussions if they don't toe the line is not nearly as effective as offering them economic "carrots" for doing so. Just make it more ECONOMICALLY attractive for them to GO HOME rather than stay here if they don't become contributing members of society within a certain time frame - and they must agree to be tracked to supply the metrics.
And I am not so naïve as to believe they all will respond positively to such a change in policy. A certain percentage will go underground, become criminals and/or attempt to freeload. But that percentage is no greater than for the general population as a whole and can actually be reduced by policies that encourage productive assimilation rather than discouraging it - like the present ones do.
Will this cost money? Yes, but it will be a fraction of what we are spending now to create "Fortress America". Making these changes and getting immigrants into the work force and paying taxes as quickly as possible will create a net savings, stimulate economic growth and, in the long run, guarantee a sustainable workforce that will fund the social services that we all are going to need in our old age.
An enlightened approach to immigration will not only save our butts economically but will give us a leg up on the rest of the world - who are going to have a tougher time of it than we are.
This "Dip Shit Liberal" is anything but anti-business. On the contrary, we need to give up all the acrimony and bullshit ideology that stands in the way of good, solid economic growth. And the one sure fire way to that - for the long run - is to encourage, track and regulate immigration, assimilating them as quickly as possible - even if it upsets the macho, foaming-at-the-mouth, gun slinging, learn-English-or-die right wingers.
- Lyn
