Dear Arizona, Chicago and Washington: Quick Fixes Don't Work
Posted: Thursday, April 29, 2010
by Michael Ramzy
delusionthread.com
Another beautiful day in America, and yet there are some parts of our country where the sun is shining a little dimmer these days. I wonder if people in this country need to take stock in what we have and realize things might seem bad and hopeless, but in reality we're very fortunate.
Of course, there are three big stories leading the discussions these days and all of them, in one way or another, are knee-jerk reactions to either public outcry or the prevailing political winds.
1) Financial Reform Ultra-Light is Here: That's right, the big bad boys of Wall Street will finally be held accountable. There will finally be oversight. The government will finally get involved. The public is grateful.
Of course, never mind we have the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Trade Commision, and countless other agencies designed specifically to prevent a Wall Street meltdown (or abuse), and never mind those government agencies along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who are part of the cause of the housing crisis) are still not being held accountable. It is a good day because we found someone to blame.
2) Chicago Tanks Need Parking: That's right, the National Guard might (won't, but stay with me here) start roaming the Windy City's streets to curb crime. This is a good one, all right. The police in Chicago are overwhelmed with crime, most of it drug-related, and so we need the military to come in to . . . do what, exactly? Patrol the streets? Then what? Some kid making a drug-deal on a corner ends up with a tank round upside the head? Geez, that's going to stop it all right. I can see all of those tanks and Hummers with graffiti rolling back the armory. Hey Chicago, how about going after the root of the crimes (drugs) for a change?
3) Is That A Suntan Or Are You Just Trying To Avoid Me? That's right, illegal immigration is apparently a problem all of a sudden and so the governor signed a bill into law sending the illegals back to wherever. There is all sorts of vitriol on this one, of course, and both sides have it completely wrong, which is stunning in these information-saturated days.
Illegal immigration has nothing to do with Immigration Reform (the code word from the left) since you can't really 'reform' an illegal act. You can say 'reform' all you want and it still won't be true.
And, this bill is profiling whichever way you slice it since it targets those specifically with a certain look. Profiling is wrong, we say, and yet it happens all of the time at airports, convenience stores, schools, you name it. We know it, and we act surprised when we hear 'profiling', yet we need to understand it is done, will continue to be done, and it's just a fact of the times. Those on the right need to be honest and understand that.
Now, having said that, Arizona feels they need to do something, which I can understand. Especially when the federal government (under both Mr. Obama and Mr. Bush) has failed miserably to do anything. Yet Arizona also needs to understand passing laws such as this won't stop the problem. Go after the reason people break the laws to begin with. You don't only arrest the drug users, you go after the dealers, right? Why not go after the employers with as much fervor?
Arizona, Chicago and Washington: Quick Fixes for either political or temporary gain. Find the root of the problems (employers hiring illegals, dealers dealing without fear, rich people getting richer by taking advantage of toothless oversight) and start there.
If not, you will have an endless flow of bad guys taking advantage of a broken system. Which is not far from where we are now.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)That's right Mike, we need to get to the root of the problem. If we pull a weed out from the ground it will continue to grow, if we pull it out roots and all it won't grow anymore. good articleThanks, I appreciate it. As an aside, President Obama just now decided to take immigration reform (there's that word again) off the table. He decided that lawmakers may lack the "appetite" to take on immigration while many of them are up for re-election."I don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem," he said.I like Mr. Obama. But I don't like this at all as his taking this divisive issue off the table is exactly for the sake of politics!Anyway, thanks again.
Great article Michael. Yes, you can't legislate morality, decency. That takes intelligence and insight a little beyond the animal realm, which is where much of this stupidity is coming from.Thanks very much. I just don't understand where people are coming from these days, e. Now we have anti-bullying laws in Mass which presuppose every child is a thug. We also have Republicans and Democrats spending their time yelling at each other over things which will not have any effect on the average American or blaming each other (still!) for past mideeds. And all the while they are telling us how to live our lives.I guess I wonder what the goal is of our elected employees: is it a power-grab for individual glory or are these people really that disconnected from reality? Either way, I don't think they have our best interest in mind.
Another well done political commentary. In my view, employers hiring illegals is the most important part of the recipe that must be handled firmly. Any and all solutions we may utilize will not be effective without that being addressed no mater who's feathers might get ruffled.Exactly correct. And yet, no one in power wants to ruffle feathers since their votes are so important. Forget about what's right and what's the law, it all boils down to pandering and looking the other way. Thanks as always, sir.
Great article, Micheal.I would love to see stricter laws dealing with those people who employ illegals.That woud go a long way towards stemming the tide.I know that every job I had I was required to prove that I was a citizen.
We are indeed fortunate to be able to speak out like this.I am forever grateful we can speak out like this as well, Ken. Absolutely. I am naive enough (or stupid enough, I guess) to think this is an easy problem, that they're all easy really, yet politics get in the way. Stop the hiring, control the border, and you're done. What's the problem?Thanks as always for stopping by.
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