Obligatory Immigration Post

I was thinking about this whole immigration problem because it bugs me in some way that remained undefined until last night, while I was walking to a friend's house with a huge amount of tequila.^*1 Whether you call them undocumented workers, illegal aliens, beaners or the whole host of slurs and slang words, the problem we all face today brilliantly outlines one of my favorite rant topics: Republicans are stupid.^*2

Let's outline the situation. We have a large amount of people in our country without visas. We have a large number of companies that hire these people.^*3 I have worked with a few of these non-visa holding people in a pizza restaurant. They got paid about the same amount as everyone else, until such time as the bosses would decide to blame them for whatever problems and cut their pay. I found this practice to be reprehensible and it is one of the reasons I left that job.^*4 Basically, the company was paying them a tiny amount to do the same work as the citizens and visa holders. If that place could figure out a strategy to employ only illegals, then they would.^*5 This is the core of the problem with our immigration policies today.

Companies hire illegal immigrants and do this knowing that they are also breaking the law. We have two entities breaking the law in this problem. The border jumpers and the deceitful companies.

If the 10+ million illegals couldn't find work because our worker documentation laws were rigidly enforced, I think the problem would never have developed into the situation that it is today. This is a useless line of thought, however, as the problem does exist and we do not have the means to deport all of these people.

Perhaps we can work proactively to change the trend by actually prosecuting companies that hire illegals and deporting those found, but we still have a massive population of people to deport. Let's give everyone 30 days to file papers at district courts and call a giant do-over. Let's have tighter borders. Let's prosecute the hell out of companies that hire illegals. Let's have controlled immigration. Above all, let's have immigration.

Let's also refuse to elect any more people that claim that the free market will supply everyone with benefits and appropriate pay. This is the root cause of our current problem. Americans don't want to work for $5.75 an hour for 20, 40 or 80 hours a week with no benefits. I am sure that even with benefits no one wants to work 80 hours a week for that little. Regulation of a higher minimum wage and mandatory benefits stifles the free market and creates a stagnant economy.^*6 This is a conservative lie. If we let the corporation run even as free as we have let them run for the last 20 years, they will rob and cheat until we are all blind, deaf and muzzled. These corporations, large and small, claim they couldn't find Americans and documented workers to fill these positions. They are absolutely right. Of course, they aren't saying that they would rather die than offer more money and benefits to their lowest rung positions. They aren't saying that they could offer even less money to illegals and still get the job done the way they want. Conservatives are dead wrong about their free market bullshit. Corporate America was given an opportunity to prove that the conservative way was better. They chose to break the law to save money. Conservatives can not be trusted to run this country.

*1 Clearly, I hate America or else I would have brought bourbon.
*2 Stay with me, folks. I swear this will be good.
*3 Specifically, the entire restaurant industry.
*4 Sadly, I was a shitty liberal and it was not the sole reason I left that job.
*5 Incidentally, the owners vote Republican in every election and are screamingly proud of this aspect of their assholeness.
*6 So says Canuck.