"Protecting the border" is a battle cry for the most reactionary US politicians but when it comes to flu, they are as unlikely to be successful as they are for people. However it might be the Canadians, who have a functioning public health system, who are most at risk from a surge of US citizens fleeing their own poverty-stricken, understaffed and dysfunctional health care society that will be most interested in keeping those American illegal aliens out of their hospitals. This week the heads of state of Mexico, Canada and the US discussed what to do in a pandemic and they all agreed on the ultimate goal -- to keep the economy going:
Canada, the United States and Mexico would work together to slow the spread of an influenza pandemic but a new, continent-wide plan says closing borders and other highly aggressive measures may be worthless.The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza was presented yesterday at the end of a meeting among leaders of the three countries in Montebello, Que., and was cited as a key accomplishment of the summit.
Rather than impose strict conditions to control a long-predicted global influenza - a disease that could have found its genesis in an avian flu already detected in Asia and Europe - the plan is subordinate to domestic preparations being made within each of the three countries.
Instead, it promotes communication between health authorities across North America, as well as a flexible framework to reduce the impact of the infection. It seems aimed at keeping economic engines running.
"All countries have the sovereign right to control the movement of people and goods across their borders," says the plan. "However, in the event of a widespread pandemic, highly restrictive measures to control the movement of people and goods might initially delay but would not stop the eventual spread of a novel strain of human influenza to North America and could have significant negative social, economic and foreign policy consequences." (The Globe and Mail)
Aha! Gotta keep that economic engine running. What this plan is about, more than coordinating measures, is preventing restriction of goods and services that would affect commerce. The idea, here -- to establish lines of communication and coordinate policies -- is a good idea. But if it's good to allow unrestricted movement of goods and services for the purpose of business, why isn't it also good to do it with labor?
- Log in to post comments
And with that comment goes the ballgame Revere. No borders means what? Unrestricted globalization, reduction in our standard of living. Hey this is the reason the EU is the way it is. Its also the reason that the French damn near had a second revolution last summer. Muslims had moved in from N. Africa, created small entities and then they grew. This isnt unlike Little Algeria in Detroit and because of our welfare system, we fund it.
Those same illegals simply come in and win by the uterus. The plan? Birth them out of their own countries because of the law. The 14th Amendment might have to be repealed here as a result of this. We have to protect our borders and ultimately that means that we are going to have to close them before its too late.
The Israelis found out by their demographics that this was true. There were one million Palestinian illegals living in the country. They had a birth rate of about 3.3 kids per parent group. Someone finally sat down and did the math and found that if unchecked, those illegals having legal children would by two generations outnumber the Israelis four to 1. So they ousted them. Same thing applies here. If 13 million illegals have four children legally in country, then in under two or three generations Spanish will become the language of this country.
Destruction from within-Nikita Kruschev
Steven Camarota, director of research at Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that is often critical of open immigration policy, said he thought U.S. policy should focus on reducing the number of Mexican and low-skill immigrants.
His research showed that Mexican immigrants, legal and illegal, were costing U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars a year through their use of public assistance.
In other words, their "benefit" to the economy is small.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is banning illegal immigrants from visiting his jails as part of his ongoing crusade to deter men, women and children from illegally entering this country.
"Destruction from within," indeed. That kind of xenophobic alarmism has been seen with every wave of foreign immigration into the U.S., including probably the wave that brought your ancestors, Kruger (unless you trace yourself back to the Mayflower, in which case who knows what the Native Americans were saying about the new arrivals then...)
Yes, we may be becoming a bilingual society, but is that really so bad? Do you really think it's a plus that so many Americans speak only one language, or that they are largely ignorant of the rest of the world? Latin American culture is no threat to the dominant U.S. culture. If anything we can learn quite a lot from Latinos about "family values."
We need immigration reform, to be sure. But if the anti-immigration folks prevail (and we see mass deportations with no countervailing guest worker programs), it won't be long before "true Americans" feel the pinch as prices on everything from landscaping to chicken parts start to rise because not enough legal workers can be found to perform these jobs.
Revere, I don't see what's so "ahah!" about countries wanting to ensure that their economies continue to function. I for one would like to be able to buy groceries, get my meds, and have lights and heating during a pandemic, even if I can't go to the movies or church.... Not to mention it would be nice if as many folks as possible continue to have an income. Probably I'm misreading you?
Annodeus: It's not "Aha" as in "bad" but "Aha" as in, this is what's important to policy makers, which you give good reasons for. One would surmise that were it not for political opportunists revving up the usual xenophobia, the free movement of labor would be no problem for free marketers (which includes the free market in labor).
Annodeus-Yep, and then it would be cost effective to put our unemployed to work. Dont you see what legalizing these people would do? No longer would they be working for peanuts instead of min wage...they get the big potato then and that is at least minimum wage.. Thus raising the prices you speak of. So then a whole new group of illegals will show up to take the place of the newly legalized aliens. You didnt think this one all the way down to the final conclusion and that is that they will flood the poverty line and raise it very likely into the middle class. You lose the middle class and you lose the country. It would start with the school systems that bomb the budgets of every state.
Bilingual-scuse me but fuck that. Thats accomodation of a group that are ILLEGALLY HERE! Whats next, Portugese? This is the same group that will take the money from your pocket to support that same ILLEGAL activity. But I guess there are those leftists that think that things are so good in Mexico that, well we just need to move them here. Mano e mano?
You know, maybe we should just start suing the Mexican government or allow full security of the border as in warning shots and then treating it like its an invasion . Open fire. The Mexicans of course wont do anything and invasion by illegals is covered in the UN Charter. It is indeed an act of war covered by it. If the offending country does nothing it is within the proviso's of the Constitution to declare it as a war.
If you werent aware we have a nutcase professor at a University in Texas that is advocating the violent overthrow of the US in the SW and taking all of Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Montana. Again the uterus plays out. Secession from the Union in our future. Lets not find out. DEPORT THEM ALL!
1866 Annode-Legally having waited in Germany and Austria for over five years (Civil War), and we moved west into the North part of the country. My family owned the land that Brig Young is built upon, we have also had people in every war since 1865 and my ancestry goes all the way back to the days of the knights of Europe. I dont care if someone comes to the US legally. Welcome! Pay your taxes and speak up all you want. But dont come in illegally and tell me that I and others are mis-treating you. I can tell you how the Russians handle it and it isnt pretty.
MRK,
Amen! While I think you are completely wrong about bird flu, I could not agree with you more with regards to illegal aliens.
I would rather have an illegal alien making me cheap food than have my job offshored. Economic fears about illegal aliens is used as a distraction from globalizing my high-paying computer programmer job. Have you called customer service lately? Did an illegal alien answer the phone? No, someone in her home country across the world did, and an American does not have a customer service job.
All political nonsense about immigration is just a distraction from the real problem: we're exporting every job possible. I say to all looking at careers: if you're not in the customer's face, you're on the street. My nephew recently threw over going to a high-end technical university in favor of becoming a professional golf course manager. It's a good decision, and I'm the only one if the family who gets it.
Intelligent, humorous, diverse topics......the best scienceblog around!
Taxpayers will pay for the immigration lawyers for illegal aliens if working in agriculture.
Illegal aliens would be given legal status just one day after their application is filed even if a background check is not completed.
Gang members are eligible for amnesty if they renounce their gang status.
Borders do not have to be secure before the amnesty program begins.
$2,600,000,000,000 - That is the cost the Heritage Foundation estimates to cover the retirement benefits of 12,000,000 illegal aliens if this amnesty bill becomes law.
..........
As states increasingly crack down on hiring undocumented workers, western farmers are looking at inmates to harvest their fields. Colorado started sending female inmates to harvest onions, corn, and melons this summer. Iowa is considering a similar program. In Arizona, inmates have been working for private agriculture businesses for almost 20 years.