I've not posted in a while because I've had some issues going on, however because we've got elections coming up, I feel I owe to the rest of the world to let them read my glorious and wonderful thoughts on all things, especially political.

One the biggest issues people are getting steamed about right now is immigration or more specifically illegal immigration from Mexico and other Central American nations.

This isn't the first time folks have railed at huge influxes of immigrants. If one looks back before the civil war, the Know Nothings were very much about "nativist" ideas. Large groups of immigrants were bad for the country, taking jobs away, filling up neighborhoods. They were all poor, sounded different, etc. Mostly, they were Irish and were really an offshoot of the Whig party. While I may be stretching a bit, they would be flourishing in today's society because of the immigrant issues. Then, later on, the Irish had problems with the Italian immigrants.

Now, on to modern times.

Back then, the Irish were leaving a famine. Now, the Mexicans and other hispanic cultures are vastly overpopulated. That's why Mexico City is the most populous in the world. Many are poor and come to America for a better life. Many are trucked in or run across the border and many live in substandard conditions, working low wage jobs.

Here's the real key though: economics. There's a market for these folks. There are millions of low paying jobs as physical laborers, restaurant workers, etc. that many "nativists" won't do. If the market weren't there, they wouldn't come here. There's obviously a huge market for low wage, hard working laborers. They help support our standard of living.

I'm not necessarily advocating or condoning illegal behavior but not only are there jobs for all these people but also, many are willing to risk death to get to those jobs. There's very little, in my estimation, that the government can do to slow this down.

Technorati Tags: Immigration, Know Nothings, Whigs

|