well, i was flipping through the papers this morning after school, when i came across an article in the opinion section. it grabbed my intention, since ive always had contradicting thoughts on the issue of immigration (my parents were immigrants). however, the main reason it interested me, was because im currently doing a personal research/report on the issue of immigration. and this is one of the subjects i address specifically.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/contributors/5325148.htm
"Shut the door, save the state
POPULATION GROWTH, FUELED BY IMMIGRATION, IS A DISASTER
By Deanna Wulff
MY jovial parents, the hum of high tech, my sister and her smiling toddler, Sunday brunches and laughter, ready listeners and familial teasing, blue skies reaching out to the sea -- I've left them and this town many times, bent on getting away from a nightmarish real estate market and onto a place that allows me to avoid cardiac arrest upon signing a mortgage.
For what are the options here? Either I rent for eternity or buy a small condo in some overwrought section of San Jose, that is loud, dirty, unsafe, pedestrian-unfriendly, some sort of purgatory or concrete hell.
My father hopefully suggests Santa Cruz, but I quickly point out that it's among the least affordable cities in the nation. He sighs. I sigh.
Why is this my reality? The answer infuriates me, because it's rarely mentioned come political platitude time. Potential congressmen stick to abortion, the death penalty, prayer in schools, flag burning, whether God should be included in the pledge -- anything but what really affects our lives here in the Bay Area.
They never bring up our greatest problem: population growth.
We have 35 million California residents, and by 2035, we can expect to have 64 million. Most people will be moving to metropolitan megalopolises like San Jose, San Francisco and the greater Los Angeles area.
The fact is that most of this growth comes from immigration -- not Americans moving in and out of the state, but from foreigners. According to Californians for Population Stabilization, from 1990-1997, foreign immigrants and their offspring contributed 96 percent of California's population growth.
If these statistics and their grim prospects don't frighten you, they should. They mean a future of ever increasing housing costs, jam-packed freeways, lower wages and a degraded, crowded environment.
Growth maniacs will contend, as they always do, that we need more people to make more money and to bolster economic health. They'll say that the real problem lies in lack of services, strip malls, subdivisions and stucco houses; they'll say that what we need is more city and less country, just get rid of all that open space.
They ignore the fact that we have only one pie here, and the more we divide it up, the less we get. Unchecked growth has never led to improved living conditions for humanity -- only to famine, crowding and general misery for the lowest classes.
Who wants this future? Only the wealthy, powerful and politically entrenched. They long to develop their 20-acre spread in Monte Sereno and retire with $20 million; they want cheap labor for their Central Valley agribusiness; they want their condos to rent at the highest market rate; they want more people desperate for gas, oil, electricity, food and milk.
But for the rest of us, growth spells disaster. It means countless hours spent on the interminable work treadmill, all for a 10-by-10 piece of dirt and a cardboard box.
The solution to this crisis is so simple, so clear: We must stop immigration. Period. We must roll up the welcome mat and bolt the door.
My detractors will call me a racist because the majority of immigrants are people of color, coming from Mexico and Asia. But that isn't the case -- should the entire White Anglo Saxon European population decide to immigrate, I'd still insist that we send them packing.
Immigration restriction is about preserving the quality of life and the environment in California for generations to come. My parents speak wistfully of Bay Area orchards and youthful families hastening here to make a better life. They don't speak of rent extortion, $1.2 million suburban homes or dismal four-lane streets with no sidewalks, but I do.
What horrors will my children speak of, if nothing is done?"
even though i dont agree, she does have some good points, if what she said was true. does population growth from immigration cause so many state problems? does their contributions pay up for the damage? what do you guys think?
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/contributors/5325148.htm
"Shut the door, save the state
POPULATION GROWTH, FUELED BY IMMIGRATION, IS A DISASTER
By Deanna Wulff
MY jovial parents, the hum of high tech, my sister and her smiling toddler, Sunday brunches and laughter, ready listeners and familial teasing, blue skies reaching out to the sea -- I've left them and this town many times, bent on getting away from a nightmarish real estate market and onto a place that allows me to avoid cardiac arrest upon signing a mortgage.
For what are the options here? Either I rent for eternity or buy a small condo in some overwrought section of San Jose, that is loud, dirty, unsafe, pedestrian-unfriendly, some sort of purgatory or concrete hell.
My father hopefully suggests Santa Cruz, but I quickly point out that it's among the least affordable cities in the nation. He sighs. I sigh.
Why is this my reality? The answer infuriates me, because it's rarely mentioned come political platitude time. Potential congressmen stick to abortion, the death penalty, prayer in schools, flag burning, whether God should be included in the pledge -- anything but what really affects our lives here in the Bay Area.
They never bring up our greatest problem: population growth.
We have 35 million California residents, and by 2035, we can expect to have 64 million. Most people will be moving to metropolitan megalopolises like San Jose, San Francisco and the greater Los Angeles area.
The fact is that most of this growth comes from immigration -- not Americans moving in and out of the state, but from foreigners. According to Californians for Population Stabilization, from 1990-1997, foreign immigrants and their offspring contributed 96 percent of California's population growth.
If these statistics and their grim prospects don't frighten you, they should. They mean a future of ever increasing housing costs, jam-packed freeways, lower wages and a degraded, crowded environment.
Growth maniacs will contend, as they always do, that we need more people to make more money and to bolster economic health. They'll say that the real problem lies in lack of services, strip malls, subdivisions and stucco houses; they'll say that what we need is more city and less country, just get rid of all that open space.
They ignore the fact that we have only one pie here, and the more we divide it up, the less we get. Unchecked growth has never led to improved living conditions for humanity -- only to famine, crowding and general misery for the lowest classes.
Who wants this future? Only the wealthy, powerful and politically entrenched. They long to develop their 20-acre spread in Monte Sereno and retire with $20 million; they want cheap labor for their Central Valley agribusiness; they want their condos to rent at the highest market rate; they want more people desperate for gas, oil, electricity, food and milk.
But for the rest of us, growth spells disaster. It means countless hours spent on the interminable work treadmill, all for a 10-by-10 piece of dirt and a cardboard box.
The solution to this crisis is so simple, so clear: We must stop immigration. Period. We must roll up the welcome mat and bolt the door.
My detractors will call me a racist because the majority of immigrants are people of color, coming from Mexico and Asia. But that isn't the case -- should the entire White Anglo Saxon European population decide to immigrate, I'd still insist that we send them packing.
Immigration restriction is about preserving the quality of life and the environment in California for generations to come. My parents speak wistfully of Bay Area orchards and youthful families hastening here to make a better life. They don't speak of rent extortion, $1.2 million suburban homes or dismal four-lane streets with no sidewalks, but I do.
What horrors will my children speak of, if nothing is done?"
even though i dont agree, she does have some good points, if what she said was true. does population growth from immigration cause so many state problems? does their contributions pay up for the damage? what do you guys think?
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