Immigration debate still raging...

It would be nice to hear groups such as the minutement to just fess up and say "We don't like Mexicans". This would allow the rest of us to see them for what they really are. Instead they hide behind the shield of "We're only after the Illegal immigrants". Which is of course bullshit, as evidenced by their initial lack of presence on the northern border. Once it was pointed out to them that Canada was in fact another country, they quickly moved a token group or two to that border.

What really bothers me about this whole debate is that nobody is addressing the underlying issue. People who hire workers illegally. Whether it is because of citizenship issues, taxation, insurance costs, or the infamous "other", it is important to begin prosecuting the employers. If the threat is great enough, the number of peole hiring people illegally will decrease. If the number of jobs decreases, the demand for workers willing to work for less than minimum wage will also decrease, and the supply of those workers will react accordingly.

Along with increased prosecution of employers, there are a couple other things which need to be done. First increae the minimum wage to a local or regional "living wage". Which changes every few years based upon the cost of living in that area. Second, require that any company wishing to sell its goods in this country obey this counties wage and environmental laws. The first part would increase the number of citizens who are willing to work as menial labor because it would no longer be more profitable to collect public assistance than to work. The second part would raise the standard of living in the countries most of our illegal immigrants come from. This would give them a reason to wait until legal methods of immigration became available.

I'm disgusted with this country right now, and especially with the conservatives "final solution" to immigration issues.