GUEST COLUMN

5/04/2006

America has sewn the seeds of failure
by exporting wealth and importing poverty
 

BY GARY MICHELSON

Wanda's letter makes some good points while at the same time getting lost in others. She rightfully calls for those who are in this country of non-American nationality to earn their citizenship as well as the right to be here, yet she seems to miss other crucial points in this debate. I'm sure she need not be reminded that the first act of the reported 15-20 million people who are in this country illegally was to ignore our sovereignty and violate our laws. First and foremost, we are a nation of laws, not people. As a sovereign nation, America must control immigration out of necessity, which to her credit Wanda seems to acknowledge. But in case she missed some of the finer points about this debate, we must be concerned about, among other things, terrorists, a rapidly growing illegal drug trade, criminals and/or criminal behavior, infectious diseases, and the stress on our infrastructure and social safety nets, all of which can, and in the case of unregulated immigration—the size of which at our southern boarder constitutes an outright invasion--cost our society billions of dollars and the cohesion necessary to keep this country great. Far more important, however, is that unchecked immigration leads to societal and organizational breakdown. Even too many legal immigrants, if not properly spaced, can place such a burden on the social structure of this country that we risk the same fate (we only have to look to France for an example). And sadly, our outdated and ridiculous immigration policies and unwillingness to enforce existing laws, not to mention the inaction of our leaders, have led this country to the precipice of a disaster.

What seems lost on many is that while we’re able to obtain cheap labor, it doesn’t come without a price. We are ratcheting down our standard of living as we export wealth and import poverty. Most of the illegals (and many legal immigrants) in this country are poorly educated, low skilled, and have or are escaping a homeland who's government is corrupt, has plunged its economy into near-depression, and has become determined to freeload off the American economy. The 15 to 20 million illegals here already are for the most part a permanent lower class. They don't universally promote nor seem to value education or assimilation and are as much, if not more, a drag on the American economy and social services than anything they may contribute back.

As for education, a study recently in Denver Public Schools tracked students who entered the 8th grade in 1999. As a large sanctuary city, Denver has a significant illegal (and legal) Hispanic population. Only 1 in 4 of those students tracked graduated with a high school diploma. Nationally, only 7% of Hispanics in this country receive a bachelor's degree. Yet, these represent families who have been here for a while now. It will only multiply exponentially given the sizeable invasion that has taken place at our southern boarder in the six years since 2000, a period in which clearly more than half of the illegals here have entered this country, and given the fact that statistically Latinos have significantly higher birth rates than Americans of European ancestry.

As for assimilation, our history of promoting bilingual education has backfired by removing incentives for foreigners to learn English, the language of commerce and an essential tool to keep our society intact. Moreover, this country faces the prospects of balkanization as its corporations and government--spending an estimated $3.2 billion annually--willingly pander to illegals and discourages English by printing material, ads, voting guides, etc. in multiple languages (the Census Bureau reports that 21.3 million Americans can barely speak English—a 52% increase in only 10 years). This is a recipe for failure, for what necessarily bind a country together are a common language, shared social values, national unity, and loyalty. With some exceptions, Hispanics tend to congregate together in enclaves and resist becoming full-fledged Americans. Their perpetual socio-economic class may never allow them to escape the shackles of this existence. Those who support the relative multicultural orthodoxy that believes in an open-boarder policy are merely trading the euphoria of a "feel good" sentiment for an economic disaster.

Finally, one only need look around for plenty of anecdotal and scientific evidence on what the cost is to society (the government has kept few statistics on illegals). While Wanda stated that immigrants pay income taxes, there are legions that don't. The construction industry, where many illegals find work, is well known for its cash, under-the-table economy. Many illegals who are legitimately registered, or otherwise would file income taxes, more than likely claim enough dependents (due to higher than average birth rates or because many live together) that their tax payments are either null or, worse yet, they receive money they never paid in via the refundable low income tax credit. Moreover, the "anchor baby" provision of the 14th Amendment to the constitution is like a magnet for illegals to cross boarder states and use our medical facilities without the ability to pay. Un-funded federal mandates require medical services be provided to these indigents (estimated at $2 billion each year). Perhaps that explains why approximately 80 hospitals in California had to close their doors and in 2003 another 80 filed for bankruptcy. Even when funded by the government, the drain on Medicaid (estimated at $2.5 billion) for treatment of illegals is speeding it toward bankruptcy. Does anyone wonder why entitlements (such as Medicaid, food stamps and other welfare programs) are the fastest growing segments of the federal budget? And, what about the drain on our education system? Not only is the drain measured in dollars but also the overcrowding conditions accompanied by 15-20 million more people doubtless diminish the effectiveness of educators. It is estimated that immigrants from Mexico, both legal and illegal, send between $20 and $30 billion back to Mexico annually. Along with the manufacturing industries we have exported the last 20 years and now high tech jobs to India, this financial drain contributes significantly to the exportation of this country's wealth. In the late ‘60s this country was the world’s foremost creditor nation. It is now the world’s largest debtor nation.

I could go on, but suffice it to say we have sowed the seeds for failure. Al-Qaida has proven to be a patient organization. All it has to do now to accomplish its goal is wait another 10-15 years. As demonstrated above, we are exporting wealth and importing poverty, our standard of living is dropping as wages are driven down by illegals, we have mortgaged our future, and we are rapidly losing our sense of culture and national unity. We will do to ourselves what no foreign army or the Cold War could every do; we will implode from our own absurd, illogical policies and our "feel good" desire to blindly champion this insidious concept of multiculturalism and open boarders.

Gary Michelson manages a government accounting office that he has been with for 30 years. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1973. Gary has wife & 2 kids in the Denver area. He's lived in Colorado area for 28 years. For the past ten years, he has been a conservative with grave concerns about this country's future.