For the last few weeks there have been discussions over the Senate bill, now being considered in the House, which would allow eventually citizenship in the United States for possibly 40 million Mexicans (not just those here illegally but their relatives still in Mexico). Some say it'll end up closer to 100 million when it's all said and done. Interestingly enough, for the first time, the proposal for new immigrants would favor those with no education. Why do you suppose that is?
Okay, let's get my selfish concerns out of the way first. For someone who values the quiet places, farmland, wilderness, less traffic, I see this kind of rapid increase in population as negatively increasing an already ongoing situation of cities stretching farther and farther. With instant population jump, what does that do to transportation, housing, schools, taxes, medical care, etc.? Given the seeming rush behind this measure, is there even time to consider long-term ramifications? It seems it's more like hope-for-the-best as it was with the tax cuts that were not supposed to increase the budget deficit. So why suddenly now? Are there hidden goals?
Out front are humanitarian issues. We are a nation of immigrants. Some want to see everyone in poverty able to move to the United States for a better life. Has it occurred to them, when all those reach here from around the world, it is more likely to lower the lifestyle of many here already. The same humanitarians generally favor government programs for those who are disadvantaged which will mean higher taxes for everyone-- who pay taxes anyway. It will crowd what is already crowded and little by little the land will be filled with homes and no space for the wild things. Not that those who favor expansion of our population by such huge numbers normally care much about wilderness.
Also vocal about why to do this are those who favor an influx of low skilled immigrants as a way to keep their stock market investments high. The argument is presented that we need these people to pay for the pensions of our aging population. I have heard-- who will take care of us in retirement homes? For others it's a source of cheap labor to do home repairs and gardening since they no longer do such work for themselves. Most of those do not directly have to hire the illegal. They hire a contractor who hires them. Who will pick the crops? And on it goes.
Are these the reasons why the proposal favors uneducated people over educated or trained? Is it about importing a servant class? If that's what the 'middle' class thinks it is getting, I think it is in for a surprise.
For those of you who don't like to hear conspiracy talk, time to head onto a different blog because it's what I'm about to discuss-- the possible hidden agendas.
Could it be this has the intention of turning the United States into a third world country made up of a wealthy and a servant class, enabling it to compete with markets like India and China? For those who think that is ridiculous, think who most benefits from this abrupt increase in a certain type of worker. (hint: think who benefited from the income tax cuts)
Where will all this leave our current middle class? Their good paying jobs are already disappearing to some extent-- salaries not keeping pace with inflation. If it keeps on as it is, the center of the middle class and the lower rungs will be as extinct as the dodo bird. Some of those in the middle will, of course, move into the upper rungs economically but many will be pushed into the lower class.
Is that only possible hidden agenda? *Conspiracy music, please. Not Pink Panther but more like Night on Bald Mountain.*
For as long as I can remember, there has been talk of an eventual one-world government. There are those who see that as the best possible of worlds. No borders. No diverse local laws but rather a one-world system where laws are decided on a 'higher plane' for the good of all. Their dream is a time where the term your country is a misnomer.
There's already the European Union and could this be the next step-- Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America? Sound good? Utopia is only a step away. Naturally a benevolent dictatorship is the most logical government form for something this big.
Since the link above isn't the kind of reading material that will find a place in the front pages of most newspapers or make a 60 second sound bite on the evening news, a lot of people won't even know until it's a done deal. How many, including newsmen, have bothered to read the fine print in the Senate's proposal to see the true numbers? People are too busy for such boring stuff. They are off watching American Idol and voting for their favorite -- in numbers greater than for any United States President ever.
The Bible speaks of a time of dictatorship and total economic control over the whole world. Seemed far fetched at one time, but does it now?
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." Rev. 13:16-18
Mystics and prophets generally say whatever is written can be changed by people repenting and changing their ways. Today I don't see much to suggest people will make those changes or even realize what is happening before it's too late.
Maybe the coming changes are inevitable. We want our children to grow up in a better world than we did. It doesn't always happen. I just wish that I felt when the change came it would be because people had stayed alert, weren't doped on junk television, and had made the choice based on fully realizing what they were doing.
This photo takes a little interpreting. It is at a hot springs in Eastern Oregon that used to be a resort. The pond has cool water at one end with lily pads, cattails, fish, and frogs. At the end where I was standing were hot spring vents.
I looked down to try and figure out what those little white shapes were and then realized-- the bodies of frogs. Frogs that hadn't noticed, until it was too late, as they moved into the warmer water, that it was getting hotter. A life that seems easier isn't always a life that is healthier.
I hope Americans will watch the signs and not be like the frogs-- cooked before they realize it.
Okay, let's get my selfish concerns out of the way first. For someone who values the quiet places, farmland, wilderness, less traffic, I see this kind of rapid increase in population as negatively increasing an already ongoing situation of cities stretching farther and farther. With instant population jump, what does that do to transportation, housing, schools, taxes, medical care, etc.? Given the seeming rush behind this measure, is there even time to consider long-term ramifications? It seems it's more like hope-for-the-best as it was with the tax cuts that were not supposed to increase the budget deficit. So why suddenly now? Are there hidden goals?
Out front are humanitarian issues. We are a nation of immigrants. Some want to see everyone in poverty able to move to the United States for a better life. Has it occurred to them, when all those reach here from around the world, it is more likely to lower the lifestyle of many here already. The same humanitarians generally favor government programs for those who are disadvantaged which will mean higher taxes for everyone-- who pay taxes anyway. It will crowd what is already crowded and little by little the land will be filled with homes and no space for the wild things. Not that those who favor expansion of our population by such huge numbers normally care much about wilderness.
Also vocal about why to do this are those who favor an influx of low skilled immigrants as a way to keep their stock market investments high. The argument is presented that we need these people to pay for the pensions of our aging population. I have heard-- who will take care of us in retirement homes? For others it's a source of cheap labor to do home repairs and gardening since they no longer do such work for themselves. Most of those do not directly have to hire the illegal. They hire a contractor who hires them. Who will pick the crops? And on it goes.
Are these the reasons why the proposal favors uneducated people over educated or trained? Is it about importing a servant class? If that's what the 'middle' class thinks it is getting, I think it is in for a surprise.
For those of you who don't like to hear conspiracy talk, time to head onto a different blog because it's what I'm about to discuss-- the possible hidden agendas.
Could it be this has the intention of turning the United States into a third world country made up of a wealthy and a servant class, enabling it to compete with markets like India and China? For those who think that is ridiculous, think who most benefits from this abrupt increase in a certain type of worker. (hint: think who benefited from the income tax cuts)
Where will all this leave our current middle class? Their good paying jobs are already disappearing to some extent-- salaries not keeping pace with inflation. If it keeps on as it is, the center of the middle class and the lower rungs will be as extinct as the dodo bird. Some of those in the middle will, of course, move into the upper rungs economically but many will be pushed into the lower class.
Is that only possible hidden agenda? *Conspiracy music, please. Not Pink Panther but more like Night on Bald Mountain.*
For as long as I can remember, there has been talk of an eventual one-world government. There are those who see that as the best possible of worlds. No borders. No diverse local laws but rather a one-world system where laws are decided on a 'higher plane' for the good of all. Their dream is a time where the term your country is a misnomer.
There's already the European Union and could this be the next step-- Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America? Sound good? Utopia is only a step away. Naturally a benevolent dictatorship is the most logical government form for something this big.
Since the link above isn't the kind of reading material that will find a place in the front pages of most newspapers or make a 60 second sound bite on the evening news, a lot of people won't even know until it's a done deal. How many, including newsmen, have bothered to read the fine print in the Senate's proposal to see the true numbers? People are too busy for such boring stuff. They are off watching American Idol and voting for their favorite -- in numbers greater than for any United States President ever.
The Bible speaks of a time of dictatorship and total economic control over the whole world. Seemed far fetched at one time, but does it now?
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." Rev. 13:16-18
Mystics and prophets generally say whatever is written can be changed by people repenting and changing their ways. Today I don't see much to suggest people will make those changes or even realize what is happening before it's too late.
Maybe the coming changes are inevitable. We want our children to grow up in a better world than we did. It doesn't always happen. I just wish that I felt when the change came it would be because people had stayed alert, weren't doped on junk television, and had made the choice based on fully realizing what they were doing.
This photo takes a little interpreting. It is at a hot springs in Eastern Oregon that used to be a resort. The pond has cool water at one end with lily pads, cattails, fish, and frogs. At the end where I was standing were hot spring vents.
I looked down to try and figure out what those little white shapes were and then realized-- the bodies of frogs. Frogs that hadn't noticed, until it was too late, as they moved into the warmer water, that it was getting hotter. A life that seems easier isn't always a life that is healthier.
I hope Americans will watch the signs and not be like the frogs-- cooked before they realize it.
13 comments:
You have a gift...writing. You can write about the everyday and the not so everyday such as this article. We have talked about this very subject several times but you have the "guts" to write about your own feelings on it and post them to your blog. My own "feelings" that I get when thinking about one world order are downright scary. Could it work? Who knows, but you summed it up perfectly with your picture near the end. One can only hope that people will have clear minds and all of their wits about them when and if it comes time to decide.
I think what we need to do is to push (force?) Mexico to make changes internally that will improve the lot of their citizens so they do not have such an incentive to move here. I had thought that was part of what NAFTA was about but it doesn't seem to have helped much if at all. I also thought that when Fox was elected President there it was the beginning of change that would at least start towards improvements. His term is nearly over. We will have to see who replaces him. As you say, a quick 40% increase in our population with most being poorly educated will probably not help much, unless you want to hire yard care people or fruit pickers.
A good post.
You sure have a way with words, girl. Thanks for giving a balanced take on the immigration thing. When I was going down the escalator at LAX yesterday behind me I heard a father speaking to his son about Los Angeles. I sneaked a peek and the boy was about 8. The dad said something like this: In California there are lots and lots of Latinos, people who speak Spanish. You will see a lot of them and you'll hear Spanish spoken everywhere. It was a kind teaching, I thought. When I got to the curbside, up drove a beat-up low rider car with rap music playing so loud that the whole area was vibrating with sound. Three young black men leaped out and high fived another guy with his luggage at the curb--with all kinds of jivey street talk going on. Everyone was staring--welcome to California. California has become even more diverse than NY, I think. The "problem" is the border between Mexico and the U.S. and the Governator has now sent the National Guard down south to help out. I wish I knew the answer. I constantly weigh the morality with the over population. I wish I had the answers.
Oh, forgot the one world thing. That has always been my own utopian dream, but when we can't get along in families or our own block, it seems so pie-in-the-skyish to think we could get along when we are so culturally diverse.
I am quite sure that we are the "frogs." Wonderful metaphor, by the way.
You hit it squarely with your concern about us and US becoming a master-servant society. It is quickly headed that direction with tremendous momentum that cannot be easily reversed. When the factories have been torn down or converted to other uses, the jobs will NOT be brought back from India or China or Mexico.
Adding a massive number of uneducated, unskilled Mexicans to our population creates an enormous drain on public funds to support them, which we will pay for through taxation. Who owns the large international companies (think Haliburton) that will reap the contracts and profits of building the public infrastructure to house, educate, and medically treat those 40 or 100 million new "Americans"? And who pays for all that? (think "moi")
Yep, a two-level caste society, the two existing separate and apart, yet with a strong co-dependence. Or is that inter-dependence? Whatever...
Sorry, I didn't intend to get off on a rant...
Convincing.
Well stated!
Remember - US voters voted twice for what we are getting!
This is really great writing about some very complicated stuff, Rain. I really appreciate your efforts here. What I feel most concerned about is the owners wanting a permanent under-class of non-voting workers. That's really where I see this headed. They won't really allow a 40% increase in our population of people who will actually become citizens. They don't want citizens they want workers who have no voice.
I have often thought it would be great to live in a world without borders. All of us citizens of the earth. I don't think that's what the power-mongers have in mind, though.
John Lennon wrote: They keep you doped with religion, sex, and tv. I think he's still right.
Very well written as usual. This is a tough one. The US has always been a nation of immigrants and has always been a nation of change. Is it just us or are things really changing faster than they used to. A lot of people cry the blues for the Mexicans who want to enter the US because they come from a poor country, but nobody is asking why is Mexico such a poor country? They have a lot of oil and other resources. They have millions of Americans, Canadians and Europeans travelling there and spending millions of dollars at their beaches and resorts. They should be our rich neighbor to the south not vice versa. Every time a Mexican or US politician makes a speech about how bad things are there and how good things are here, they should be asked what is being done to change that.
Another question about Endments comment. What did we vote for twice? I am guessing that you mean W. I am pretty sure that he was not president when Nafta passed and I know he wasnt president when the last amnesty bill passed. W is not the cause of all evil in the world. Granted I would like him to do some things differently, but we also have 2 other branches of govenment in this country that seem to screw things up far more often than any president could ever hope.
Final thought. Why does everyone pick on Halliburton? Because you heard the name on TV? How many Halliburton trucks have you seen in your town? If you want to pick on a big company that has a lot of influence in this country why not one like say Disney or AT&T or AOL Time Warner. I would say they have more influence on more Americans every day than any construction company.
Oh one more thing....Robin you really think the Mexicans wont vote. Hell most citizens dont vote. The mexicans are becoming a political force. Look at Fla or Cali. Over half the state poliiticans are hispanic
Ingineer, halliburton is just a name used like a place holder and they would rarely have a truck anywhere with their name on them as they work with subsidiary companies as well as keep their bases offshore in tax havens as much as possible.
as for Bush not causing the problems of today. Nobody said he did it all but he's in control and has had a majority control in both houses not to mention the courts increasingly; so if he doesn't get blame for things, why give him credit? people did vote for him and a lot of us who did not were afraid he'd be a disaster as a president, which we believe he has been-- only worse than we imagined... and you and I have had these discussion many times lol
Rain I know how you feel and you know how I feel. Besides just plain ranting, I was trying to engage a few others in here. And I have seen Haliburton trucks in my town. They are working in the Natural Gas wells in the neighboring county.
well, good luck with the engaging, ingineer. Intelligent discourse is always good, I think :)
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