Is illegal immigration a major problem in the USA?

[Slew Foot]

I would put it at #8 so not the top issue.

Problems by my priority list:

1. Money in politics screwing up the agenda (overturn Citizens United)

2. Jobs being lost to overseas markets (free trade is bad for us, go back to protectionism). Put a 10000% tax on all imports so that inspires us to build manufacturing again.

3. Reform Wall Streets and Banks

4. Reform the income tax code as following amounts are taxed progressively based on the poverty limit (currently it's $11,770 for 1 person):

under 2.5 times the poverty limit ($29,425 or less) 0%
2.5 - 5 times the poverty limit ($58,850 or less) 5%
5 - 10 times the poverty limit ($117,700 or less) 10%
10-20 times the poverty limit ($235,400 or less) 20%
20-50 times the poverty limit ($588,500 or less) 30%
51 times over the poverty limit ($588,500 or more) 50%

5. Make a constitutional amendment to stop foreign aid unless 1 million times that is spent in domestic aid (medicare/ education covering a college degree with an actual job skill - computer science/ engineering/ nursing/ dentistry not arts).

6. Cops are out of control. Either make them all wear video cameras to justify shootings or tell them they cannot shoot until shot at.

7. Our infrastructure is too old, invest again like Eisenhower so it lasts another 50 years. This includes sea walls for Atlantic Hurricanes and Rising seas. It also needs renewable energy so build more wind mills on every beach and give every house solar panels to help lower our energy drain.

8. Stop legal visa abuse (green card marriage fraud)

9. Stop illegal immigration

10. Isis/ Iran/ North Korea

Not a bad list but I find it interesting that you have losing jobs overseas at number 2, while losing jobs at home (illegal immigrants) near the bottom. Sure the illegals take entry level jobs most of the time, but thats where most of young people get their start, and most young people in America are just sitting in their parents basements playing video games.

 

[feralkid]

You gonna learn me, Feralkid?

-John

Fix your sig and maybe then we'll talk.

 

[Zorkorist]

You can't come up with a "list" when Government spends into debt.

One day, xyz is a problem. The next day, abc is a problem.

The problem is Government, and the $60,000 we each owe individually.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

Fix your sig and maybe then we'll talk.

What's wrong with my signature?

-John

 

[Jaskalas]

I'd rank a poverty filled foreign invasion up there just behind the Patriot Act and America's continued assault on its own liberties.
Either way you lose your country. At least with balkanization there may still be a piece of it left after the revolution it causes.

 

[Zorkorist]

You are describing what is happening today.

Nobody is stopping it.

-John

 

[alcoholbob]

H1b visa abuse is a bigger problem than people who are sneaking across the border.
Identity theft is a bigger problem than people who sneak across the border.
People who sneak across the border to work as migrant farmers or for low wage labor are not a significant factor in the decline of our economy.

Problem is there's even more big money defending h1bs than people sneaking across the border. All the big tech firms are lobbying for more h1bs, since from a shareholder perspective lower wages means more profit margins and soaring stock valuations. And the government will be complicit in this because a rising stock market means more foreign demand for dollars. It's far easier politically to go for something irrelevant like people sneaking across the border to be gardeners and fruit pickers.

 

[Zorkorist]

I think I have to call on Government, and for once in their life, they actually do something. Protect our borders, and kick out illegal aliens.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

Problem is there's even more big money defending h1bs than people sneaking across the boarder. All the big tech firms are lobbying for more h1bs, since from a shareholder perspective lower wages means more profit margins and soaring stock valuations. And the government will be complicit in this because a rising stock market means more foreign demand for dollars. It's far easier politically to go for something irrelevant like people sneaking across the border to be gardeners and fruit pickers.

This is pure devaluation of people. Like Amazon, wanting to work people to death.

-John

 

[Zorkorist]

If Government was scaled down, if life wasn't so expensive, then we could all get along.

-John

 

[Zaap]

people sneaking across the border to be gardeners and fruit pickers.

This is a really dumb stereotype, but ofcourse it's fairly typical of complacent spoiled Americans.

Everyone from elsewhere (yes, including even nations south of us) aren't just gardeners and fruit pickers. Not all are interested in being some sort of servant of your special snowflake ass. Quite a few are actually smarter, harder working, more skilled and more talented than you are at quite a range of things other than subservient shit you're too lazy to do.

Despite this, you (and all other legal citizens) shouldn't have to compete with illegal labor.

 

[woolfe9998]

Not a bad list but I find it interesting that you have losing jobs overseas at number 2, while losing jobs at home (illegal immigrants) near the bottom. Sure the illegals take entry level jobs most of the time, but thats where most of young people get their start, and most young people in America are just sitting in their parents basements playing video games.

I think you're correct to equate the two. One is shipping some jobs away for cheaper goods, and the other is shipping some jobs away, usually for cheaper labor. I don't rank either particularly high in importance, probably about 10th on my list. The problem is there are economic negatives and positives in both scenarios. So, for example, let's say a professional couple who don't have the time to clean their own house decide to hire illegals to do it for $40/week, whereas they would have to pay $100/week for legal labor. So they have an additional $60/week, which immediately improves their standard of living, and most importantly, the $60 can be spent on additional goods and services which supports other jobs. It's the same with cheap goods shipped from overseas.

My sense from various things I've read is that this is all probably a net negative, but I'm not too sure that the net is negative enough to make it an issue of top importance.

Anyway, it looks like job loss from off shoring is starting to level off, while job loss due to automation, which has already killed more jobs than offshoring, continues apace and will nearly extinguish the manufacturing sector by mid century at latest. This in turn will finally make the issue of offshoring moot.

 

[woolfe9998]

What causes many people to rate illegal immigration so high could be something like economics, or in some number maybe it's racism/xenophobia, but the real issue is simply one of demographics and electoral politics. The demographics are trending against the GOP as it is. Adding ~14,000,000 new citizens, while ~75% will vote democrat, will greatly hasten their demise.

For the libs out there wondering why the right seems to "shoot itself in the foot politically" by opposing amnesty, the answer lies right here. They'll take a moderate sized hit with Hispanic voters now to prevent a much larger problem in the future. They probably think that even if they shifted to supporting amnesty, they'll never get more than 40% of Hispanic voters. So caving on amnesty will hurt them more politically than help them. This is all just realpolitik.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I voted for "Top Ten" issue. Here are must-watch videos for anyone interested in the subject of immigration:

Immigration Gumballs

Off the Charts

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Because illegal aliens come into the country and get on the Government dole.

They vote democrat, so politicians give them even more money.

They are destroying America, and the American Dream.

You do realize that Ayn Rand was an advocate of open borders and unrestrained legal immigration if someone wanted to enter the country legally, right?

What's wrong with my signature?

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

 

[Indus]

Not a bad list but I find it interesting that you have losing jobs overseas at number 2, while losing jobs at home (illegal immigrants) near the bottom. Sure the illegals take entry level jobs most of the time, but thats where most of young people get their start, and most young people in America are just sitting in their parents basements playing video games.

Actually no, I differentiated manufacturing jobs that went overseas like car plants, refrigerators, practically anything we now buy from China. 20 years ago, I could name the stuff in my house that was not made in the USA. Now I think the only thing in my house made in the USA is my Weber Kettle BBQ Grill.

These manufacturing jobs supported whole communities and now have given rise to ghost towns with no jobs like Baltimore and Detroit.

 

[michal1980]

This is a really dumb stereotype, but ofcourse it's fairly typical of complacent spoiled Americans.

Everyone from elsewhere (yes, including even nations south of us) aren't just gardeners and fruit pickers. Not all are interested in being some sort of servant of your special snowflake ass. Quite a few are actually smarter, harder working, more skilled and more talented than you are at quite a range of things other than subservient shit you're too lazy to do.

Despite this, you (and all other legal citizens) shouldn't have to compete with illegal labor.

Typical liberal. I hate your stereotypes, so let me use my own.

Just to be clear.

Liberal stereotypes on immigration include:

1) Americans are lazy
2) Americans are stupid
3) illegals are smart
4) illegals are hard workers

 

[Murloc]

Actually no, I differentiated manufacturing jobs that went overseas like car plants, refrigerators, practically anything we now buy from China. 20 years ago, I could name the stuff in my house that was not made in the USA. Now I think the only thing in my house made in the USA is my Weber Kettle BBQ Grill.

These manufacturing jobs supported whole communities and now have given rise to ghost towns with no jobs like Baltimore and Detroit.

that's because the US has tremendous internal mobility because of how big and homogeneous it is.

Those manufacturing jobs went away from Europe too, but most people barely move from their home province or whatever around here. There are no such things as boomtowns and ghost cities because of this.
At worst there are rural villages emptied by mechanization of agriculture and industrialization but they still live on as holiday areas.

Honestly I think this is a problem caused by bad local planning.

If you want to manufacture the stuff the chinese manufacture, be prepared to live like they do too.
The US unemployment rates are not bad, so it means those jobs got replaced with better stuff.

 

[retrospooty]

You should put down the kool-aid and learn the facts.

Exactly. What a germanesque rant he had there.

 

[retrospooty]

I find it interesting that you have losing jobs overseas at number 2, while losing jobs at home (illegal immigrants) near the bottom.

That is kind of the disconnect... People that dont think its as big of a problem as you dont think they are taking many desired jobs from deserving people. The majority of them are working hard and taking mostly low end jobs from lazy fatasses. In other words, THIS guy is a far bigger problem to me than illegals. http://i.imgur.com/C6cLf2e.jpg

What happened to personal responsibility? From when I was younger, that was a big part of the republicans pitch... When did blaming everyone else become a core value? "I cant find a job, damn librals, damn illegals and damn a-rabs" .

Get off your asses and learn some skills and find that job, its out there waiting for you. Each person needs to stand up and be an adult and take control and responsibility for their own lives.

 

[JockoJohnson]

I would put it at #8 so not the top issue.

Problems by my priority list:

1. Money in politics screwing up the agenda (overturn Citizens United)

2. Jobs being lost to overseas markets (free trade is bad for us, go back to protectionism). Put a 10000% tax on all imports so that inspires us to build manufacturing again.

3. Reform Wall Streets and Banks

4. Reform the income tax code as following amounts are taxed progressively based on the poverty limit (currently it's $11,770 for 1 person):

under 2.5 times the poverty limit ($29,425 or less) 0%
2.5 - 5 times the poverty limit ($58,850 or less) 5%
5 - 10 times the poverty limit ($117,700 or less) 10%
10-20 times the poverty limit ($235,400 or less) 20%
20-50 times the poverty limit ($588,500 or less) 30%
51 times over the poverty limit ($588,500 or more) 50%

5. Make a constitutional amendment to stop foreign aid unless 1 million times that is spent in domestic aid (medicare/ education covering a college degree with an actual job skill - computer science/ engineering/ nursing/ dentistry not arts).

6. Cops are out of control. Either make them all wear video cameras to justify shootings or tell them they cannot shoot until shot at.

7. Our infrastructure is too old, invest again like Eisenhower so it lasts another 50 years. This includes sea walls for Atlantic Hurricanes and Rising seas. It also needs renewable energy so build more wind mills on every beach and give every house solar panels to help lower our energy drain.

8. Stop legal visa abuse (green card marriage fraud)

9. Stop illegal immigration

10. Isis/ Iran/ North Korea

Damn. That's actually a pretty good list that I can agree with. I might switch a number or two but all would be top 10.

 

[BoberFett]

Why, now, with the number of illegal immigrants entering the country at a 40-year low, do so many people think illegal immigration is a major problem?

American companies have been off-shoring jobs for years. Manufacturing jobs have been shifting to low-wage countries for years. So ask yourself: Who could possibly benefit by fooling Americans into believing that it's the big, bad illegal immigrants who are to blame for the losses of unskilled jobs in America?

The right-wing grass roots are a bunch of gullible hacks

You idiot. You do realize of course that using illegal immigrants for labor in the US has nearly the same effect as offshoring jobs, right? Jobs that can be done remotely are offshored, jobs that can't be done remotely are given to illegal immigrants.

Try thinking before you speak.

 

[BoberFett]

Not a bad list but I find it interesting that you have losing jobs overseas at number 2, while losing jobs at home (illegal immigrants) near the bottom. Sure the illegals take entry level jobs most of the time, but thats where most of young people get their start, and most young people in America are just sitting in their parents basements playing video games.

Most offshored jobs are entry level too. That's what most manufacturing is, low skill entry level work. Democrat morons can't see that they're the same problem.

 

[BoberFett]

You do realize that Ayn Rand was an advocate of open borders and unrestrained legal immigration if someone wanted to enter the country legally, right?

I'd support unlimited immigration as well... if all social safety nets were removed.

As long as there's any form of welfare, unlimited immigration is unsustainable for a country that wants to maintain a high standard of living. Just like water, everything will settle at the lowest level.

 

[JTsyo]

I think you're correct to equate the two. One is shipping some jobs away for cheaper goods, and the other is shipping some jobs away, usually for cheaper labor. I don't rank either particularly high in importance, probably about 10th on my list. The problem is there are economic negatives and positives in both scenarios. So, for example, let's say a professional couple who don't have the time to clean their own house decide to hire illegals to do it for $40/week, whereas they would have to pay $100/week for legal labor. So they have an additional $60/week, which immediately improves their standard of living, and most importantly, the $60 can be spent on additional goods and services which supports other jobs. It's the same with cheap goods shipped from overseas.

My sense from various things I've read is that this is all probably a net negative, but I'm not too sure that the net is negative enough to make it an issue of top importance.

Anyway, it looks like job loss from off shoring is starting to level off, while job loss due to automation, which has already killed more jobs than offshoring, continues apace and will nearly extinguish the manufacturing sector by mid century at latest. This in turn will finally make the issue of offshoring moot.

If they spend that $100 on legal labor then that money would have also been used to buy other things too. But now you have $10 of the $40 being send "overseas" and maybe part of the $60 sitting in a bank account.