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Old 01-17-2018, 10:25 AM
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whell whell is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Metro Detroit
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Quote:
Originally Posted by finnbow View Post
It's racist, immoral, unconstitutional and anathema to the American ideal.
What "American ideal" would that be? The idea of a workforce where labor rates are artificially tamped down by artificially increasing supply? The ideal that there's no rule of law - including immigration law - and laws are meant to be twisted or ignored for political expediency? The idea that we should break the social safety net for citizens, and drive up costs, at the expense of illegal immigrants?

There are social and economic costs to this, as this Californian - who calls himself a liberal - points out:

•Competition for affordable housing: 1.5 million Californians pay more than half their income for housing, a result of overcrowding.

•More than 20 million tons of greenhouse gases are added each year by undocumented residents. California’s annual per-capita carbon dioxide production is 10 metric tons/per person.

•Competition for low-wage jobs is increased. Middle-income employers can pay lower wages.

•Allowing illegal immigrants to live and drive contributes to wasted time in traffic and greenhouse gas production.

•English language learners in the classroom lower academic performance by diverting limited educational resources. California has almost 1.4 million English language learners, and has the highest student/teacher ratio of all the large states. California scores lower than average for the nation in reading, mathematics and science.


Sure, you can also say that there's an economic benefit to these individuals who contribute as workers. But it doesn't wash. Data shows that revenues don't offset costs - not by a long shot - when factoring in uncompensated medical care, cost of education, and cost of incarceration. What American ideal or moral imperative is supported by the idea that citizens must run up debt to accommodate individuals who are in the country illegally?

I know you desperately want to talk about perceived, or alleged "racism" rather than this, but at the end of the day your allegation, and that of your advocates in the political class, that immigration reform is "racist" is far more harmful.
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