In May 2006 the U.S. Senate approved the construction of fencing along the southern border with Mexico. The move formed part of an immigration bill which is currently stalled in Congress. Here and there the construction of the fence runs into local resistance.
Do you approve of the plans for a 700-mile fence along the border with Mexico?
If we need one fence we need three. The Northern Border is very permiable. I would like to see the fence between Alaska and Canada, we cannot even maintain a clear right of way between Washington and British Columbia.
These calls for a fence are based on brown fear. Punish employers not workers. The market is dependent on low wages. In alaska we have Puerto Ricans (who are american) driving trucks for $8.00hr hte prevailing wage is $27.00 hr Exxon reaps the profit we pay the price.
I disapprove on more than one level. 1st, I think it is a horrible way to "secure" our country. I think it is only a way to instill fear on both sides of the border and does nothing constructive to help peoples on either side. It is simply a conservative PR campaign at the expense of landowners and people who are helpless to the whims of the economy of poverty and corporate greed. On the 2nd point, I believe that the landowner's righta are being compromised, though I am less educated in this regard. Thanks for asking!
Living within 25 air miles of the Mexican border makes me wonder why is my government spending so much of our tax dollars on this project. The "fence", a Southern "Berlin Wall" from a past century, is a waste of funds. America's aging infrastructure needs those funds, our soldiers at war need those funds... (like the debate about "suspending" the Federal gas tax, rebuild the infrastructure!)
We, as a society, need to agree to support our neighbors to the South. The "war on drugs" has failed. "Supply and Demand" will drive the drugs and illegals North. The money is simply too massive. As long as someone (us) wants cheap food, cheap labor, cheap gas.... (sure I don't consider $3.50/gallon as cheap) Don't get me started on using "food" crops for "bio-fuel".
Yes, the Mexican Wall is only part of a much more complex problem. Special interest groups... heck, your, my Congressman(woman) is he/her own special interest group! The Bush43 loose interpretation of the Constitution... Money talks and bulls*** gets reelected. (Sorry for the rant... if I post another reply, I'll try to stay on topic.)
But surely the border needs to be controlled and regulated. That's what the role of the federal government, at least a big part of it's role. We don't have government to provide us with healthcare, to provide us with education, to put food in our mouths, or to give us jobs. The government's role is to provide the infrastructure to allow those activities to occur. Infrastructure includes such things as printing a common currency and establishing a banking system; providing a court system where citizens can resolve disputes; there is also police and prisons to maintain law and order; a standing army for the common defense; etc.
I guess the way I feel is that you can't have a peaceful, prosperous, safe, and stabile society if you are constantly being invaded by foreign powers. Stop the bleeding. Apply direct pressure, and apply a tourniquet if necessary. It's simply a question of survival. Do we want to survive as a nation or perish? That's what this debate boils down to.
04/30/2008 4:53:31 AM
