On a scale of 1-10, the problem with “our ability to provide” would probably have immigrants rated at like a 2.5 and Republican efforts to intentionally undermine the social safety net at like a 9.
For example, immigrants without insurance going to the emergency room for non-emergencies is not a good thing. Republican efforts to strip health care from 20 million Americans is a damned disaster.
I mentioned in another thread about a recent drive I made from the south suburbs of Chicago, through central Illinois to Indianapolis. Boy, full is an understatement. Heading south through Illinois every hundred or so miles a town would pop up out of nowhere, home to- I’m guessing- 2 or 3 thousand people. It was amazing. And don’t get me started about this place I went through called Champaign-Urbana. I’m guessing again that that place must have had 100,000 people. And there it was, RIGHT in between Chicago and Indianapolis! Full to the brim we are.
Why don’t you defend your opposition to the poem on the Statute of Liberty on its “merits,” rather than telling foreigners not to speak to you?
You do realize that there are 49 other states in the United States, right?
This is a forum that is open to anyone in the world, provided they post in English. Questioning a person’s right to post based on where they are from is unacceptable in this forum. Do not do this again.
[/moderating]
You’re criticizing cherry picking while simultaneously cherrypicking. It’s meta.
America is hardly full. The idea is laughable. From here:
There’s even a picture to look at if you’re into that kind of thing.
Overcrowding and homelessness is not a population issue. It’s mostly intentional gross mismanagement from the fed and conservative politicians. The Fed’s policy is to balloon asset prices as much as humanly possible, and that has made housing unaffordable to most. They’ve also obliterated interest rates, which makes everyone capable of borrowing money, which makes demand (those willing and able) to buy artificially high, further driving up asset prices. Where this was once risky, banks found out how to bundle this stuff up and sell it off before it blows up. You thought that stopped after 2008? Hah! Thank our conservative friends for making all the regulations toothless, then rolling them back when you weren’t looking.
Speaking of conservatives, they have done everything in their power including union busting to keep wages down and therefore incapable of keeping up with the asset bubbles. Tax cuts (both federal and state level) prevent any kind of state-run intervention, not to mention laws (see California below) to prevent housing developments. Furthermore, our insane health-insurance system bankrupts enough people to deprive a fair amount of those who were able to scrape together enough to own a home, and now they’re homeless.
So homelessness is a problem, but not because of population. It’s because of gross mismanagement. Strange that the policies of the group that campaigns on “government doesn’t work” makes government… not work.
*Note, I’m actually conflating Neoconservatives and Neoliberals into “conservatives” - not singling out the republican party. Most republicans accept the neocon economic model (specifically Reaganomics) as a religion, so they’re mostly in this group, but this isn’t actually an indictment of the republicans. Just those that follow Reagan’s malarky. These also tend to be the loudest in opposition to immigration. Which is hilarious irony.
In California specifically, that’s just capitalism at work. Laws were passed to prevent the state from funding new housing developments in order to create artificial scarcity and prop up home values.
Plenty of room for a million more people in Detroit alone.
The people who are trying to immigrate are generally trying to get out of a shitty, dangerous place to somewhere nicer. Moving to Detroit would seem to frustrate that goal.
Comparing the refugee’s plight favorable to living in Detroit.
Classy.
Right, ignore actual facts and focus on random bullshit that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue. We need to bring a million more because it benefits us to do so, pictures of homeless people do not change that fact. Our system is nowhere close to any kind of breaking point, and if it was the thing pushing it there would be Republican policies, not immigrants.
Plenty of room in Utah.
They wouldn’t like it here either. We’re full of Republicans.
Glad to hear it! Rock-ribbed patriots all, humbled by what the refugees have gone through to get there and eager to welcome these people to their new home, the Greatest Country On Earth™! Of this I have no doubt.
California is a crowded state. No doubt. But that isn’t the whole story, is it? Here’s a map of population density around the world. Take a look, zoom in and out, and describe in your own words what you see. Compare population densities of the US with places like western Europe and the UK. How does that match up with your claim that there is no room left in the US for any more immigrants?
You can make all sorts of other claims, I suppose. Like NYC, L.A. and S.F. are much too crowded and real estate prices are complete out of reach of most people living there. You can argue that we could improve urban planning, infrastructure and lots of other contributing factors to over-crowding in concentrated areas of the country. All valid points.
If in fact you were making them. But you’re not, are you? You’re just ranting about immigrants. You know, the people who come into this country to literally pick cherries (among other back-breaking work) for much less pay than most americans would ever get off their asses for.
Solid post, QuickSilver, but this jumped out at me.
Indeed, immigrants do the jobs Americans don’t want to do. Americans don’t want to work in fields, and they don’t dream of busing tables or working the register at Burger King. Yes they’ll do it if they must, but it’s not what they want. All of this labor demand-supply is deeply woven into the economy, particularly when it comes to consumer pricing. If we end up giving Americans the jobs that cheap Mexican or immigrant labor gladly works at a cheap price, we’ll pay more for things and businesses will most likely lose efficiency.
I knew someone would pull out the arguement “but we are not as crowded as other places” bit.
Why, do we HAVE to be as crowded as other places? Do the people in more crowded nations like it that way?
I live in Kansas and yes, we have lots of supposed “empty” spaces. But to live in them you have to provide jobs, schools, roads, water treatment plants and other infrastructure. so called “empty” spaces exist that way for a reason. People cannot live there.
Where? It seems to me Utah’s cities are pretty full already and to bring in more people you have to start using up valuable farmland or areas set aside for nature preserves.
Its that way for a reason. Notice all those crops being grown on that supposed “empty” land? Notice all the cows? Those towns support about all the people they can and to bring in more you have to start covering up farmland and cutting down forests.
You want that?
We are full!
Where were you in the 1500s?