In spite of my basic and intense distaste for what passes for government in Canada, it’s always nice to be reminded that the rather uncommon forms of stupidity that manifest themselves most dramatically in government aren’t restricted to Canada.
More simply, it’s nice to know that there are fellow victims out there with whom we can share our pain.
Take the United States, for instance. Travel just over four hours south of here and you will run smack dab into a rather plain fact of life: most, if not all nations exercise some form of border control.
Many countries exercise strict controls over who can leave. Cuba would be an example (note to readers — this is almost wholly coincidental with tyranny. Go figure.), as would China and Venezuela. Mexico too, oddly.
Right now, some 10 per cent of the population of Mexico lives illegally in the U.S. This provides a rather unusual situation, as this diaspora is a very large source of undocumented foreign investment into Mexico while being a very mixed bag of costs and benefits in both Mexico and the U.S.
Along with the transfer of billions of American dollars into Mexico, which skews the value of the Mexican peso upwards, the illegal migration into the U.S. represents a massive intellectual and economic drain on the Mexican economy.
You will rarely hear even the harshest critics of illegal immigration in the U.S. complain about Mexicans being lazy.
Sadly, much of the illegal immigration process is intensely Darwinian, and as a result it’s usually only the most ambitious and industrious who get into the States. This means that many of Mexico’s most industrious and ambitious are working illegally in the U.S.A. Not only are they not working at home building the Mexican economy, they’re not paying taxes there, either.
On the stateside, illegal immigration is a double-edged sword as well.
The economy of the American Southwest, in particular, has been irrevocably altered by the massive supply of cheap, illegal labour. This labour pool has been a tremendous factor in helping foster economic growth in the Southwest. If you enjoy produce grown in California or Arizona, you’ve likely benefitted from illegal immigrant labour.
While this cheap labour pool has helped keep costs over a wide swath of the economy down, there is a downside.
For example, there are literally millions of illegal immigrants living inside the U.S., paying no taxes while often using various government services.
There’s also the criminality factor. Not all of these illegal aliens are industrious. Many are criminals, on the run from Mexican law and Mexican gangs, or working for Mexican gangs.
Here’s an eye-opener for you. It costs the state and county governments in Arizona (population 6.6 million) US$150 million per year just to house the illegal aliens currently under the custody of the courts.
Enforcement of immigration law is a federal matter in the U.S., but Arizona lawmakers have been in a tug-of-war with Washington over this issue for years, as the state has been demanding either better border enforcement or federal help with the burden of dealing with lawbreaking illegals.
When neither was forthcoming, Arizona took the step of asserting its constitutional right to enforce federal statutes, and has empowered state and county cops to inquire as to the immigration status of suspected illegals and submit those found to be in the country illegally for deportation.
Simply put, the state of Arizona is lawfully empowering local police to enforce a federal law. It’s that simple.
If you or I were pulled over by an Arizona State Trooper for speeding, we would likely be asked to show documentation proving that we weren’t in the country illegally.
Here’s where it gets funny (or sad).
For example, the Great Obama, in meeting with Chinese officials on talks concerning human rights issues, offered up the Arizona immigration issue as a mea culpa as if to suggest that the American government has human rights baggage on the scale of China, one of the most murderous regimes in human history.
But, the real Stupid Government Move of the Week Award has to go to the Los Angeles city council.
In their reasoned response to Arizona choosing to uphold federal law, the L.A. city governors chose to announce an impending boycott of all city business dealing with Arizona, including a boycott on official travel, the immediate cessation of all city government business dealing with Arizona firms.
Los Angeles gets 25 per cent of its electricity from Arizona.
The Arizona public utilities commission has suggested that Angelenos might want to stock up on candles if they really want to boycott Arizona.
Bill Greenwood is a local freelance columnist.