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Title: Immigration and the Welfare State
Source:
InfoWars
URL Source: http://www.infowars.com/articles/im ... igration_and_welfare_state.htm
Published: Aug 12, 2005
Author: Rep. Ron Paul
Post Date: 2005-08-12 03:08:43 by Coral Snake
Keywords: Immigration, Welfare, State
Views: 163
Comments: 12
Immigration and the Welfare State Rep. Ron Paul | August 8, 2005 More and more of my constituents are asking me when Congress will address the problem of illegal immigration. The public correctly perceives that neither political party has the courage to do what is necessary to prevent further erosion of both our border security and our national identity. As a result, immigration may be the sleeper issue that decides the 2008 presidential election. The problem of illegal immigration will not be solved easily, but we can start by recognizing that the overwhelming majority of Americans- including immigrants- want immigration reduced, not expanded. Amnesty for illegal immigrants is not the answer. Millions of people who broke the law by entering, staying, and working in our country illegally should not be rewarded with a visa. Why should lawbreakers obtain a free pass, while those seeking to immigrate legally face years of paperwork and long waits for a visa? We must end welfare state subsidies for illegal immigrants. Some illegal immigrants-- certainly not all-- receive housing subsidies, food stamps, free medical care, and other forms of welfare. This alienates taxpayers and breeds suspicion of immigrants, even though the majority of them work very hard. Without a welfare state, we would know that everyone coming to America wanted to work hard and support himself. Our current welfare system also encourages illegal immigration by discouraging American citizens to take low-wage jobs. This creates greater demand for illegal foreign labor. Welfare programs and minimum wage laws create an artificial market for labor to do the jobs Americans supposedly won’t do. Illegal immigrants also place a tremendous strain on social entitlement programs. Under a proposed totalization agreement with Mexico, millions of illegal immigrants will qualify for Social Security and other programs- programs that already threaten financial ruin for America in the coming decades. Adding millions of foreign citizens to the Social Security, Medicare, and disability rolls will only hasten the inevitable day of reckoning. Economic considerations aside, we must address the cultural aspects of immigration. The vast majority of Americans welcome immigrants who want to come here, work hard, and build a better life. But we rightfully expect immigrants to show a sincere desire to become American citizens, speak English, and assimilate themselves culturally. All federal government business should be conducted in English. More importantly, we should expect immigrants to learn about and respect our political and legal traditions, which are rooted in liberty and constitutionally limited government. Our most important task is to focus on effectively patrolling our borders. With our virtually unguarded borders, almost any determined individual- including a potential terrorist- can enter the United States. Unfortunately, the federal government seems more intent upon guarding the borders of other nations than our own. We are still patrolling Korea’s border after some 50 years, yet ours are more porous than ever. It is ironic that we criticize Syria for failing to secure its border with Iraq while our own borders, particularly to the south, are no better secured than those of Syria. We need to allocate far more of our resources, both in terms of money and manpower, to securing our borders and coastlines here at home. This is the most critical task before us, both in terms of immigration problems and the threat of foreign terrorists. Unless and until we secure our borders, illegal immigration and the problems associated with it will only increase. If we took some of the steps I have outlined here - eliminating the welfare state and securing our borders - we could effectively address the problem of illegal immigration in a manner that would not undermine the freedom of American citizens. Sadly, it appears we are moving toward policies like a national ID that diminish our liberties. Like gun control, these approaches only punish the innocent, as criminals will always find a way around the law.
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#1. To: Coral Snake (#0)
I agree generally with Ron Paul, but eliminating the minimum wage is going to push the lower socioeconomic classes over the edge, be they citizens or not. I am not sure we want to have to deal with the fallout of millions of people working for $2 per hour. The cure may be worse than the disease.
Actually, it is the minimum wage itself that is harmful to the lower socio- economic classes. Eliminating the minimum wage will allow the market to take effect and wages to properly represent the value of the service being performed. Some jobs will increase in value and others will decrease. Nobody will be forced to work at, or pay, a wage that is not fair.
I do not have confidence that it would unfold as such..
Eliminating all entitlement programs is the only solution. No worky no eaty.
We should thank the Nazis for giving us all those stark, frightening images. How else we gonna learn not to act like that? On the other hand, monkey see...
Yes, I agree about eliminating all entitlement programs, but is minimum wage an entitlement program?
Yes, it entitles panderers to at least 40% of all votes cast.
We should thank the Nazis for giving us all those stark, frightening images. How else we gonna learn not to act like that? On the other hand, monkey see...
I know what you are saying, and why you are saying it. Here's why I disagree: Once upon a time a person could say "chuck it, I've had it, I don't want to play by society's rules any longer. I'm going to go off and be a mountain man and live off of the land". That was actually true once upon a time here in America. But not any longer. It is simply not possible to drop out of society and "live off of the land". Every square inch of property here is owned by someone, usually the government. They won't allow you to set up in a cave or under a tree somewhere. It simply cannot be done in the current reality. You'll end up arrested, incarcerated, medicated, and after they're done breaking you you'll end up on the streets. The result is that all of us are forced, yes, forced to "play the game", and those who run the game can jack up prices and jack up immigration and drive down wages and jack up expenses for things like insurance and taxes and everything else to the point where you have to run 24/7 just to stay in place. And if you decide to say "chuck it, I don't want to play any longer", well guess what, too bad for you. You'll end up living on the streets, homeless and destitute, and continually prosecuted and persecuted for the crime of living on the streets, and you'll end up dead after a few years of living on the streets since life on the streets is so very hard on a person's health. At this point in time I find myself wondering if the right and proper thing to do is to provide a guaranteed minimum standard of living to all Americans. This would help to create a situation where if employers want to get people to work, then they would have to offer enough of a wage to provide a real incentive to work. Because the way things are now they can just keep driving wages down further and further, and if we don't like it what choice do we have? Be a slave and work yourself into an early grave, be homeless and end up in a early grave, or be a criminal, and maybe have a chance at a better life. There's your choice.
#2. To: Sam Houston (#1)
...eliminating the minimum wage is going to push the lower socioeconomic classes over the edge...
#3. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut, Sam Houston (#2)
Eliminating the minimum wage will allow the market to take effect and wages to properly represent the value of the service being performed.
#4. To: Lady X (#3)
#5. To: Dakmar (#4)
#6. To: Lady X (#5)
is minimum wage an entitlement program?
#7. To: Dakmar (#4)
 | Gold and silver are real money, paper is but a promise. |
#8. To: Elliott Jackalope (#7)
I believe in the self-adjusting school of economics, if people know it's either do or die, most will do and some will die. Under this system, parents will put much more effort into raising and educating their children, or not have any. With a better educated populace, the class division softens somewhat and we no longer have those who "run the show". If not for the terrible state of education in this country, George W Bush would be selling used cars in El Paso.
We should thank the Nazis for giving us all those stark, frightening images. How else we gonna learn not to act like that? On the other hand, monkey see...
#9. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut, all (#2)
I can remember when the Welfare Reform Bill was being debated. Corporate American spent big bucks lobbying to get the minimum wage reduced to $2 an hour for people leaving the welfare roll. If the wage was reduced it would do two things. Millions more would collect millions more $ with the EITC and it would give Big Business more excuses to hire illegals. I don't know too many citizens who could afford to work for 2 bucks an hour unless they recieve a tremendous amount of government programs. Either way,the taxpayer gets the big one.
#10. To: Lady X (#3)
There is absolutely no way it can unfold in any other way. When force is removed from the equation, the market is ruled by the individual choice of each participant. Each man and woman works for only that which they are willing to voluntarily accept and each business owner pays no more than they judge the job to be worth. In the event that either party values their part of the transaction incorrectly, they will not find agreement and cannot force the other party to concede.
I do not have confidence that it would unfold as such..
- "Liberty is the solution of all social and economic questions." ~~Joseph A. Labadie
#11. To: Lady X (#5)
Yes. It "entitles" the unskilled worker to an inflated wage by distorting the market through the application of coercion against the employer.
...is minimum wage an entitlement program?
- "Liberty is the solution of all social and economic questions." ~~Joseph A. Labadie
#12. To: Grumble Jones (#9)
The minimum wage distorts in both ways. It forces an employer to pay too much for some jobs and allows them to get away with not having to pay enough for others. The only way to solve it is to eliminate the coercion altogether and dump the entire scheme. Let the market determine the value of a job. After all, any job that has more than four or five qualified applicants vying for it is paying too much for the skill level required. Likewise, any job that can't attract any qualified applicants is not offering enough.
Corporate American spent big bucks lobbying to get the minimum wage reduced to $2 an hour for people leaving the welfare roll.
- "Liberty is the solution of all social and economic questions." ~~Joseph A. Labadie
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