W's Live Speech Thread

Fox News | 1-7-04 | my favorite headache

[My Favorite Headache]

Press conference starts at 2:45 EST....get the prilosec out...we are going to need it.

[Quilla]

I would like to get behind President Bush on this plan. (I noticed the thread title changed from "President's" to "W's" Live Speech.) Yet I don't know enough about working illegals and the plan's specifics. Could someone explain a couple things for me:

I am an employer. For each employee, I am required and have on file an I-9 - documentation verifying their U.S. citizenship. I report quarterly every cent I pay out in wages by each employee's social security number. If I chose to hire an illegal alien, I would suspect I'd have to pay them cash since they don't have social security numbers. My business doesn't deal in cash, we manufacture large ticket items and sell on account. So where do these employers get all their cash to pay wages for even six months out of the year? Apparently, they are not reporting wages or collecting payroll taxes (or matching FICA), and obviously not reporting all their earnings, why would they start reporting illegal workers now?

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

EXCEPT WORK AT MCDONALDS! ;)

[rintense]

Let 'em go hungry a bit, and they'd be happy to take those jobs.

It sounds cruel, but it must be true. The hard work ethic seems to be slowly disappearing.

[tubavil]

Give me a break, DUer.

Ah, the tried and true ace-in-the-hole, lose an argument and then resort to personal attacks.

[JohnGalt]

[BushisTheMan]

And as soon as employers see that they have to pay them a higher wage they'll simply continue hiring illegals off the books.

So then who is breaking the law then? The legal temporary worker? No, the business person who hires the illegal...to save a buck.

[TX Conservative]

I have waded through most of the posts here and keep coming across comments that "there are no jobs that Americans won't do". Flame me if you like, but from experience I have this comment. My husband owns a landscape and lawn care business. His business is small, but he pays above minimum wage. He has hired white and black workers, but these guys don't like the hard work, the heat and the stigma of being "yard workers". They don't want to do the work and never seem to last. His current workers are hispanic, and either are new citizens or have green cards and are glad to get the work and they work hard. Some of them still have family in Mexico that they send money to.

I agree that we need to do something about the illegals, and it would be great if Americans would take these jobs, but it's too easy to sit home and take government handouts instead of committing themselves to good old-fashioned work. IMHO, these people popping off about how they would chunk their keyboards to do menial work are doing just that - just popping off. My husband could use another yard worker; lets see how quickly these guys jump to contact me for a position. LOL!

[You Dirty Rats]

So if we severely curtailed immigration in 1920, how did the Great Depression happen nine years later? How is it there were enough jobs for thirty years of high immigration, yet so many jobs were lost when immigration was low? Doesn't that refute the argument that immigrants take jobs away?

Forty-five years to assimilate immigrants! What horse-hockey! General "Blackjack" Pershing was told by the French that it would take four years to create an effective American Army in France. Pershing told them "it never took America four years to do anything."

There are hundreds of channels on Cable TV. How many are in Spanish? Maybe three or four?

I don't lose much sleep over our nation being conquered by Mexicans. Maybe I'm just an optimist.

[CurlyBill]

LOL! Where are we going?

Dunno ..... Utah?

[My back yard]

It is a turnstile now. They just come back again. This will help with stopping that, some.

[WackyKat]

ope, that's where you are wrong. There is NO amnisty here. A guest worker can stay for 3 years. If they want to become citizens they can apply just like anyone else but they have to go to the back of the line. In order to stay here they must be fully employed and they must pay a fee to remain in the country (if they are employed that will be no problem). If you become unemployed you have to go home. You can apply for another job, but you must do it from your home country.

I know what the proposal is, you don't have to repeat it to me

What I am saying is that anyone who believes that these policies will be enforced is very naive.

Illegals and employers of illegals broke the law before, but they'll obey it now?

The government won't enforce the laws now, but it will start now?

do you actually believe that? I don't.

[kevao]

People who take a far right position are just as culpable as the Liberals who take a far left position.

So, opposing illegal immigration is a "far-right" position?

[sinkspur]

The hatred (a serious, visceral, hatred) from the left for bush has INCREASED since his election and continues to do so.

So? The hard-core left amounts to about 20% of the vote.

B. He's backstabbed his base on so many issues, the latest being immigrtaion, he's lost a significant portion of that base.

What's your evidence for either statement?

I suspect you're one of those who didn't vote for Bush in 2000 and will vote for some misfit in the Constitution Party anyway.

[McGavin999]

No Kevin. The 9 million who are already here are not getting amnisty. They have to apply for the guest worker program. If they don't have a job they have to go home. After a period of time, if they don't have a guest worker permit they will be picked up and sent back.

Guest workers do NOT get a free pass to citizenship. They have to apply just like anyone else but they now will be going to the back of the line. They must also post a fee in order to get their permit.

[sixgunjer]

I feel the same way about this issue. I listened to the speech on Fox and then logged on to see Freeper responses. I thought they would calm down a little from earlier discussions on the subject, but for the most part folks are just as upset.

Bush could not come out and say what most folk here wanted him to say. "All illegals out of the pool," would have been political suicide, even if he had believed it and wanted to say it (which, by the way, is pretty much what I would have liked him to say). No politician in their right mind would have done that. Even if he had justified it by saying it was for purposes of national security, the Dems would have run ads showing Bush driving an old pickup truck whilst dragging an illegal (a gay, artist, environmentalist illegal) by the neck. I don't deny there is a political element to his proposals, but he is correct in stating that the current system is not working. Granted, it would work if our lawmakers had the courage to enforce it, but that just ain't gonna happen.

I think that President Bush's proposal is perhaps a sensible compromise with reality. In effect, this at least has the potential of doing with illegals what the libs have been trying to do with guns. Register them to make them easier to find. Also, there will be true tax collection from these workers. Not enough perhaps to compensate for what bleeds monthly from the system in welfare and health care, but at least it will be something. In addition to this, as you pointed out there is the possibility that now perhaps they will start enforcing the borders. This system will give the President and his administration the political cover to begin doing just that.

Note that I keep using the word, "possibility." While there does exist the possibility that there could be benefits from this new program, it will still be up to the politicians to have the courage to enforce the new laws. The expectancy most folk here have concerning government actions on politically difficult decisions is what is giving them heartburn. I cannot say that I completely disagree with them. We'll just have to wait and see.

[BushisTheMan]

The same way EVERY OTHER LAW OF THIS NATION IS ENFORCED.

I see you don't know how to give a proper response. This is an immigration issue. Would you use government employees? Would you use the military? would you use law enforcement? Would you volunteer?

[ravingnutter]

Wait a minute. None of this happens without Congressional action! It's not like Bush just waved a magic wand. There WILL be debates and hearings.

Thank you for being a voice of reason. The Republican version of the bill that I have seen specifies a $1500 fine for breaking the immigration law, plus these people will be put at the back of the line in the guest worker program. So much for the comments about "rewarding" them.

[rintense]

I don't disagree. If they are legal workers, more power to them! But I equate illegals WITH welfare. Because if we didn't have such a handout state, illegals wouldn't come here in the first place. Make the folks on welfare work and there won't be any reason for illegals to come here.

[tubavil]

You don't have enough votes. The ultra leftists here in Seattle are THROWING PARTIES over bush's statements!