Border Security, E-Verify by Employers, and Better Trade Policy — ways we can respond to excessive Immigration right now.

[Multicolored Lemur]

E-Verify is available right now on a voluntary basis. Florida, Arizona, and other states have made it mandatory for employers. It should be mandatory federally for all corporations. For example, in my state of Texas!

Trade is a bit of a tough issue.

Trade does increase GDP, and it’s true that a rising tide lifts all boats. And then we get to economist Alan Blinder’s question, Maybe people care more about their jobs than they do about being able to buy a bunch of cheap crap from Walmart? [my phrasing] If so, economists have been “barking up the wrong tree” [his words] for more than 200 years!

Blinder doesn’t give an answer. But at least he asks the question.

I’m a Democrat, but all the same, If you want a border Wall, fine, you get a Wall. And dear reader, whether you’re a classic conservative, a new type of Republican, etc, you already know it’s not going to solve every problem. I don’t need to tell you that.

And then, as THE regional Superpower we do have certain responsibilities regarding a refugee crisis. Heck, we are the world’s Superpower. Even though Covid and other things have been quite a blow [probably should have done both lockdown and un-lockdown quicker]

 

[AgnosticBoy]

If correct Lemur, then that would help explain why some think that allowing immigrants in will mean less jobs for Americans. I'm not quite sure how trade policy would fix that, but I agree with you that a border wall is not a cure-all either. Perhaps we should be looking at increasing trade with countries where a lot of the migrants are coming from, but then I question if their governments will spend the money on their people as opposed to hogging most of it to themselves.