posted
"We're none of us very far from the boats that brought our people over." Verily Cooper, Crystal City
"...and I've been trying to get Mr. Cheaper to order some Spanish grammars to get us ready for the occupation, but he won't do it." Abe Lincoln, Crystal City
Just think, if American schoolchildren were required to learn Spanish, we could open our southern border and avoid much silliness.
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
There is a lot more to immigration policy than language and where we all came from. We simply cannot absorb too many immigrants at one time. Our families still want to have their own children. If we were indiscriminate at this point in our history about immigration, there would be too many masses unable to hold anything but entry level jobs and not enough jobs to give them work.
I say this as someone married to an immigrant. I want to let as many people in as possible, but there really is a limit to how much any economy can handle. Ours is larger than most, but not enough to accomodate everyone who wants to move here.
However, I would gladly support immigration worker visas.
One thing I would like to see happen is to require a minimum wage for American owned foreign factories. It doesn't need to be the US minimum wage, but based on the cost of living of where they are. It should be sufficient to sustain a small family. I'd like to see more efforts by American companies to provide education to its workers and give them more opportunity for advancement in work so that they can earn more.
Immigrating to the US isn't the way to spread our wealth around. Outsourcing in foreign countries, with a diligent eye to maintaining a certain level of living in those that work for American companies will spread it far more effectively while helping us maintain more cultural diversity in the world.
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posted
I think OSC must have some strong opinions about the subject, else why put those words in the mouth of a venerable American president?
I think he's right; there will be an "occupation." And we will need Spanish grammar books in our schools.
I should have called this thread "Mexican Border Policy," rather than "immigration policy." Crossing an ocean to be here is one thing, but crossing an imaginary line as one pursues one's livelihood, or as one seeks better healthcare, or a better education for one's children is another thing. Everyone has a right to those things, and a line on a map shouldn't stop them.
This is all one big landmass, and it will have to support all the people who dwell here, regardless of where some politician draws the line on the map.
Trying to regulate migration across the border between Mexico and the U.S. is particularly silly because we are such good friends. They are our best customer and we are their best customer. They do good work when they come here, and we do good work when we go there. We need each other. Besides, the border is nearly impossible to monitor or defend.
Everyone in the Western Hemisphere should learn Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese. Then everybody can come and go as they please...just as Arthur Stuart did.
I think OSC is trying to make a point in "Crystal City" that language really is the solution. Being kissed by a French girl is reason enough to learn another language.
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posted
Skillery, I agree that we do not do enough to help our neighbors. Personally, I'd rather see special grants to encourage universities to open branch campuses in Central and South America. A program for small business loans to the poor who can't get them at the bank. Maybe even tax cuts for American companies that open offices or factories or whatever in foreign countries without closing American equivilants.
After all, it's fairly egotistical of us as a nation to assume everyone wants to move here. Personally, I'd be scared to death to leave my home, my family, my language, and my culture. Although I, too, would sacrifice my own happiness if it meant my family wouldn't starve to death because the coffee crop failed this year or the mudslides destroyed our home and everything we owned. The more we strengthen the economies of our neighbors, the less of a problem illegal immigration will become.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
It is funny to speak of not having enough entry level jobs to offer an open border full of Mexicans when so many of our manufacturing jobs at good wages are already in Mexico now.
As for making American companies pay minimum wage overseas, this is not only a potential disaster for those people there in terms of inflation and job compitition, it is impossible since a corporation can simply reorginize itself under another flag with no such requirement.
Taking over Mexico would be an ecomomic hardship for a generation, bringing the country up to United States standards would be an undertaking as great as rebuilding Europe after WWII, however in the long run it is the best solution. Once they have Cable and the Internet the population pressure should relax.
Still it would be analogous to the reconstruction of the South and would leave as many or more hard feelings. However the jobs in America would just keep leaving to Asia or some other place where labor remains cheap. Still, Building up the Mexican States would give us plenty of work in the short term, as would subduing them.
Canada would probably join just because they have seen what we can do to their friendly troops let alone their hostiles. But I refuse to think that French should be learned, if I want to kiss a French girl I will pay the five Euro's for a drink and flash a fifty while doing it.
posted
"Taking over Mexico" is definitely not what I had in mind.
Our governments should work together to tune the laws to make both countries a mirror image of each other. Educational standards, occupational safety standards, checks and balances in government, retirement benefits, etc. should all be the same.
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posted
Nice theory, I'd love to see a comprehensive plan of putting it in action. One that shows the writer knows what they're talking about and not just painting a pretty picture.
Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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There are thousands of other links, talking about cooperative projects.
If our public school students were to study both English and Spanish, they would be better prepared to participate in future cooperative projects.
It's only a matter of time before there are enough bilingual people and enough similarities between the public policies of the two nations that the border will all but disappear.
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