Building the Wall

I sometimes wonder just how long Americans can be so stupid, so foolish?  Which Americans?  All of us.

Why do Mexicans and other Latinos risk life and limb to get to the United States?  Is this a difficult question?  Because there are jobs to be had, low-skill jobs, jobs that can be performed by persons who do not speak English, jobs that pay less than any Minimum Wage (if any are in effect in that state), jobs that pay so little that they can’t even compete with Unemployment Insurance or Welfare, but finally jobs that pay MORE than illegals would be paid if they stayed in their home countries.  Laws that penalize illegal immigrants are also written to penalize the companies that hire them, but these sections of the law are rarely enforced or the penalties are so slight that it is just a small cost of doing business.  If we really wanted to end illegal immigration at the source, we would come down on those who hired them, those who want them here in the first place.  We don’t need a wall, all we need is to end the incentive to come here.  This problem suffers from the same bad thinking as illegal drugs law enforcement: we go after the users who are really victims, instead of the suppliers, the really bad guys who profit from the illicit trade in drugs.  95% of law enforcement’s time and treasure is spent chasing the little fish while the big fish swim away free, and fat!

Why do we do this?  Because someone, not the illegals, are making out just fine.  And because they have their own lobbyists.  And the lobbyists have their own Congressmen.  There are winners in this game, and they ain’t the illegals.

Implement an honest minimum wage, enforce it, and illegal immigration dies over-night.

But then, you’d have to pay more for your vegetables and your fruit, wouldn’t you?  OK.  But you can’t complain about both without being a run-of-the-mill hypocrite.  You want cheap produce?  Stop whining about illegal immigration.

Build a wall?  No offense, President-elect Trump, but what a dumb idea!  No matter who pays for it.