[MD] an attempt at sharing good idea

[david buchanan]

Andy said to John:
The solution you wrote makes my stomach ache. Disgusting!


dmb says:
Disgusting? I thought it was okay.


Andy listed a few of the conflicting values:
Taxpayers may feel it is unfair when others do not pay. ..Thus illegal immigrants are virtually always tax scofflaws, a target for the feelings of unfairness.  ...People on the receiving end of public assistance programs may feel their share of the purse is threatened by the increase in the segment of the population qualifying for assistance. People on the providing end of public assistance (taxpayers not receiving assistance) may feel their after-tax income threatened by the possible increase in public assistance. People who value their skin color may feel threatened by the increasing population of people having a different skin color. Ditto language. Ditto music, cuisine, religion, and other facets of culture.


dmb says:

This is the basic stance of a tea-partier. Notice how immigration becomes a matter of taxes and race? See, the tea party is named after the original, proverbial tax protest, the one that would lead to American independence. (It's a very patriotic group, you know) If you take their claims at face value, their main motive is to protest against the oppressive/socialist tax policies of the Obama administration. Unfortunately for their cause, Obama's tax rates are at an historic low and the vast majority of Americans had just received a reduction in their tax rate. Yesterday I heard one of their defenders complain the about tax rates. The interviewer said, well you may feel that taxes are too high but the fact is rates are at an historic low. Well, that's not what I see when I look at my paycheck, she said. An epic case of the selective use of evidence. The stats on tax rates through history can be dismissed because of the way she feels when she looks at her paycheck. That's the kind of thing that gives "subjectivity" a bad name. There is a less obvious reason to dislike taxes. Being against taxes has become a kind of code in American politics and you can see what's being "coded" in Andy's list of conflicting values.

What these "tax protesters" are protesting is not the tax RATE. It sure would make any sense if they were because it's as low as it's been in a long time. What they don't want is their tax money going to people with a different skin color, who speak a different language, who don't share their cultural values. Reagan used the same tactic 30 years ago, inventing the myth of the "welfare Queen", who supposedly drives her big red Cadillac down to the welfare office. Most recently, it was the leader of an influential local tea-party who said today's wealthy public assistance recipients have a flat-screen TV in every room. The National tea party kicked him out after his own local chapter refused to do so. 

As I see it, the problem with illegal immigration is that it creates an underclass, a group within this country that has no rights. I think it's about human rights, not money. Money is what creates the problem. It's a system that allows American employers to exploit people, and that drives down every working person's value in the job market. Because they have to live under the radar, illegal immigrants become prime targets for all kinds of criminals and the worst kinds of employers. One story I hear over and over is the regular guy who wants a few days of help around the house to fix of roof or build a deck or something. So he goes over to a spot where day labors hang out hoping to find work, picks up 2 or 3 guys, works them hard for a day or two and then when it's time to pay up the "employer" just says "fuck you, what you gonna do about it?" Maybe he tells them the work was no good and they don't deserve to be paid. This happens to house keepers too. 

I think the immigrants themselves are hardly ever considered as actual people when this issue is debated and discussed. I think that's evil. And dumb.



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