immigration debate tied to globalism

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by Flint

Why the sudden interest in cracking down on illegal labor, which is an underpinning of our economy? Because with globalization, it might be cheaper to get those workers back across the border, and into a sweat shop over there, than it is to pay them peanuts over here. It's a simple pocket-book decision. It used to be chaper to keep them here, now it's cheaper to send them back.

Either that, or the invasion of Iran is being planned while the TV-watching public is distracted by this artificially contentious immigration debate.

If politics in the US is anything like it is here, then the government conducts regular exercises to see which are the key domestic issues in those regions of the country where they have a marginal majority. Rather than spend a disproportionate amount of time on domestic politics (cynically, it's better financially and benefit-wise to have the opportunity to involve yourself as a politician in global issues with the opportunity for travel and the like), it's more attractive to turn attention to the domestic scene only when it's really necessary, and the issues addressed are judged according to their relative voter value.

Illegal immigration must be climbing up the table as an issue, and so it is warranting attention, but most probably the effort is being made where it is projected to generate the most return.

Sure it can act as a smoke screen but generally, over here, it's the big issues like Iran and terrorism that are used as the smokescreen to conceal such things as a poor set of government figures or the introduction of a stealth tax. Burying bad news behind bigger stories is a favourite pastime of our current government, and they have been brought to task over the times they do this more often than we'd prefer to remember.

Oh, and the reason they don't go after the companies can be manyfold. For one this activity iaiming to solve illegal immigration is probably all rhetoric anyway, with no cohesive or worthwhile plan being considered that would make a difference, and second going after the employers can prove costly and involve the courts big-time plus, of course, in a lot of cases, those employers may be financial supporters of the governement - you don't want to go and bite the hand that feeds you