So this Arizona anti-illegal immigration law has caused a lot of controversy in the mainstream press and within the Whitehouse. Apparently, the worldview of the Left is a fantasy land where every other culture is superior to our own. If you’re like me, then you’d believe that all cultures suck equally and are equally worthless. Maybe that’s why I’ve never experienced culture shock when I’ve traveled overseas. Or maybe I’m not all that racist and so I don’t need to emphasize multiculturism in order to assuage any guilt I may have.
In any case, because it doesn’t fit the narrative of the Left-wing viewpoint, it has been a source of controversy despite the ADD of the news media in general. I have seen a lot of libertarians opposed to this law as well, mostly because they don’t like the idea of giving out private information to the government without a search warrant. Never mind that these same libertarians are perfectly OK with big banks holding on to our information and sending it to the likes of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, where information is mishandled. Anyway, that’s a pretty moot point since those transactions are “voluntary” under Federal law and the government can demand your identification when you’re voting or caught committing a crime.
Despite the law making some sense, I firmly believe that it does nothing to solve the illegal immigrant issues that the state of Arizona is facing. If anything, it would probably exasperate the problems. The real solutions with illegal immigration can be found in government regulations and not in a lack of law enforcement. It is the government that has created the incentive for illegal immigration because of the following problem:
- The welfare-entitlement state that has been established in this nation. As a result, the labor force has been drastically reduced because anyone would clean out a toilet or cut grass if the alternative meant they wouldn’t eat. As such, between all the different forms of welfare that has implemented, the lazy moochers of our society have decided to not work. Thus, the demand for labor remains the same, but the supply runs dry and so employers look elsewhere.
- The minimum wage is also responsible for illegal immigrants. When an employer can hire someone for has the Federally mandated wages, he’ll do it because it’s more cost effective. When you can save on labor costs, which is always the most expensive cost to any employer, you can provide cheaper services to your customers. As such, illegal labor is considered to be a better deal. As long as the government continues to regulate the labor market in such a manner, we will continue to have illegal labor.
- The mandates imposed on hospitals and other medical clinics that require them to treat patients and not to discriminate. I firmly believe that a business should be allowed to operate however it sees fit, which is in conjunction with a firm belief in property rights. Hospitals should be allowed to turn down services to people if they believe they cannot pay. Or they can accept people, regardless of their supposed ability to pay. But it should be their decision and not our own.
- The Federal government does a pretty crappy job of issuing out visas to prospective immigrants. The entire process takes months, sometimes years, and is such a mismanaged bureaucracy that the whole system should be scrapped and rebuilt. That way, people have less incentive to cross borders illegally when the entire immigration process takes a very short time.
- The failed war on drugs is a huge factor in the crime waves that are rampant in Arizona. I won’t argue that if Arizona legalized drugs, the crime rate would drop off immediately, or even noticeably, but a large number of the illegal immigrant smugglers (or coyotes as they’re called) are part of the illegal drug trade.
So while the Arizona law is popular and probably will work to a degree, it will not solve anything big in the long term and doesn’t address many of the root causes of illegal immigration. I don’t believe in the melting pot idea, but I am perfectly OK with Hispanics coming to America and seeking out a better life. Societies change over time and there is nothing wrong with a shift in culture. At least the Mexicans have a bigger sense of manliness than most squishy American men.
In any event, I doubt anything I’ve listed here will be addressed by any government at any level anytime soon. There is a lot of incentive for these things to remain in place. Until people realize that you can’t have your cake and eat it too when it comes to the government (usually because the taxes on icing are through the roof), we won’t ever solve the problem with illegal aliens.