Seriously, I'm positive that members of congress will be interested in how inflation is good.
"Seriously, I'm positive that members of congress will be interested in how inflation is good." - That is your stated position, re: housing prices. I only stated that real-estate inflation is inevitable. We're just having a discussion, here. It's a bit off-topic, anyways. The real discussion here is border security.
Since you brought it back up, I'll go ahead and further explain my economic position.
SOME inflation is a necessary by-product for economic growth.
Greenspan and others hold the position that deflation is bad. It seems a small amount of inflation is actually one of the best indicators of a healthy economy. The logic is sound. A small amount of inflation means that demand is slightly ahead of supply, which triggers growth. If demand gets too far ahead of supply, then inflation ramps out of control leading to devaluation of the dollar. If supply exceeds demand, that leads to deflation. Deflation triggers recession.
We have consistently had annual real-estate inflation rates in the double-digits for a number of years. This is a boon to real-estate speculators. Buying and selling houses doesn't net any GDP, though. Long-term housing inflation leads to the devaluation of other markets, and stagnant growth in other sectors. We lose our industry and manufacturing capability due to deflationary pressures, and lack of investment capital. Short-term, we can simply import cheap goods from other countries. That only makes things worse by increasing overseas investment at the expense of domestic capital investment and R&D.
We want a net flow of capital coming into our country, not the other way around. A net outflow of capital results in building other nations' economies' at the expense of our own. Foreign capital investment in America is good. Foreign ownership of our land and businesses is bad. Providing our enemies with the means to wage military, social, or economic warfare upon us is foolish IMHO.
Long-term, it's a snowball-effect, leading to 3rd world conditions; i.e.-lower percentage of home-ownership, and shrinking wages vs. inflation,(the latter happened last year, the former will follow unless the trend is halted). At some point, the flow of capital out of the country will become severe enough that we will no longer be able to efficiently utilize our available workforce. That leads to losses in productivity. That leads to economic failure.
That's what we'll get if housing price increases keep outstripping wage-growth at current rates. IMHO, we're only a little off-course, here. Slowing population growth slightly via enforcing our immigration laws would help without the necessity for raising interest-rates. In a sustainable economy, real-estate prices should grow at about the same rate as population, when adjusted for inflation. Housing prices grow a little more slowly, consumer-goods prices grow a little more quickly. Same net-inflation, but with very different results.
OK - I'm done with the economic arguement. If I haven't gotten through, yet, it's probably not gonna happen.
Back to the original border problem:
1)Encourages criminal behavior
2)Has led to radical cultural changes
3)Raises our vulnerability to terrorist attack
4)Artificially inflates housing, and deflates wages for American citizens
5)Inflates medical costs due to non-paid care
6)Has contributed to the unchecked growth of an unassimilated sub-nation of foreign-nationals within our borders, with no allegiance to our country
which:
7)Has led to increased government spending on entitlements 8)Has increased civic costs due to the necessity for bilingual services
9)Causes decreasing educational ROI (accomodation of ESL students)
10)Creates the potential for social unrest and political destabilization
11)Enables the flow of contraband into our country
12)Encourages the growth of criminal gangs
13)Enables armed incursions upon our sovereign soil
14)Forces citizens to assimilate to a foreign culture, rather than vice-versa
15)Has increased pressure on law-enforcement agencies
16)Has destroyed the fabric of American communities
17)Violates our constitution by not providing defense from invasion (two states have formally declared a state-of-emergency)
You have made some impression on me. I agree that a mass-deportation would be reactionary rather than conservative. I've not changed my mind that the border needs to be defended first.
Offering amnesty without closing the border will simply encourage MOTS illegal immigration. We need to close the border first and stop the tidal wave. We can then document those who are here, and issue visas. We can gradually assimilate the ones who are already here, let the markets normalize more slowly and give businesses more time to adjust.