Depending, usually, on the political party you espouse, you are either for or against immigration, This really means illegal immigration, or undocumented for more pc folks. I do believe we have a moral obligation to bring the millions of people living in the shadows out of that desperate and fearful state. It is unconscionable to allow people to remain at the bottom of the heap just so large businesses can profit by cheaper labor.For coyotes in Mexico to take large portions of a family's money to get someone across the border,or Chinese immigrants to die attempting to get in...and their suffering if they survive is a life of horror, constantly paying off their "benefactors." In whatever method the crime bosses prefer.Human trafficking is in part enabled by our incoherent immigration policies. I further believe we need to know who is here!We have laws that ban those with a criminal history from remaining on our shores. We have laws protecting political refugees..largely ignored in last years' stream of children crossing the border.And despite the wrench in the job markets as those...already here, who could then apply for jobs openly,it would be much better to let the market absorb these people now rather than allowing the slight of hand business immigration ( to fill jobs not filled by US citizens) to further depress wage levels.And yes, food, construction, etc might get more expensive. Better that than living off the backs of the poor and desperate. Better to get people on a path to citizenship...part of the requirement learning about the US..we used to call that civics class! Better informed citizens hopefully less crime, hopefully better lives... I think that if we do not tackle these issues now, there will be burdens on our society and tremendous potential for conflict. I am referring to the changing demographics of the US. Birthrates tell the tale. I chose to track black, white, Hispanic, and Muslim birthrates. This is not as easy as it sounds. Muslims come from all over the world., they come here, like the rest of us, for better jobs and increased security. Governmental census takers do not include religion in most of their health surveys,so I had to gather the best estimates I could find. I think a graph would best illustrate the differing birthrates. This one is from http://www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2012/world-population-data-sheet/fact-sheet-us-population.aspx Whites are not even replacing themselves with 2 children per couple. Asians are, but no more than that.Blacks and hispanics still have more children on average than their white counterparts, but this is rapidly diminishing with access to contraception and abortion. We know, historically, as family incomes stabilize and children have more access to education and other routes to success, the number of children per family declines.Every group living the "American Dream" follows this pattern.We also know that birthrates are historically low in times of economic depression, These figures might alter slightly upwards as the economy improves. People in the US regardless of group are also tending to marry less often and at a later age, and put off childbearing, and what the total effect of older and wealthier parents might be is anyone;s guess. As to Muslims...they have a rather high birthrate, at 2.6 children per Muslim woman. There is not the same stigma about abortion ( there are allowances for..health of the mother, status of the fetus, etc and depending on culture/.country of origin.) as in the typical Protestant or Catholic raised American. This group may indeed see a lower birthrate as well with access to medical care and contraception in the US.However, this population is expected to double in the next twenty years or so, but not strictly by birth.Immigration and conversion are also going to enlarge this population. http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-americas/ http://bostonreview.net/world/tom-hundley-indonesia-abortion-islam At this point in time, four times as many black teenagers as white teenagers have abortions. While biracial children have been absorbed into the black community in the past, there are a few signs biracial families are beginning to consider themselves separate; the rates are up for biracial children ( both those with black or asian parents.) I just find myself anguished over the state of black Americans; racially profiled, jailed at higher rates, having more abortions, and generally now ignored in favor of the larger and more robust potential voter numbers in areas of growing Hispanic and Muslim communities.. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/abortion-rates-black-teens_n_2925427.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/number-of-biracial-babies-soars-over-past-decade/2012/04/25/gIQAWRiAiT_story.html But do not despair, whites are about to become far less prominent in average American life. While the idea of people whose background or culture you do not understand having much more sway in elections, competing for jobs, etc might be scary, it is also necessary, We are not producing enough children to fill future jobs. Growth will continue, as it must to accommodate housing food etc for a growing number of people. We need to implement immigration reform NOW. Documented workers who can get decent jobs, and follow a path to citizenship including good basic teaching about English language, civics, the law, history,and politics.We need to assimilate these newer groups, not fend them off, pretend they aren't here, or scream about fences and no immigration. The numbers don;t work. We do not have a choice. We can move forward to integrate new citizens smoothly, or have tremendous conflict, misunderstanding, and loss of American values as the demographic changes. The melting pot needs to start melting again. |
Faith and ReasonA grandma's perspective on a few things.. Archives
May 2020
Categories<a href="http://www.ontoplist.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ontoplist.com/images/ontoplist50.png?id=553a2c21e7ccf" alt="Blog Directory & Business Pages - OnToplist.com" border="0"></a>
|