A correction. You changed my words. When I wrote "I have my doubts about that," it was a reference to not believing that YOU don't believe Tancredo is not a racist. You changed it to "I have my doubts about [Tancredo not being a racist]."

That's offensive. But I'm learning it is typical.
Katie's Dad | Homepage | 10.02.05 - 8:36 pm | #

Katy's Dad has been fighting for immigration reform for the longest time now. The facts are that the border needs to be closed completely untill all immigrants are blended into America. The country is supposed to be a melting pot and not have little countries all over the country. The Latinos have been and are in fact "INVADING" this country and they need to be stopped by any means necessary.
OperationWetback | 10.03.05 - 6:32 pm | #

Any means necessary? Facinating.

But, I'll agree on one thing--we should be a melting pot, and should not have little countries all over. But, that doesn't mean we should stop immigration. And it also does not mean that immigrants can value their heritage, and celebrate their history, in the process of integration and assimilation. Balance, man!

Are you willing to pay higher prices on food, cleaning services, hospitality, restaurants, and much more? You start limiting and restricting the free market forces in the Labor market, you are going to get shortages and increase in prices. It's just not realistic that you would close down the borders 100%.
Josue Sierra | Homepage | 10.04.05 - 9:52 am | #

Why not close the borders for at least a while? We did it before. Our citizenry has shown in the past that its comfortable tolerance regarding the number of of foreign born imported residents does not much exceed 10%. We're at 11% and skyrocketing today while in the 1950s, we had fewer than 5% foreign born thanks to the phenomenal success of the 1924 immigration reform in spurring assimilation for those who could and exodus for those who could not.

It seems reasonable that we could maintain about 7% foreign born and never have arguments like these. Our leaders push this envelope a bit too hard, I think because they believe economics can somehow trump human nature. It can't. If we set a goal to reduce the total percentage of foreign born to a specific "comfort level" percentage while returning to a strictly merit-based immigration policy, we'd avoid both overpopulating and narrowing the ranks of our middle class.

To get there would require a halt, or near halt, to new admittances for at least some statistically determinable time. Let the economists and businesses scream a bit. It's time for them to bear some of this pain.

Besides, THIS nation at times of labor shortage has created some of the world's most marvelous innovations. Rising wages levels spur investment in R&D of the means of production, from agriculture to industry to science. Even if prices rose for some products and services, new ideas and means for reaching economies of scale would soon drive prices down to less than we pay today.

That's just the way it works. There's never been a company with a conscience and until there is, people are going to have to make them bleed at times when the middle class and lower classes are getting pinched. High levels of low skilled imports, legal or illegal, are just salve, not a cure.

Of course, if your goal is to impose unprecedented wholesale change upon the nature of America's culture, by all means leave things the way they are.
Katie's Dad | Homepage | 10.04.05 - 2:40 pm | #

ok. enough from you. Your opinions and comments are not adding any sort of value to my readers. Thank you for engaging in this debate, but I am no longer interested in your words.

Best to you...
Josue Sierra | Homepage | 10.04.05 - 3:02 pm | #

Hi,
This blog is old but I agree with the original poster and disagree with "Katies Dad." "By any means necessary??" I have compassion for immigrants. If you were sitting on that border watching people wipe their ass with cash, would you sit and watch your children starve to death? I think not. Some immigrants may not be doing what you think is scrupulous, but that does not put you in the right to be a cruel, narrow-minded, arrogant moron.
-Brenda
Brenda | 04.07.07 - 5:37 pm | #