When we finally get around the tragic clown posturings of Donald Trump, what will actually have been accomplished? How can we stop the inflow of desperate, undocumented people in a fair, compassionate and effective way?
A good place to start in solving the immigration problem would involve bringing the rest of the Western hemisphere into the 21st century. If the people of Mexico, Cuba, Central America, South America, et al could earn a living wage in their countries, the incentive to come here to work would diminish.
I propose levying an import duty on any part, product or service that is sold in this country when the workers making the product or providing that service earn less than the US minimum wage. Corporations could avoid paying this duty by paying the prevailing minimum wage to their employees.
This would help our economy in at least five ways:
1. It would slow down the the loss of jobs caused when companies move their operations "offshore" seeking to cut labor costs.
2. It would give the people of other countries more money to spend on American products thereby increasing our exports and lowering the trade deficit.
3. It would stop the hiring of illegal immigrants in this country who will work for low wages thereby taking jobs from Americans. This would decrease unemployment and stimulate the economy.
4. It will drastically cut back on the number of immigrants who come here to find work, fall into poverty and must resort to social services in order to survive. This will lessen the amount of taxpayer money needed to provide such services.
5. The taxes collected from "underpayers" would help offset the costs to the American people brought about by the immigration of those seeking better employment.
The situation we are in now is largely a result of NAFTA which helps promote a culture of worker exploitation in Hispanic countries.
Ross Perot was right. NAFTA turned out to be a disaster for American workers. The only people it benefits are rich CEOs and business owners. The rest of us are paying the price in lost jobs and lower wages.
Building walls, guest worker programs, making it a felony to be an illegal immigrant and "sending them all back" won't work. We can waste time and money on these programs or we can address the true cause of illegal immigration; extreme poverty beyond our borders.
We have got to find a way to improve the quality of life for our neighbors to the south and elsewhere in their native countries. Fleeing to America must cease to be their only salvation from poverty.
