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"Diplomacy" is the buzz word of the Allbrights and Clintonistas of this world.  |
Posted on 08/29/2003 6:58:25 AM PDT by Rockitz
I am an engineer so I love a good problem and illegal immigration certainly fits that bill. First, let me say that I believe that those who do venture to this country are among the brightest and hardest working individuals that the world has to offer. Certainly it takes a special person to consciously decide to make such a radical change in their life. Having said that, the idea of being in opposition to the law tends to make such an individual operate in a manner that seeks to avoid detection. Accordingly, such a person would be hesitant to register their presence in any manner, whether it be through "official" employment, a bank account, a credit card, a regular doctor, the Department of Motor Vehicles, a post office, or any other activity that might make that person's presence known to law enforcement. As such, norms of society such as paying income tax, DMV registration, health insurance, and the like are naturally avoided through cash compensation for work, operating vehicles without a license or registration, using public clinics and hospital emergency rooms for health maintenance, etc. While that means of operation may be appealing to the illegal immigrant on a number of counts, it leaves the remaining citizenry to pay the cost of government services like education, law enforcement, fire protection, infrastructure, and the like as well as higher costs for health care, auto insurance and other private services. While the illegal immigrant does pay certain state sales taxes, such payments are certainly a very small fraction of those paid by the average citizen who also pays federal and state income tax, social security, various insurances, etc.
National registration of alien workers, increased border security, and laws forbidding the hiring of illegal immigrants have significant costs in themselves and do little to attack the costs that the illegal immigrant imposes on society. A possible solution that does address these costs imposed by illegal immigration is collection of a Value Added Tax (VAT) or national or state-based sales tax. This tax would apply to all goods and services and ultimately make it difficult for an illegal immigrant to shirk responsibility for any of the myriad of costs that he routinely passes on to the remaining citizenry. Although all would pay it, those legal residents who are responsible in paying and filing their tax returns could recoup such taxes through reduced income tax rates. For those at the lower end of the economic scale, such taxes could be offset by credits. For those at the upper end of the economic scale, such taxes could be used to justify substantial decreases in income tax rates. While I personally believe that passing those collected taxes through the government is detestable on numerous counts including considerable inefficiencies and potential diversion to pet programs, the status quo is unacceptable and will ultimately bankrupt our states and nation. The idea of a VAT or national sales tax is far from original, however it is typically ignored by conservatives simply because it is a tax. I choose to look at it as a viable alternative tax policy that will close the "cash compensation" loophole and ultimately discourage illegal immigration.
If I wanted a VAT, I'd move to Europe. I don't see how VAT would solve illegal immigration, except to make it more palatable for you. To stop illegal immigration, you need to enforce the laws we already have, and stop giving them food stamps, welfare, under the table jobs, health care, and in-state tuition. The government has plenty of money, giving them more will just give them license to waste more. Nothing knee jerk about that, it's been that way for years now.
There is nothing outside the box with respect to your proposal. In fact I think it is more like head in the sand.
If you are a rocket scientist, then I can understand how launches fail when rockets are loaded with the wrong version of software, or burn up in the atmosphere when metric and American units are used interchangeably. Either that or scientific and political intelligence are mutually exclusive in your case.
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"Diplomacy" is the buzz word of the Allbrights and Clintonistas of this world. |
If you cannot figure it out, I'll help you ... Your stupid tax increase ... or the increase in the cost of living you expect to create will NOT affect the illegals. They will still come. They just live in an undergroud society like they do presently, because the worst spot here is better than what they know in Mexico. All the while the economy of California erodes. Have you thought about why the Mexican government gets away with treating it's people so badly and no one says word one about it? Why don't you think about that for a while.
You can take your defeatest attitude and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. I will never give up .... ever.
One last thing ... Your so called proposal IS NOT DIFFERENT! Not different AT ALL! It's what liberals have been doing to us all along. So pleeeeeeese stop giving yourself so much credit ... you are NOT original in your thinking... ok!
It would be very informative to ask your local congress critter for a dollar amount. IRS should have the figures.
There are NO simplistic solutions. We DO need to penalize businesses intentionally hiring illegals; they tske advantage of these people and the rest of us. They are greedy bastards.
No pols have the guts to honestly address this issue, and that is the biggest problem. To suggest with a straight face that we need all these millions of people to do these menial jopbs while there are construction workers unemployed as well as teens looking for entry level jobs: this is blatant dishonesty.
Not after we became the "Great Society" with all the Socialist programs. Many immigrants are coming only for those. The elderly immigrant who will never work a day in the USA but whose relatives bring him/her over just to get SSI and Medicaid is one example of the a big problem with our immigration and sponsorship laws.
If you look at some of the immigrant neighborhoods in LA or anywhere in the SW and compare them with Mexico neighbhorhoods, you won't see any radical change at all. Parts of the USA are looking even worse than Mexican slums.
I think we should provide emergency treatment to any illegal already here, but deport them as soon as they are stablelized and bill the Mexican government --- they can pay in oil --- they've got lots. Also start fining the employers of illegals so they'll get the idea it's not so cheap afterall to bring in their servants this way.
For one if they're obtaining stolen and fraudulent Social Security numbers and other documents, they're committing a felony crime, they need to be fingerprinted, fined, deported and never allowed to immigrate legally. If they're bringing in children to attend our schools, they usually are obtaining welfare programs and food stamps, free health care. We don't need these types at all ---- and we need to end the practice of anchor babies which entitles them to all the welfare programs. I'm not even for trying to round up the illegals who don't cause much trouble and who aren't taking any government services. Just leave them illegal --- if they step out of line, it makes them easier to send them back.
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