Immigration Issues

Well having read a lot of the articles and propaganda over the last couple of days I have a couple of points that I wanted to bring up.

#1. Do people actually believe that the argument that the land used to be Mexican is justification for illegally entering the borders? Do they actually think that the slogans about retaking Mexican land are helping them?

I read a few quotes that I thought were a good indication of some of the feelings that will cause a serious backlash in the country:
"Uncle Sam Stole Our Land"
"If you think I'm illegal because I'm Mexican, learn the true history because I'm in my homeland"
Do they really believe that this rhetoric will help their cause? I think that it may actually hurt their cause. Should we also allow any French that want in to come to Louisiana? Or Russians to Alaska? Or even a stretch further Jews into Palestine (all of Palestine was Jewish at one time-- check the Bible)? How about Spain taking back Mexico? After all at one time they controlled it.

And on the comment of true history, that is very selective history. Actually, your homeland is probably somewhere in Asia or the land bridge, or Alaska, or Canada. Thinking about it all of our homeland is theoretically in the Middle East somewhere.

I guess my point is this is worthless argument.

#2. Why is it so contentious when new surges of immigrants come to the U.S.? It has been the case throughout history. There have been many culture wars throughout the history of the U.S. as new groups have entered.

#3. Why are the supporters of protests so dead set on having their own areas of the country? The U.S. is built on the idea that immigrants come and melt into society... with their traditions intact. Look at some of the traditions in the U.S.: St. Patrick's Day, Marti Gras, Oktoberfest, oh yeah and Cinco de Mayo. Many of the traditions remain yet the people join the melting pot not follow idiotic statements like this one:

"California is going to be a Hispanic state. Anyone who doesn't like it should leave." -- Mario Obledo of the California Coalition of Hispanic Organizations

Is New York a Jewish or Irish state? Is Louisiana a French state? Is Minnesota a Norwegian state? Nope, they are AMERICAN states.

#4. Why do the people believe that the Hispanic people are going to "take over" the United States? The U.S. has nearly 300 million people. With new influx of people from all over the world every day, the U.S. will remain the melting pot of the world. The very thing that has made it the greatest nation for many years.

Any thoughts on my ramblings? Please feel free to respond.

Technorati Tags: Illegal Immigrant, Immigration, Border Security, Republic

Hillary Chirac?

Well, here she goes again. Just a decade ago it was "HillaryCare", now she is pushing for expansion of the Family Leave Act to include children's school functions.

Hillary Clinton: Expand Family Leave Act

Hillary is asking that the government expand the Family Leave Act to not just protect workers during emergencies or birth but also for Joey's ballgame. I have no issue with someone leaving to go to their child's function but the government should not be mandating that business needs to pay for it without using their personal days. Isn't that what vacation days are for?

Who does this hurt? Small Business. Especially in today's world where kids are involved in everything imaginable. What if kids had something everyday? Should the business have to deal with not having their employee come to work every afternoon during the spring?

I may seem like a harsh capitalist but it is not business's responsibility to deal with this. This is just the beginning of where the socialist democrats like Hillary are headed. The end is where France is today. As we have seen in France people are not allowed to be fired and protest in the streets if they try to fix economic problems. I say let's stick with what made the U.S. great and not follow the path of a country who is severe economic problems.

Technorati Tags: Hillary, Socialism, Presidential Candidate

Amazing PC Articles

I just read an article that absolutely amazed me by how poor the analysis of the data and the reporting on it was. The article in fact was true but it amazed me how much political spin or ignorance exists. The article is titled: "Census: California second to New York in black-owned firms". There are so many places that I have a problem with it.

Wouldn't it make sense that the two most populous states would have the most black-owned firms? They make it sound like the other states are just way behind the curve.

Do you think that maybe part of the issue is how many black people live in the state? Amazingly New York, Texas, Georgia, Florida, California and the Chicago area have the highest numbers. Wow, what a surprise. I am guessing that North Dakota probably wouldn't have a high number of black owned businesses, maybe because not as many blacks live there.

Also a black owned business is defined as a business that is owned by at least 51% African American ownership of stock or equity. Does that mean that the other black people who don't own 51% aren't successful. That is a pretty skewed number when you consider that black people are a minority in the U.S. I just find this to be a very political number. Maybe the number should be the number of black shareholders in all companies to better indicate how the economy is affected if that is what the politicians are looking for.

All in all, I think that this article is largely racial politics but it is sad how many people will read this and buy into the idea that California and NY are working harder to be "equal opportunity".

Technorati Tags: Politically Correct, Racial Politics

Illegal Immigrant Problem

As this topic continues to rage in this country, I finally heard at least part of a solution that made sense to me. It was from a local talk show host, Jerry Agar. He opined that we should completely secure the American-Mexican border with either hard fence or virtual fence and not just the bits and pieces that the federal government wants. Then we need to remove the demand by cracking down on employers that are hiring illegal immigrants.

The reason that I like this idea is that as far as the fence goes, I think that we absolutely need to control that border. That does NOT mean that I want to close the border, just control who crosses it. That is a right that any sovereign nation has.

The reason that I like the idea of shutting down the employers is that it is very logical. If employers stop hiring illegal immigrants they will start hiring legals. This would increase the demand for legal employees which if there is really a need for us to increase our immigration limits (which I believe there is) it will be very apparent. But, it will also dry up the demand for illegals as they can not make a living in the U.S. without having gone through the legal process.

I also believe that this deals with the problem of the illegals in the U.S. because without the going through the legal process you can't make a living.

Once this plan were put in place, the politicians then need to streamline the legal immigration process. We are a country of immigrants and we should encourage that.

Technorati Tags: Illegal Immigrant, Immigration, Border Security

France weak in the spine

Once again the French politicians have proven that they are unable to stand up and make change happen. They continue to complain about their staggering economy. Instead of realizing their need for reforms they want to blame others.

So Chirac has again bowed to the pressure of the unions: France to replace youth job law

When was the last time that France stood tall with an opinion that wouldn't come from the flawed theory of consensus?

Technorati Tags: France, Socialism, Anti-Capitalist

No Coaching when you're angry

I just read a great blog post that I think is essential to being a good leader. You should coach your employees while you are angry. The author does a very good job of explaining why. Take a look!

Post: angry coaching

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Coaching, Employee

Line Item Veto Article

I brought up the idea of line item veto ammendment before so when I saw this article I decided I would add it. In the article Pat Toomey does a great job of explaining the concept and why it should be considered.

Article: Line-item veto is needed to curb runaway spending

Technorati Tags: Line Item Veto

Teenagers Lack Financial Literacy

I just read an article that discussed the fact that teenagers in the U.S. lack the financial literacy necessary to handle finances going forward. The article even lists some of the questions on the exam. This to me is of no surprise. I would bet that the adults aren't any better. The easiest way to tell that is how the savings rate continues to bottom out while the consumer debt continues to rise.

Article: USA Today: U.S. teenagers lack financial literacy

Has the time come to maybe cut a little of the PC education in schools and start teaching things that kids actually NEED to know?

Technorati Tags: Education, Finance

$3 or higher

I just read an article that says that gasoline this summer will probably $3 per gallon or higher. This is a topic that I have heard very good opinions on both sides of the argument.

One side says that it is free market effect that causes the high gas prices. Oil is traded in an open commodities-style market and that is what sets prices for the gas stations. People with this opinion believe that the demand has outstripped supply and that is what is causing the price increases.

The other side says that the oil companies manipulate the price by not building more refining capacity and creating fake shortages to raise prices. They would also say that even though the Nymex controls pricing it is not truly a free market when the same companies are on both sides of the transaction.

Unfortunately, in this case, I tend to agree with pieces of both arguments. I do believe that market forces are driving the price increases. I think that those market forces are being manipulated by the companies and by government. The current regulation in the market is not allowing natural market price controls to take effect. In a pure market, high prices would be met by increased competition that would increase supply, that would in turn level prices. In a regulated market, the competition can't get into the game because of the obstacles that the regulations put in place.

The other argument is whether "someone should do something about it". Many believe that the government should intervene to moderate the prices. They think that the high prices will hurt the economy and that gives the govt. the right to intervene.

I would say let the market handle this problem. We have already seen that domestic oil production has risen to help meet demand. If you will notice ethanol has become a much more talked about option. Hybrids are starting to take hold in the U.S. For years and years, environmentalists have pushed for controls on gas mileage and moving to cleaner fuels. All of the government regulation has done little to wean us from our SUVs or oil. One plus year of high priced gas has done more to move to alternative fuels than environmentalists have done in their existence.

In my opinion, there will be some pain for the next couple of years while the market adjusts. Once that is over, OPEC and the oil companies may well be wishing that they had tried to better control prices. The new energy cartel may be Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and any other state that can produce lots of corn. Or possibly some other fuel!

Technorati Tags:Gas Prices

Riots in Paris

Well, I just read another article about problems in Paris over this law to allow companies to fire young people. I think that it is quite unfortunate that the youth of the country have grown up believing that the government's job is to provide them income. Also, they have been taught how evil capitalism is.

I read a couple of quotes in this article that appear to me to be big problems with solving this problem:

"...while many wore stickers stating: 'One solution: revolution against global capitalism'."

and

"But unions have vowed to resist overtures for talks unless the conservatives pledge to scrap the CPE and start anew on ways to tackle chronic youth joblessness stuck at 22 percent."

I guess when you oppose capitalism it may be hard to understand but if you would take an unbias look at economic fact you will find that it will very difficult to fix the joblessness problem without freeing the hands of business some. I think that France is in for a long hard fight unless the citizens begin to understand the root of the problem.

Tax Dollars At Work: Zero Gravity

I just got an email that contained the following explanation of why
our taxes are as high as they are. Thought you might enjoy it!


"When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and almost $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside-down, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C.

The Russians used a pencil.

Your taxes are due again -- enjoy paying them."

Business Venture Test: Cocktail Napkin Test

I was just reading an article that I found to be a very good piece of advise to everyone who is looking at starting a business with a great idea they have. It simply puts a little reality behind your decision.

The Cocktail Napkin Test

It is a pretty simple analysis but it would be very powerful if you utilized it before moving forward with a business venture.

French Issues

I know that I have brought this topic up a few times before but i have been following the story as it has unfolded. Today ole' Jacques said he will water down the bill that is causing such problems.

It is completely amazing to me that a country would actually have a law in place that prohibited firing an employee. I can honestly say that there is no way that I would have a company in that business environment. It completely ties the hands of the business owner to a point where they can not even control costs or efficiencies. If an employee decided to not do anything all day, that would be their choice.

To prove that people get used to nanny states, the French are protesting a law that would allow employers to fire younger employees within a probation type period. This would definitely be a positive for the business environment in France. Of course the citizens who take no responsibility for themselves don't like the idea.

Does anyone wonder why France has such high unemployment if they can't fire employees?

Immigration Protests

I posted earlier about the street protests that are occurring and my opinion of the securing of borders and immigration reform. As the protests continue, I grow a bit weary of it. I still fully believe that the U.S. needs to accept immigrants under an efficient yet legal process. I have some issues with the current situation.

• Why do illegal immigrants think they have rights in the U.S.? The Constitution of the United States protects U.S. citizens not people who broke the law to get here.
• If the Mexican immigrants are so proud of Mexico that they will burn American flags and raise Mexican flags, why don't they return to Mexico?
• Why do some Americans believe that protecting the borders is a negative thing?
• Why is reforming immigration and then solidifying the borders such a difficult topic?

The other thing that I am sick of hearing is how this is just like the civil right movement. That is a crazy notion. The people involved in this are illegally in the United States. During the civil rights movement the people were discriminated against because of their color not because they were illegal. If you would follow the proper process there would be no issue.

I am completely a supporter of reforming immigration to allow legal immigration to be more simple. My belief is that we simply must have better control over the process. I am also very concerned that the continuing protests are going to cause hard feelings which could cause some violence to occur. I just read an article about someone burning a Mexican flag after a protest. I think that people raising such a fuss may find the response to not be very positive.

Out of Touch

I was just reading an article where a group went off the deep end in San Francisco. They actually tried to bring God to San Fran. Apparently that is pushing things way to far because one of the city politicians was quoted saying: "they're loud, they're obnoxious, they're disgusting, and they should get out of San Francisco".

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone has to believe but don't people still have the Freedom of Religion? If they want to get together and worship, is that still allowed in our country? Is San Fran still in our country?

If you read the article you will also get the feel that even the writer believes that people who believe in God are some kind of mystics. It is quite amazing to me that this is where we are from a country who was founded by God fearing people.

Evangelical teens rally in S.F.

Kudlow's Money Politic$: Smack the Collective French Fanny

I found this post on Larry Kudlow's blog after my rant about France's economic problems. I found the blog and the comments very interesting.

Kudlow's Money Politic$: Smack the Collective French Fanny

I am amazed

I was just reading an article about the protests that have been going on all over the United States about the immigration bill that is going through Congress. I will say that I support anyone immigrating into the United States. The U.S. was founded by immigrants. It is what makes America strong.

On the other hand I think that we do need to secure our borders and better control who is coming and going from our country. I think that it is ridiculous that people can just cross the border whenever they feel like it.

I also believe that it is against our laws for people to come to the United States without having gone through the proper process. This is why I believe the term illegal alien is a very valid term.

What amazes me is how much of an outcry there is about the U.S. cracking down on illegals. I think that in a post-9/11 world people must realize that we need better control over our internal security. This is where this comes from.

Now, having said that I agree with the current laws to crack down, I also think that we need to reform our immigration. We need to make it easier for honest hard-working people to come to this country. It shouldn't be so difficult that people have to come in illegally. I actually like Bush's idea for the worker program. The people who are coming in to the country to work to make a better life for themselves and their families should be allowed in with open arms. It is the criminals, terrorists, drug pushers, etc. that should be stopped at the border. This is why the border security needs to be increased.

We live in the country of "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." It is what made America great and it will continue to keep America strong. We just must make sure that America continues to exist for those tired, poor, huddled masses.

A Little Pompous

Did you hear that Jacques Chirac stormed out of an EU summit because English was spoken instead of French? Can you believe that?

Article: Chirac ‘shocked’ by use of English at summit

I am just curious what language is used more across Europe? Could it be an attempt at French domination of the EU? Well as long as they don't have to fight to dominate they may be able to.

Peacenik Ingrates

I can not believe the audacity that some people have! 4 "Christian" peaceniks were captured by terrorists in Iraq a month or so ago. One was killed during that time. Then the U.S. and British troops put their lives on the line to save them. They were rescued by the troops and will now return home.

After troops put their lives on the line for these people, the response says that they were "released unharmed". As if the terrorists decided that they were good people and said well bye now! Also, in the statement released by Christian Peacemaker Teams they go on to rip the troops and their mission in Iraq. AFTER THE SAME TROOPS SAVE THEIR MEMBER'S LIVES!!!

Pull them out of nasty situation and instead of a thank you they give you the finger. Very nice.

Article: http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20060323-005/page.asp

The Catch 22 in France

I was just reading some information about the riots or "demostrations" if you like in France. They are very interesting to me from my political/economic viewpoint.

What I currently see is that unemployment in many European countries is very high due to the fact that the government has placed so much regulation in place. Why would someone want to find a job if the government will take care of them?

Also, I think that many of the problems are due to the labor unions being so strong and so demanding. From a business perspective, let's be completely honest, I want to make a profit. If that were not the case I wouldn't be in business. The union continues to push for less work out of the employees while paying them more. So the company pays more for less work. They would need to hire more employees to get the same amount of work done. But can they afford to hire more employees at the increased rate? Remember that even the evil corporations have a specific budget that they must meet or the very evil shareholders/owners don't make anything.

So what happens when the companies can't do this? They either go to a more business friendly county, outsource jobs, or go out of business. What happens to those jobs? Gone. What happens to unemployment? It skyrockets.

Now the viscious cycle has begun though. Because of the increased unemployment costs on the government, they must raise taxes. Those taxes cut into the profits of the companies and more move or go out of business.

What is interesting to me is the attitude of the French people. They truly believe that it is the government's job to provide them jobs. So they expect that more regulation will make things better. This is the beauty of the welfare state. After a while the citizens actually look to the government for the solutions to all of their problems. So the government taxes to provide services. Who will pay the taxes to provide all of those services?

Margaret Thatcher took the correct approach in the U.K. in the 1980s. Deregulate the industries and remove some of the welfare state programs. Allow the evil capitalist market to do it's job.

Companies provide jobs. Jobs provide money for the people. People buy more products. Products must be produced by more companies. The evil capitalist cycle does what politicians can't -- provide jobs and money.