Immigration Reform...Its about people, not fear

The dialogue in our country has exploded over the last few weeks (to say the least) about illegal immigration. It is sad to see that most of the discussion on both sides has been centered around fear not logic. Both sides are living in a fantasy world and refusing to face the problem head on. The left acts like a porous border where people can come and go as they please has no implications to our national security, while the right reverts to illogical xenophobia where all immigrants are 1) from Mexico and 2)here to deal drugs, murder, and attack our sovereignty (etc).

Recently NBC Nightly News did a story about illegal immigration in Utah:

<

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We as a society as a whole (including our politicians) need to get real and implement humane reform. Illegal immigrants are human beings and are children of our Heavenly Father and as such need to be treated with respect and human dignity. They also contribute greatly to our economy and result in lower prices for many goods such as restaurant meals and construction. If all immigrants magically disappeared, we would have enormous labor shortages which would result in dramatically higher prices across the board and consumer welfare would decrease. I don't believe that unemployment would go down because there are already labor shortages in these markets (mostly due to a high minimum wage). Otherwise there would be no incentive for an "under the table payment" system.

I believe a good solution would be like this:
First we need to secure our border with the right number of troops and the resources to do their jobs (unlike what the Obama Administration is proposing now). Then we need to implement a work visa program that would document those that are here. Under a work visa program, immigrants pay income tax just like a citizen does, but will not receive entitlement benefits. Particularly concerning seasonal workers, we can then allow then to return home when their temporary jobs are done. Finally, if an individual on a work visa is convicted of a felony, their visa will be revoked. Working here is a privilege and as such we should have a zero tolerance policy for convicted felons.

We can fix this problem and treat immigrants humanely while preserving our dignity as Americans, but it requires leadership not slogan shouting. Something that (I am afraid) is lacking right now.

Extension of Last Post

Speaking of Bob Bennett. On Sunday morning, the Washington Post ran an op-ed piece by him that was very interesting. He has decided not to run as a write-in candiate, but seems to be taking the role of a moderate voice in the future of the GOP.

You can read it here:

The Direction of the GOP

Recent congressional primaries across the country have caused me to think about the direction that the Republican Party is taking and what the consequences may be. I have been a registered Republican since I turned 18 and have been active in Republican politics at multiple levels. However the recent tea party movement has me worried. In order for parties to be successful (especially in a two party system) it is critical that the party expand its base. It seems however that as the GOP moves to the right) (and to a lesser extent the Democratic party shifts to the left), the party is leaving more moderate members behind.

Two events have especially concerned me. The first is the dumping of Senator Bob Bennett from Utah at the convention. I feel that the party has done itself and the state a disservice by not nominating Senator Bennett. I believe he cast many votes such as TARP and immigration reform that were very unpopular but in the end were right. I dislike the philosophy behind TARP, but we could not watch our nation's money supply (and individual consumers' deposits) vanish overnight. What was truly his major crime, however: working across the aisle with Democrats.

Meet the Press:



KSL:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

It starts...

Hi Everyone. I guess it is the small amount of narcissism in me, but I decided to start a politics/economics blog. My senior year at Weber State, one of my good friends and I wrote a point-counter point column for the Signpost (Weber State's student newspaper). I was a great experience sharing my thoughts and it opened me up to opinions and thoughts of people across campus. Now whenever I watch the news or read an interesting book or column, I wish I was still writing that weekly column. So I guess this is my imperfect substitute for that.

As I hopefully post new issues and my initial thoughts on them, please feel free to post your thoughts as well. Just keep it clean and respectful.

Thanks for reading!