I agree that the immigration system is broken on purpose, but it's not to make more voters; its to provide more poverty-wage workers. The reality is that we rich, white people (yes, most all of us are comparatively rich on a world scale) couldn't have such inexpensive food if not for undocumented agricultural workers. They are far more victimized by our system than our system is by them. And yes, they could decide to just not come over, but it's also true that as bad as it is for them when they get here, it does represent a real possibility of improvement for them compared to home. More power to them. Those people work harder than most citizens of this country, and we all benefit from it. Latin American immigrants also assimilate faster (usually by the second generation) and are statistically highly-contribution members of society. Are there some bad apples? Of course, and I support dealing with them appropriately. But if their only crime is being in the U.S. undocumented, that is no crime at all in my eyes. Remember, the ancestors of most of you came here uninvited as well.Green Hornet wrote:I knew I'd get a bite but you missed the point, Secure the Borders, Enforce current Law, then lets discuss this emotional, heart string ploy to make them all citizens! Even you can't be against deporting the criminals and make it so they can't get back in the country! Its not like we don't have plenty of down & out citizens to cry our hearts out over? The system in broken on purpose in order to create Voters! We don't need comprehensive Immigration Reform we just need to enforce current Law with human kindness over flowing... Can we also have one blend of gasoline is that asking to much? Can we make Solar Panels cost effective that are reliable & not made in China? Can we tear down the protected species Bird killing windmills? Can we give the farmers back their water & stop this idiotic bait fish lunacy. People are hungry all over the world & the CA. basin is a Dust Bowl, all for some Zealot who thinks a bait fish is more important. Species have come & gone its called survival of the fittest. I believe Darwin is a name that is familiar! Also for crying out loud stop the betrayal of our Warriors from rules of engagement, retreat without a SOFA to VA hospital corruption ! End the damn IRS and get a flat tax. How about removing some corrupt politicians like Hillary from the Narrative? How do you like me so far? Just Stirring the pot!
You argue for not worrying about a fish species so we can use more water, and yet you want to tear down windmills to save bird species. Hmm....that sort of hypocrisy makes you sound like you just have a knee-jerk reaction to anything that might be labelled "progressive", or supported by Democrats, instead of critically examining the arguments for each issue on their own merits. Perhaps I'm not giving you enough of the benefit of the doubt; I'm open to being corrected on this.
The water problem won't go away by ignoring that fish, by the way. We are most likely beyond the long-term carrying capacity of the western watersheds due to having too many people living in places that are too dry, exacerbated by the drought, which may very well be related to anthropogenic climate change.
This is truly a tough one to solve, as it really just requires that there be fewer of us, living more sustainably (which might include moving out of the deserts).
Flat tax, eh? You really want to pay the same rate as some guy that makes 15 million a year? You really think some poor stiff working his a$$ off for minimum eagle should? Here's my idea: a true progressive tax, with rates increasing with raw income, and no deductions for anything. You want to have kids? Fine, you pay for them, the same way that I decided to pay for all the things I wanted. Same if you buy a house, invest in a business, or whatever. Deductions by-and-large favor the wealthy, and to a much lesser degree the middle class. The working class and the poor get no benefit from them at all any more. Getting rid of loopholes (deductions) completely is the only way to get the wealthy to pay their fair share. Doing so should allow lower rates for most of the people that have been paying their fare share all along, including most of the middle class.
I'm with you on getting rid of corrupt politicians, which is most likely most of the ones we have now. Campaign finance reform, term limits, and limiting corporate influence in government will be required. The logical place to start (and it's just a start) is with overturning the horribly mis-named "Citizens United" ruling.
And I thought I was done with this thread...