I just had the following exchange with someone on Facebook. This fellow is actually quite a nice guy, although he obviously has some mixed-premises. He is exactly the sort of person I hope to target with this blog - people who seem reasonable and open to new ideas.
[Facebook Friend] You don't think that illegals are a problem? 3 years ago Florida had 345,000 illegals costing tax payers 720 million dollars in health care and other benefits. The state now has 845,000, but I can't tell you how much they cost because the state has quit keeping those numbers. But at previous rate with no adjustment for inflation it would be 1,763,478,260.87 dollars. That would pay for a lot of citizen health care.
[Me] That doesn't sound like an immigration problem. That sounds like a welfare state problem. I shouldn't be forced to pay for anyone else's health care, period.
Why don’t people see the real problem? The problem is not that people are immigrating here, the problem is that we are living in a fascist state that is moving closer to full blown socialism each day. Socialism doesn’t work. It’s be tried over and over again and evidence of the failures are all around us. (See U.S.S.R., North Korea, China and Venezuela for a few examples.)
Furthermore, it is completely wrong for anyone to use force against me. I have a right to my life, liberty and the pursuit of my own happiness. It is wrong and improper for the government to steal my property (in this case, my income) and give it to others, for any reason. Furthermore, it’s just as wrong to make me pay for an illegal (or legal) immigrant’s health care as it is to force me to pay for a citizen’s health care. Stealing is wrong regardless of the recipient of the looted goods.
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Well said Kelly. Anyone who ties their argument to a government policy or program (any policy/program)should look to the government as the cause, not to the result.
just to make my position and statement clear, I was trying to show you that there was a cost to the issue of Illegals. While I do oppose the influx of illegals, I am not opposed to those that follow the rules and come here legally. Our country is made up of persons of all faiths and origins. That is why we have always been so great. I admire the families that trek across the south west. Most of them have an honest desire to make a better life for themselves and their families. The problem is that of the 250,000 that were caught by ICE last year, 17% (42,500) of them had previous felony criminal records. How many more did ICE miss? How many of those were coming here to do harm to the people of this country. There is a reason for these laws, it is to protect the people of this country. If you want to be a part of us, come in the right way.
You bring up a great point, Richard, and that's the security of Americans. The proper function of government is to protect our rights, not only from each other, but from foreign enemies.
If we had open immigration, immigrants could gain entry to the US after passing a health and criminal background check at specified entry points. This would guide the flow through designated areas and make it much easier to spot the real criminals that would have to sneak in across the border.
By making it nearly impossible for many people to get here legally (immigration to the US is EXTREMELY difficult), we've created a black market of sorts for immigration, and that's always a problem. (Just like prohibition or the current drug war. Black markets = crime.)
I also think all immigrants and newly born citizens of this country should not be eligible for government-run welfare programs. As such, they should also be in a much lower tax bracket to account for their non use of such services. Then, the government should institute a plan to wean the rest of us off of these services and reduce taxes accordingly.