by V R Rutledge

Created on: July 05, 2008

When we consider the question, the most obvious way to address it is to make some comment about the number of jobs, the labor pool, the cost of labor and the earnings of citizens versus non-citizens. That is not the question. The question is much more complex and at once simpler. If you have a large influx of people who will work more cheaply, the wages paid will reflect this. When the bottom of the wage scale descends, the value of the wage paid descends as well. This is due to the fact that wage earners will augment their income in any way possible, and there will be goods to sell to those with less than enough money to survive. Cheap goods degrade the market, especially if imported. The current economy of the United States is at its worst in decades, primarily because of excessive government spending and the influx of illegal aliens. Another factor is the exportation of manufacturing, but that is another issue. The US was founded by and for, immigrants. It grows on the desire of newly arrived citizens to improve their lives. When this cycle is disrupted, either by illegal immigration or by a lack of opportunity, the system begins to collapse.

The government of the US has worked hard to limit the severity and amount of poverty in the country for several decades. This should have resulted in a better standard of living for the average citizen, but it has not. When non-citizens, who pay little or no taxes, flood into a country, bringing with them a different cultural base, the result is a strain on the existing economic structure. The US cannot and should not support those who have come into the country illegally, either with legal standing, education or even basic services. A criminal in most countries is jailed, not given housing and food while being educated at government expense. The illegal aliens in the US are even voting in elections. They steal an identity and use it to exploit the privileges which should be reserved for legal immigrants and citizens.

If changes were made in the legal system and in commerce, and the tendency of employers to be excessively greedy could be curtailed, the influx of illegal and legal immigrants would do little to change the socio-economic climate of the US, but without those changes, the entire system is in danger. No nation can support a 'hidden population' for long. Any government needs the active support of its populace to endure. The US is involved in an expensive and long-running military effort, one which is very

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>