Countries to our south have only themselves to blame

(re: “Here’s what immigrants really are,” Oct. 11)

In his recent diatribe, Comrade Richard Warren blames the Obama administration for the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, pure fabrication. It was cowboy hat-wearing President Manuel Zelaya himself that caused the crisis when he violated the laws of his own country by attempting to change that country’s constitution and extend his presidential term limit.

He was, in fact, liberated of his job by the Honduran supreme court, and later by congressional vote despite protest of his removal by both the European Union and the United States.

His best political friend at the time was wacko Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Remember him?

Where have all the American leftists and Hollywood liberals who supported him gone, as that country now sinks into a black hole? Yeah, right, where oh where are politicos like Bernie Sanders now that we need them? Only kidding.

Historical fact check: Most of Central and South America became independent between 1810 and 1823, following the example of the American and French revolutions. It was without a doubt the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 that kept the European colonial powers from re-establishing themselves in the new world.

In 1865, it would be used once again to help Mexico rid itself of French emperor Maximilian.

Comrade Warren, as usual, always parrots the “blame America first” negative ideology of the internationalist left. Our country’s relationship with South America as their relationship with us is honestly a complicated historical mix of both good, bad and stupid intentions.

Then it is back to beautiful little homogenous Sweden, a small country of 10 million people whose importance on the “world stage” is about the same as Vermont is to the United States. Must be nice living in countries that don’t have large defense budgets because their big brother in America is shedding its blood and wealth protecting them.

I sincerely doubt that even the most altruistic Americans would accept the extremely high tax rates that northern European countries place on their businesses and productive working taxpayers in order to ensure the viability of their welfare state. The personal income tax rate in Sweden averages from 49 to 60 percent of income.

And that is precisely why those countries — along with the rest of the European Union — are slowly implementing austerity plans in order to rein in public spending.

Presently, the average expenditure of western European countries serving government expenses is about 65 percent of their total GDP. In countries like Greece, the GPD-to-debt ratio exceeds $1 of income versus $1.40 in expenditures. An average American family of four would be in bankruptcy and foreclosure with such finances.

I have never argued against the concept of a government-mandated minimum wage, although I question its realistic usefulness. And I have always supported the right of American workers to organize into unions in order to demand better wages, benefits and working conditions for themselves.

I am supportive of organizations that protect the exportation of American jobs to cheap slave labor countries.

But I am astounded by people like Mr. Warren and various liberal politicos who are willing to subsidize, with taxpayer benefits, illegal foreign laborers who are forced to work and live in substandard conditions with below-minimum wages in my country.

In my long laborious career, I have worked as an independent contractor, cooperate, small business employee in both union and management positions. So I take personal offense in skewed, caustic negative remarks concerning my viewpoints about wages and working conditions as it concerns my fellow law-abiding, hard-working, taxpaying American brothers and sisters.