His stats are interesting. 1 in 5 Californians live below the poverty level. 1 in 5 Californians were not born in the US. You can make stats say anything, of course, but these are sobering.
Meanwhile, can we ban plastic bags and not fix the potholes?
A special election has been called in my community for March (even though there’s an election in June). It has one question on the ballot: shall we, or shall we not, tax marijuana growers?
Costs $400K to hold the election in a city that is riddled with potholes.
Since the only reason most people agreed to making marijuana use legal in our community is because the politicians pledged to tax them, no one seems to understand why we have to vote on this all over again for this enormous price.
Craziness. One community–whose school board just discovered a $4.5 million error to the negative. But, surprisingly, it’s no one’s fault.
Michelle, I think the turning point in California will come when the poor Mexicans rebel against the Greenies and demand cheap power from natural gas and coal. It will happen soon. The Mexican reproduce. The Greenies have to recruit.
” Respect is one of the most important values in the Hispanic culture that parents instill in their children. Hispanic parents believe that children should be obedient to authority figures. ”
Huh. And yet somewhere around 15 million of them disrespect our nations laws and disrespect our country’s borders. And is it respectful to cause property damage and attack people backing Trump, as they did at his rallies this past year? Where’s the respect for Trump?
Perhaps that word doesn’t mean what I thought it did. Or I’m not the one confused about it’s meaning.
This one is no skin of my back. While I have no problem with legal immigrants, I purposely avoid businesses that employ illegals, so I could care less if they close permanently.
“Businesses in cities across the country prepared to close Thursday as immigrants boycott their jobs, classes and shopping.
Immigrants in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, Texas, and other major U.S. cities plan to stay home Thursday as part of a strike called “A Day Without Immigrants.”
Coming on the heels of roundups of undocumented immigrants nationwide, organizers urge legal residents as well as undocumented ones to participate in the boycott in response to President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which includes plans to build a border wall and a temporary immigration ban on nationals from certain Muslim-majority nations.
“From doctors to dishwashers, immigrants are integral to daily life in the U.S.,” tweeted Janet Murguia, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza, as she praised Spanish-American Chef Jose Andrés’ decision to close his Washington, D.C., restaurants Thursday.”
“After the massive turnouts at Women’s Marches across the globe last month, calls for a general women’s strike quickly began floating around the internet. The Women’s March organizers teased the idea earlier this month but gave no specifics. Then last week, a group of feminist scholars wrote an op-ed in the Guardian calling for a women’s strike on March 8—International Women’s Day—and now Women’s March organizers have also co-signed the date.
In the spirit of women and their allies coming together for love and liberation, we offer A Day Without A Woman. We ask: do businesses support our communities, or do they drain our communities? Do they strive for gender equity or do they support the policies and leaders that perpetuate oppression? Do they align with a sustainable environment or do they profit off destruction and steal the futures of our children? We saw what happened when millions of us stood together in January, and now we know that our army of love greatly outnumbers the army of fear, greed and hatred. On March 8th, International Women’s Day, let’s unite again in our communities for A Day Without A Woman. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more information on what actions on that day can look like for you. In the meantime, we are proud to support Strike4Democracy’s #F17 National Day of Action to Push Back Against Assaults on Democratic Principles. This Friday, February 17th, gather your friends, families, neighbors, and start brainstorming ideas for how you can enhance your community, stand up to this administration, integrate resistance and self-care into your daily routine, and how you will channel your efforts for good on March 8th. Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. #DayWithoutAWoman #WomensMarch”
AJ @ 11:12 I understand that Trump/Trumpkin math differs from regular math, but could you produce any evidence that 15 million Hispanics are here illegally. A Tweet from The Orange One doesn’t qualify as evidence.
“The total number of Mexicans residing in the US, with and without authorization, was 11.7 million in 2014, down from the peak of 12.8 million in 2007.[16] The drop is primarily the result of the decrease in the number of unauthorized migrants—which make up 48% of the Mexican population in the US in 2014, down from 54% in 2007.[16]”
“Country of origin (January 2006)
Mexico 6,840,000 56%
Latin and Central America 3,000,000 24%
Asia 1,080,000 9%
Europe and Canada 720,000 6%
Rest of World 480,000 4%
——————-
Some more recent numbers from WaPo show the increase. The charts here show 9 million from North America, and they ain’t comin’ from Canada, as of 2014,
“The vast majority of the population has roots in North America — particularly Mexico and Central America. China, the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam are among the top 10 countries of origin for the Asian illegal immigrant population, which has remained stable at 1.3 million — about 11 percent of all undocumented immigrants.”
———————-
Pew can be a bit hard to follow, but they estimate as of 2014 that there are 27 million foreign born (Mexico) in the US. Given that DHS says the number of Mexicans legally admitted in a 5 year average is 1.1 million, you can easily see that even over 50 years, the number legally admitted would only be about 11 million in that time frame. You do the math.
“According to MPI estimates, about 7.8 million unauthorized immigrants present in the United States in the 2009-13 period (71 percent of the total unauthorized population) were born in Mexico and other Central America countries. About 1.5 million (14 percent) were from Asia; 690,000 (6 percent) from South America; 423,000 (4 percent) from Europe, Canada, or Oceania; 342,000 (3 percent) from Africa; and 260,000 (2 percent) from the Caribbean.
The top five countries of birth for unauthorized immigrants were Mexico (56 percent), Guatemala (6 percent), El Salvador (4 percent), and Honduras and China (3 percent each).”
—————-
I believe most of these estimates are low, some for political reasons, others because it can be hard to determine real numbers when the population in question doesn’t cooperate with census counts. My estimate may be slightly high, but for the most part, I stand by my numbers.
As I said Ricky, I stand by them, and explained why I thought estimates were low. But really, you think that because it’s 10 million (I rounded the 9.84 mil up, something math allows for) instead of 15 that it somehow proves your point? Really? 🙄
Even if I believe their numbers, I have 10 million reasons to believe you’re wrong.
“Perhaps the subject of the terror attack on the US consulate in Benghazi will become more academic than political after the 2016 election denied Hillary Clinton the presidency. For now, though, documents continue to emerge that contradict the narrative created by Hillary and the Barack Obama White House about the nature of the attack. Yesterday, Judicial Watch received 54 more pages from its FOIA lawsuits and came across a bombshell buried in them. Notes of a State Department briefing for Congressional aides on the day after the attack show Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy acknowledging that the attack was not a protest gone bad, or even an attack under the cover of protest. It was, Kennedy told the Congressional aides, “a direct breaching attack”:
Judicial Watch today released 54 pages of new State Department documents, including a transcript of a September 12 2012, telephone conference call with congressional staffers in which then-Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy admitted that the deadly terrorist assault on the Benghazi Consulate was not “under cover of protest,” but was, in fact, “a direct breaching attack.”
The exchange comes late in the conversation with Robert Carter, an aide to Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX). Carter asks Kennedy directly whether this involved a protest, and Kennedy says no:”
“Earlier in the briefing, Kennedy also tells a staffer from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the attack was “semi-complex,” and later adds that it included “medium” weapons such as RPGs and/or mortars, indicating some significant planning. Four days later, Susan Rice — also a State Department official at that time — went on four Sunday talk shows to say exactly the opposite. Rice claimed, as did Clinton and Obama for two weeks, that the attack grew spontaneously out of a protest against an amateurish and obscure YouTube video. Not once in these notes does the subject of a YouTube video come up at all.”
Best line from President Trump’s press conference: “We [Trump and Putin] had a very good talk…it was classified…so I’m sure you all probably have that…”
I guess the classified leaks from Obama holdovers are causing a distraction. It’s time for more housecleaning. :–/
I did not put up my 8:04 post to pick a battle with Trumpkins, but to make a joke about our family. However, since the battle has been joined …
My son recently read Coming Apart by Murray and said it perfectly described the two paths taken by the bulk of his high school classmates. I then asked him why lower class Americans could not achieve the economic success enjoyed by immigrants from a variety of countries or upper class Americans.
One answer he gave me was “a lack of discipline”. He said that undisciplined 4 year olds become undisciplined 24 year olds and undisciplined 44 year olds.
As I have noted before, if there are screaming children in our restaurant tonight, they will not be Hispanic … nor Indian nor Filipino. We can really learn a great deal of good things from the cultures of our immigrants.
From my experience with immigrants from Mexico, both legal and illegal, the INS is notorious for losing applications and payment. Each form sent in is accompanied by a fee, several hundred dollars. The INS routinely loses these payments, or claims they did not receive the form.
No one should have to spend hundreds of dollars on lost applications. The President’s Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements called for 5,000 additional border patrol agents. I expect INS efficiency will improve greatly under a president that empowers and funds it to do its lawful job. That hasn’t happened for a very long time..
Ricky, rather than argue over the exact numbers (which are only estimates anyway–there could be more or less) I think the reasons are more interesting. Why do you think we have so many illegals from south of the border? You have said before that they are not fleeing bad situations. Even if there are “only” 10 million, the sources that I’ve read indicate that about half are paying taxes.That means millions are NOT paying taxes. Is the situation in Mexico bleak….or are we in the US just shiny and new and different? Why come?
Debra, As HRW has said, it is a matter of supply and demand. As AJ’s figures indicated, the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico peaked 10 years ago. Since then the US economy has been weak and the economy of Northern Mexico has strengthened and more illegal immigrants have gone home than arrived. Texas is still bright and shiny. The North? Not so much.
I would be willing to bet that a higher percentage of illegal Mexican immigrants pay taxes than Trump primary voters. Most folks drawing Social Security retirement or disability benefits aren’t paying taxes.
Whether or not Trump supporters will admit it, there are many jobs Americans won’t do. I heard a Trumpkin Congressman from New York last week discussing that apple farmers in his district were having to hire Jamaicans to pick apples as no Americans would do that work. Tucker Carlson asked, “At what price?” The Congressman replied, “At any price. It is very hard work.” Clearly that is an exaggeration. However, as long as we have millions of Americans choosing not to work and living off unemployment, disability, relatives, food stamps, etc., immigrants will come do the unpleasant jobs and help keep our twin Ponzi schemes (Social Security and Medicare) from having to pull a Trump and file for bankruptcy.
Charles Murray was recently asked the question I asked my son @7:15. He said:
1. The biggest problem is a difference in intelligence; and
2. The current economy rewards intelligence more than any other economy in history.
For once, I disagree with Murray. I understand intelligence affects income, but:
1. The people described in Hillbilly Elegy were not dummies; and
2. I refuse to believe that Filipinos earn more than Americans because they are so much smarter.
Culture matters! Discipline matters! They matter a lot.
Mexicans from rural areas in Mexico have no jobs. Their govt is corrupt. In reality, there is still a caste system in many parts of Mexico. Many police are not to be trusted. You have to pay bribes to move about freely…really, no clue why they would want to come north?!
Ricky, the whole supply and demand of economy is treated like an immutable law of gravity. It’s not. It’s just a useful tool to describe an economic snapshot in time. In general, Economics is more of an art than a science, I think. It is an art/quasi-science that is made for people, and not the other way around.
I have come to the conclusion that if the theory requires complete agreement, then it doesn’t work. Because any system or theory is going to have people who legitimately disagree with it. That would be one argument in favor of a more homogeneous population in terms of culture and religion, as opposed to the radical diversity of all things that we have chosen.
But I agree discipline matters a lot; so do our expectations. As for intelligence—there are many kinds of intelligence: emotional, intellectual, musical, …. and some have a physical intelligence and are just naturally good with their hands. I suspect that different cultures or economies favor different kinds of intelligence.
So why have more illegal Mexican immigrants moved from the US to Mexico than from Mexico to the US over the last 10 years? Has it been a decade long epidemic of chronic homesickness?
RKessler is right about rural Mexico. People in Saltillo live like I lived in Fort Worth and Oklahoma City in the 60s. Forty miles from Saltillo in Oachichil, the people live like my parents described they lived in the 1940s. Ninety miles from Saltillo in the mountains, in the little village of Los Hormigas, the women cooked tortillas on a wood burning stove and the men hunted deer and bear for meat. It was primitive. What has been happening for decades in Mexico is that young people are leaving the rural villages for jobs in the big cities.
Kevin D Williamson, J B Vance and others have been trying to persuade Americans to leave dying towns, get off welfare and move to places where there are jobs. However, as we learned a few weeks ago, there are a thousand reasons that Americans aren’t able to move.
Debra, If you will read Free to Choose, it will forever change your way of looking at economics and most public policy issues.
I agree with you about intelligence. In my own family, I see many, many different types of intelligence. That is why I think culture (including discipline and work ethic) is much more important. As an example I have gone to church with Terry Bradshaw at two different churches. By any objective measure, his intelligence is below average. Yet he has three careers (football player, broadcaster, and public speaker) and has great success in all three fields. He is clearly doing something right.
I also agree with you about expectations. That is why I get so irritated when Sharpton blames racism and Trump blames immigrants. If their listeners buy their garbage, then they have a built-in excuse for failure. They expect to fail, since Whitey or the Indians or the Mexicans are to blame.
I don’t know why Mexicans are migrating back and forth. But it is a very unstable way to live and raise children. And I don’t think that kind of migration ends well for the civilization that practices it….OR maybe the end result is just survival and sometimes that is all that is hoped for.
I don’t have the data at my fingertips to support this, but I suspect that Mexico has experienced what so many other South American countries have experienced in that populations have been shifted from their farms by either large manufacturing companies buying them out, or they are attracted to the money the companies offer. Big business uses them, then moves on leaving unemployed, farm-less people behind. I have read that cartels are the big employers in some areas of Mexico. It’s hard to imagine that being a family-friendly situation.
Meanwhile, Trump apparently had a 70 minute farce of a press conference today. If you don’t want to watch the replay, Kevin D. Williamson has a nice, short summary.
Debra, In my large state in North America over the last 50 years, virtually all of my relatives shifted from their farms to jobs in metropolitan areas. Big business used them and they used big business and they made a good living for their families and helped their children be educated. Young people are also moving from rural areas to urban areas in China and all over Asia.
There are problems with moving, but it beats sitting on a couch in a town with no jobs living on food stamps.
Hey! I liked that press conference! I watched the whole thing, or rather, I had it running on YouTube while I was working on other things. YouTube is the best. I just found a 10 part series on Free to Choose w/ Milton Friedman. Maybe I’ll run it tomorrow while I’m working.
The 10 part TV show is great. I still contend it is the best thing ever broadcast on PBS. It came on once a week in 1980, I believe. A lot happened that year.
Wandering Views 
College graduates, young people, independents and women are not falling for the con. Could they be the base of a new third party?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/14/donald-trump-has-many-people-longing-for-the-good-old-days-of-george-w-bush/?utm_term=.9dac71860434
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There are plenty of people in California who understand, Victor Hanson, of course, always has great insights: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hanson-oroville-20170214-story.html
His stats are interesting. 1 in 5 Californians live below the poverty level. 1 in 5 Californians were not born in the US. You can make stats say anything, of course, but these are sobering.
Meanwhile, can we ban plastic bags and not fix the potholes?
A special election has been called in my community for March (even though there’s an election in June). It has one question on the ballot: shall we, or shall we not, tax marijuana growers?
Costs $400K to hold the election in a city that is riddled with potholes.
Since the only reason most people agreed to making marijuana use legal in our community is because the politicians pledged to tax them, no one seems to understand why we have to vote on this all over again for this enormous price.
Craziness. One community–whose school board just discovered a $4.5 million error to the negative. But, surprisingly, it’s no one’s fault.
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Michelle, I think the turning point in California will come when the poor Mexicans rebel against the Greenies and demand cheap power from natural gas and coal. It will happen soon. The Mexican reproduce. The Greenies have to recruit.
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Some would say it was actually God who did this.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/15/us-spies-reportedly-keeping-intelligence-from-trump.amp.html?client=safari
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As always the real story can be found in the comments….
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” Respect is one of the most important values in the Hispanic culture that parents instill in their children. Hispanic parents believe that children should be obedient to authority figures. ”
Huh. And yet somewhere around 15 million of them disrespect our nations laws and disrespect our country’s borders. And is it respectful to cause property damage and attack people backing Trump, as they did at his rallies this past year? Where’s the respect for Trump?
Perhaps that word doesn’t mean what I thought it did. Or I’m not the one confused about it’s meaning.
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This one is no skin of my back. While I have no problem with legal immigrants, I purposely avoid businesses that employ illegals, so I could care less if they close permanently.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/businesses-across-us-close-for-day-without-immigrants/ar-AAmZZwt?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=U452DHP
“Businesses in cities across the country prepared to close Thursday as immigrants boycott their jobs, classes and shopping.
Immigrants in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, Texas, and other major U.S. cities plan to stay home Thursday as part of a strike called “A Day Without Immigrants.”
Coming on the heels of roundups of undocumented immigrants nationwide, organizers urge legal residents as well as undocumented ones to participate in the boycott in response to President Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which includes plans to build a border wall and a temporary immigration ban on nationals from certain Muslim-majority nations.
“From doctors to dishwashers, immigrants are integral to daily life in the U.S.,” tweeted Janet Murguia, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza, as she praised Spanish-American Chef Jose Andrés’ decision to close his Washington, D.C., restaurants Thursday.”
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Mark your calendars ladies.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/women-worldwide-will-go-on-strike-march-8/ar-AAmYJu4?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=U452DHP
“After the massive turnouts at Women’s Marches across the globe last month, calls for a general women’s strike quickly began floating around the internet. The Women’s March organizers teased the idea earlier this month but gave no specifics. Then last week, a group of feminist scholars wrote an op-ed in the Guardian calling for a women’s strike on March 8—International Women’s Day—and now Women’s March organizers have also co-signed the date.
In the spirit of women and their allies coming together for love and liberation, we offer A Day Without A Woman. We ask: do businesses support our communities, or do they drain our communities? Do they strive for gender equity or do they support the policies and leaders that perpetuate oppression? Do they align with a sustainable environment or do they profit off destruction and steal the futures of our children? We saw what happened when millions of us stood together in January, and now we know that our army of love greatly outnumbers the army of fear, greed and hatred. On March 8th, International Women’s Day, let’s unite again in our communities for A Day Without A Woman. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more information on what actions on that day can look like for you. In the meantime, we are proud to support Strike4Democracy’s #F17 National Day of Action to Push Back Against Assaults on Democratic Principles. This Friday, February 17th, gather your friends, families, neighbors, and start brainstorming ideas for how you can enhance your community, stand up to this administration, integrate resistance and self-care into your daily routine, and how you will channel your efforts for good on March 8th. Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. #DayWithoutAWoman #WomensMarch”
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I saw a big sign the other day on a Hollywood Freeway overpass: RESIST
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When I read Ricky’s comment about Hispanic’s respect for authority, I knew how AJ was gonna respond. 🙂
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Micjelle – I saw a thing on Facebook that shows a “Californian” sweating & panicking over his choice – Secession or Federal Money. 🙂
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Who is Micjelle?
That should be for Michelle & DJ. And Bob, too, if he’s around.
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I won’t be participating in the Day Without Women.
All these boycotts really do is make the participator feel like they are doing something.
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AJ @ 11:12 I understand that Trump/Trumpkin math differs from regular math, but could you produce any evidence that 15 million Hispanics are here illegally. A Tweet from The Orange One doesn’t qualify as evidence.
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Ricky,
That’s easy. You can ask Wiki, who I believe estimates low, as most do. The numbers increased since some of this is dated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigrant_population_of_the_United_States
“The total number of Mexicans residing in the US, with and without authorization, was 11.7 million in 2014, down from the peak of 12.8 million in 2007.[16] The drop is primarily the result of the decrease in the number of unauthorized migrants—which make up 48% of the Mexican population in the US in 2014, down from 54% in 2007.[16]”
“Country of origin (January 2006)
Mexico 6,840,000 56%
Latin and Central America 3,000,000 24%
Asia 1,080,000 9%
Europe and Canada 720,000 6%
Rest of World 480,000 4%
——————-
Some more recent numbers from WaPo show the increase. The charts here show 9 million from North America, and they ain’t comin’ from Canada, as of 2014,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/11/21/7-charts-that-explain-the-undocumented-immigrant-population/?utm_term=.9787e2472e14
“The vast majority of the population has roots in North America — particularly Mexico and Central America. China, the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam are among the top 10 countries of origin for the Asian illegal immigrant population, which has remained stable at 1.3 million — about 11 percent of all undocumented immigrants.”
———————-
Pew can be a bit hard to follow, but they estimate as of 2014 that there are 27 million foreign born (Mexico) in the US. Given that DHS says the number of Mexicans legally admitted in a 5 year average is 1.1 million, you can easily see that even over 50 years, the number legally admitted would only be about 11 million in that time frame. You do the math.
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/04/19/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the-united-states-key-charts/
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/04/19/statistical-portrait-of-the-foreign-born-population-in-the-united-states/
—
Click to access ois_yb_2009.pdf
—————-
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#Unauthorized Immigrants
“According to MPI estimates, about 7.8 million unauthorized immigrants present in the United States in the 2009-13 period (71 percent of the total unauthorized population) were born in Mexico and other Central America countries. About 1.5 million (14 percent) were from Asia; 690,000 (6 percent) from South America; 423,000 (4 percent) from Europe, Canada, or Oceania; 342,000 (3 percent) from Africa; and 260,000 (2 percent) from the Caribbean.
The top five countries of birth for unauthorized immigrants were Mexico (56 percent), Guatemala (6 percent), El Salvador (4 percent), and Honduras and China (3 percent each).”
—————-
I believe most of these estimates are low, some for political reasons, others because it can be hard to determine real numbers when the population in question doesn’t cooperate with census counts. My estimate may be slightly high, but for the most part, I stand by my numbers.
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Trump/Trumpkin math: 6,840,000 + 3,000,000 = 15,000,000.
No wonder he had all those bankruptcies.
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As I said Ricky, I stand by them, and explained why I thought estimates were low. But really, you think that because it’s 10 million (I rounded the 9.84 mil up, something math allows for) instead of 15 that it somehow proves your point? Really? 🙄
Even if I believe their numbers, I have 10 million reasons to believe you’re wrong.
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This will shock no one.
http://hotair.com/archives/2017/02/15/new-foia-release-obama-admin-knew-immediately-benghazi-was-direct-breaching-terror-attack-not-under-cover-of-protest/
“Perhaps the subject of the terror attack on the US consulate in Benghazi will become more academic than political after the 2016 election denied Hillary Clinton the presidency. For now, though, documents continue to emerge that contradict the narrative created by Hillary and the Barack Obama White House about the nature of the attack. Yesterday, Judicial Watch received 54 more pages from its FOIA lawsuits and came across a bombshell buried in them. Notes of a State Department briefing for Congressional aides on the day after the attack show Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy acknowledging that the attack was not a protest gone bad, or even an attack under the cover of protest. It was, Kennedy told the Congressional aides, “a direct breaching attack”:
Judicial Watch today released 54 pages of new State Department documents, including a transcript of a September 12 2012, telephone conference call with congressional staffers in which then-Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy admitted that the deadly terrorist assault on the Benghazi Consulate was not “under cover of protest,” but was, in fact, “a direct breaching attack.”
The exchange comes late in the conversation with Robert Carter, an aide to Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-TX). Carter asks Kennedy directly whether this involved a protest, and Kennedy says no:”
“Earlier in the briefing, Kennedy also tells a staffer from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the attack was “semi-complex,” and later adds that it included “medium” weapons such as RPGs and/or mortars, indicating some significant planning. Four days later, Susan Rice — also a State Department official at that time — went on four Sunday talk shows to say exactly the opposite. Rice claimed, as did Clinton and Obama for two weeks, that the attack grew spontaneously out of a protest against an amateurish and obscure YouTube video. Not once in these notes does the subject of a YouTube video come up at all.”
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Trumpkins now admit they believe that 15=10. No wonder Trump claims he won the popular vote.
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Best line from President Trump’s press conference: “We [Trump and Putin] had a very good talk…it was classified…so I’m sure you all probably have that…”
I guess the classified leaks from Obama holdovers are causing a distraction. It’s time for more housecleaning. :–/
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I did not put up my 8:04 post to pick a battle with Trumpkins, but to make a joke about our family. However, since the battle has been joined …
My son recently read Coming Apart by Murray and said it perfectly described the two paths taken by the bulk of his high school classmates. I then asked him why lower class Americans could not achieve the economic success enjoyed by immigrants from a variety of countries or upper class Americans.
One answer he gave me was “a lack of discipline”. He said that undisciplined 4 year olds become undisciplined 24 year olds and undisciplined 44 year olds.
As I have noted before, if there are screaming children in our restaurant tonight, they will not be Hispanic … nor Indian nor Filipino. We can really learn a great deal of good things from the cultures of our immigrants.
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From my experience with immigrants from Mexico, both legal and illegal, the INS is notorious for losing applications and payment. Each form sent in is accompanied by a fee, several hundred dollars. The INS routinely loses these payments, or claims they did not receive the form.
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No one should have to spend hundreds of dollars on lost applications. The President’s Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements called for 5,000 additional border patrol agents. I expect INS efficiency will improve greatly under a president that empowers and funds it to do its lawful job. That hasn’t happened for a very long time..
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Ricky,
It’s not a battle, we’re not enemies. It’s a discussion. 😀
And unlike with most Democrats I know, we’re able to disagree like adults without all the name calling. Oh wait. You did call me a Trumpkin…. 😒
I enjoy the discussions here, and the differing points of view, your’s included.
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RKessler,
Sadly govt. incompetence like that is too often the norm in many areas, so it’s not surprising it would be at INS too.
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Debra,
” “We [Trump and Putin] had a very good talk…it was classified…so I’m sure you all probably have that…””
That is hysterical. 🤡
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Ricky, rather than argue over the exact numbers (which are only estimates anyway–there could be more or less) I think the reasons are more interesting. Why do you think we have so many illegals from south of the border? You have said before that they are not fleeing bad situations. Even if there are “only” 10 million, the sources that I’ve read indicate that about half are paying taxes.That means millions are NOT paying taxes. Is the situation in Mexico bleak….or are we in the US just shiny and new and different? Why come?
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Debra, As HRW has said, it is a matter of supply and demand. As AJ’s figures indicated, the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico peaked 10 years ago. Since then the US economy has been weak and the economy of Northern Mexico has strengthened and more illegal immigrants have gone home than arrived. Texas is still bright and shiny. The North? Not so much.
I would be willing to bet that a higher percentage of illegal Mexican immigrants pay taxes than Trump primary voters. Most folks drawing Social Security retirement or disability benefits aren’t paying taxes.
Whether or not Trump supporters will admit it, there are many jobs Americans won’t do. I heard a Trumpkin Congressman from New York last week discussing that apple farmers in his district were having to hire Jamaicans to pick apples as no Americans would do that work. Tucker Carlson asked, “At what price?” The Congressman replied, “At any price. It is very hard work.” Clearly that is an exaggeration. However, as long as we have millions of Americans choosing not to work and living off unemployment, disability, relatives, food stamps, etc., immigrants will come do the unpleasant jobs and help keep our twin Ponzi schemes (Social Security and Medicare) from having to pull a Trump and file for bankruptcy.
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Charles Murray was recently asked the question I asked my son @7:15. He said:
1. The biggest problem is a difference in intelligence; and
2. The current economy rewards intelligence more than any other economy in history.
For once, I disagree with Murray. I understand intelligence affects income, but:
1. The people described in Hillbilly Elegy were not dummies; and
2. I refuse to believe that Filipinos earn more than Americans because they are so much smarter.
Culture matters! Discipline matters! They matter a lot.
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Mexicans from rural areas in Mexico have no jobs. Their govt is corrupt. In reality, there is still a caste system in many parts of Mexico. Many police are not to be trusted. You have to pay bribes to move about freely…really, no clue why they would want to come north?!
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rkessler65, I thought as you do, but Ricky assured us some weeks ago that this is not the case. Take it up with him if you like. :–)
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Ricky, the whole supply and demand of economy is treated like an immutable law of gravity. It’s not. It’s just a useful tool to describe an economic snapshot in time. In general, Economics is more of an art than a science, I think. It is an art/quasi-science that is made for people, and not the other way around.
I have come to the conclusion that if the theory requires complete agreement, then it doesn’t work. Because any system or theory is going to have people who legitimately disagree with it. That would be one argument in favor of a more homogeneous population in terms of culture and religion, as opposed to the radical diversity of all things that we have chosen.
But I agree discipline matters a lot; so do our expectations. As for intelligence—there are many kinds of intelligence: emotional, intellectual, musical, …. and some have a physical intelligence and are just naturally good with their hands. I suspect that different cultures or economies favor different kinds of intelligence.
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So why have more illegal Mexican immigrants moved from the US to Mexico than from Mexico to the US over the last 10 years? Has it been a decade long epidemic of chronic homesickness?
RKessler is right about rural Mexico. People in Saltillo live like I lived in Fort Worth and Oklahoma City in the 60s. Forty miles from Saltillo in Oachichil, the people live like my parents described they lived in the 1940s. Ninety miles from Saltillo in the mountains, in the little village of Los Hormigas, the women cooked tortillas on a wood burning stove and the men hunted deer and bear for meat. It was primitive. What has been happening for decades in Mexico is that young people are leaving the rural villages for jobs in the big cities.
Kevin D Williamson, J B Vance and others have been trying to persuade Americans to leave dying towns, get off welfare and move to places where there are jobs. However, as we learned a few weeks ago, there are a thousand reasons that Americans aren’t able to move.
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Debra, If you will read Free to Choose, it will forever change your way of looking at economics and most public policy issues.
I agree with you about intelligence. In my own family, I see many, many different types of intelligence. That is why I think culture (including discipline and work ethic) is much more important. As an example I have gone to church with Terry Bradshaw at two different churches. By any objective measure, his intelligence is below average. Yet he has three careers (football player, broadcaster, and public speaker) and has great success in all three fields. He is clearly doing something right.
I also agree with you about expectations. That is why I get so irritated when Sharpton blames racism and Trump blames immigrants. If their listeners buy their garbage, then they have a built-in excuse for failure. They expect to fail, since Whitey or the Indians or the Mexicans are to blame.
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I don’t know why Mexicans are migrating back and forth. But it is a very unstable way to live and raise children. And I don’t think that kind of migration ends well for the civilization that practices it….OR maybe the end result is just survival and sometimes that is all that is hoped for.
I don’t have the data at my fingertips to support this, but I suspect that Mexico has experienced what so many other South American countries have experienced in that populations have been shifted from their farms by either large manufacturing companies buying them out, or they are attracted to the money the companies offer. Big business uses them, then moves on leaving unemployed, farm-less people behind. I have read that cartels are the big employers in some areas of Mexico. It’s hard to imagine that being a family-friendly situation.
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Meanwhile, Trump apparently had a 70 minute farce of a press conference today. If you don’t want to watch the replay, Kevin D. Williamson has a nice, short summary.
https://twitter.com/kevinnr/status/832400217832116225
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Debra, In my large state in North America over the last 50 years, virtually all of my relatives shifted from their farms to jobs in metropolitan areas. Big business used them and they used big business and they made a good living for their families and helped their children be educated. Young people are also moving from rural areas to urban areas in China and all over Asia.
There are problems with moving, but it beats sitting on a couch in a town with no jobs living on food stamps.
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Hey! I liked that press conference! I watched the whole thing, or rather, I had it running on YouTube while I was working on other things. YouTube is the best. I just found a 10 part series on Free to Choose w/ Milton Friedman. Maybe I’ll run it tomorrow while I’m working.
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The 10 part TV show is great. I still contend it is the best thing ever broadcast on PBS. It came on once a week in 1980, I believe. A lot happened that year.
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