A response to those who disagree...

I've gotten a few responses to my previous post about not boycotting Arizona.

First of all, to the loser that tried to do a quick copy/paste of a rant s/he had obviously previously written on my comments section without actually reading my post...I don't think so. Disagreeing with me is fine. Not bothering to actually read the post but just going straight to the comments and attempting to commandeer my blog won't fly with me. If you want your comment posted, be respectful and actually read my post first.

Secondly, to Anonymous #2 & 3: Thank you for not being disrespectful in your comments. I appreciate that and that's why I published your comments. As a side note, I would prefer people not hide behind their anonymity, but I do understand that not everyone has their own blog but would still like to comment. That's cool.

Thirdly, to Anonymous #3: I don't believe I portrayed or implied any contempt for anyone. I simple asked that people be careful of their actions in that it could adversely affect the very people they are trying to help. Further, I would agree that if businesses "simply not hire illegal immigrants" a lot of the problem would go away. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen any time soon. There is the issue of cheap labor, that's a definite factor. But there's also the problem of lack of workers who want to do the work. Have you ever picked lettuce in Arizona? Neither have I and if I can help it, I never will. It's back breaking labor in miserable conditions and most people wouldn't want to do it. But it needs to get done, so the people that will do it are hired. So let's be simplistic and see what we can do.

Here's what we have so far...

1. A large population of workers here illegally that we don't want to encourage to stay.

2. A surplus of low wage, exceedingly crappy jobs that nobody wants to do.

3. A huge federal deficit and a country that is going broke due to too much spending.

4. A large population of able bodied Americans sitting on their a$$e$ collecting welfare every month.

You know where I'm going. Want to solve the deficit, get people off welfare and rid the country of illegal immigrants all while still taking care of the crappy things that need to get done? Put the people currently on welfare to work doing agricultural and other low-end jobs and take them off the government dole. The jobs get done. The companies pay the same miserable wages. We save millions every year not paying people to do nothing. And with no jobs available, the illegal immigrants will have no reason to cross our borders.

Problem solved.

But we all know it's not that easy.

A lot (not all, not even most) of people that are on welfare are perfectly capable of working a job. A lot (not all, not even most) of people that are on welfare are not first generation welfare recipients. Welfare has turned from being a helping hand to a complete support system for multiple generations of families. They don't even try to do something differently. Maybe what we need more than immigration reform is welfare reform. You think the screaming is loud now? Wait until you tell people who have never worked a day in their life that they need to now support themselves. But it will be okay, we'll just tell them that there are thousands of workers needed in places just like Arizona that need manual labor every day. We need them to get up before dawn and head to the fields to work twelve hour days for somewhere around minimum wage (could be lower, could be higher). Their bodies will hurt and age more quickly than they should, but they'll sleep well at night knowing they put in an honest day's work and didn't take a handout.

Here's the thing, there has always been a large population of immigrants in Arizona. Heck, the southernmost one fifth of the state used to belong to Mexico until we bought it in the mid 1850s. For many, many years the border was completely open down here. But it's not open any more. Most of the time people don't really have an issue with immigrants because Arizonans recognize that the immigrant population serves a vital purpose in our economy. Most of the time, immigrants go through the proper channels and get work visas or citizenship, thereby allowing them to be in the country legally just as if they were visiting any other country.

What we are concerned about is illegal immigrants. Those are the people who are unwilling to get or incapable of qualifying for a work visa or citizenship. Because if they can't follow the basic rules of applying for paperwork to come in to the country, what makes you think they can or will follow the rest of our laws once they get here?