LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Some getting immigration wrong

Posted

To the editor:

(re: “Just a little confused here about socialism,” July 19)

In his comments on my opinions concerning immigration, welfare, socialism and the destruction of the two-parent family, Richard Warren first comments actually support my position.

He states, “Most immigrants work long hours for slave wages.” So exactly how does this benefit our country? It doesn’t. It’s estimated that half of the nation’s legal immigrants receive some kind of government welfare including Medicaid, food stamps, school lunches and housing assistance.

Those number increase for households with children, with more than 70 percent of immigrant-led households receiving some government (taxpayer) assistance.

So we the people are actually subsidizing exploitative cheap-labor employers, my tax dollars at work!

Secondly, it undercuts wages for low-skilled American workers and destroys smaller unions. It’s not workers who depress wages, it’s cheap-labor unscrupulous employers that do, Mr. Warren.

And it should not be forgotten that although not qualified to receive any of the above benefits, illegal aliens are eligible for emergency medical care, including emergency room visits and emergency Medicaid, schooling, and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

Are we to believe that these medical and educational costs are not straining the budgets of hospitals and schools in some areas of the country? Really?

He then has the gall to blame the United States for the world’s political instability. Seriously? The United Nations estimates the number of refugees at more than 65 million people, the causes vary from tribal warfare, ethnic and religious intolerance, and repressive totalitarian regimes.

Our economy is still recovering after almost a decade of paltry economic growth and high unemployment. Western European countries like Greece, Spain, Italy and most of Eastern Europe are still in economic doldrums. Just what percentage of these costly refugees should their countries be forced to absorb?

Mr. Warren’s cliché attack concerning our country’s past blemished history is easily answered by “in comparison to what other parts of the world.”

Although we have not always followed the written guidelines of our own insightful and wondrous Constitution, we have over the centuries tried our best to address and remediate past injustices.

What other country in the world has done so in the last two centuries, Mr. Warren?

Socialist Bernie Sanders has stressed that he wants America to be more like Scandinavia, believing that Marxism — not cultural factors — are responsible for their success. Fact is, northern Europe — Sweden in particular — has over the centuries developed remarkable high levels of social cohesion, had a homogenous population, a robust belief in the Protestant work ethic and social customs which pre-date the formation of the modern welfare state.

The relative success of Sweden in terms of high living standards, long life expectancy and low crime rates combined with even more distributors of income is actually the real secret of their success.

It must be mentioned that during the 1990s, Sweden actually reversed much of its economic model by selling state-owned companies, deregulating financial markets, and merging public monopolies and private enterprise.

Fact check: The Swedish government (taxpayer) did not rescue either Volvo or Saab, now did they?

Lou Deholczer

Lou Deholczer

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