Cure for Immigration “Problem”
- Stop Subsidizing Farmers
It is well known that many Mexican emigrants are from rural areas and come to the United States to work in the fields. It is also well known that American agriculture is obscenely subsidized by the government.
Here is a quote from an L.A. Times article last summer, “1986 Amnesty Frames Immigration Debate” (June 3, 2006)
California farmers, too, hail the Senate proposal for correcting what they say was a key problem of the 1986 amnesty: the widespread exodus of migrant laborers from the fields once they received legal status. The Senate bill requires newly legalized farmworkers to stay in their jobs three to five years before moving to other industries.
[REQUIRE the farmworkers to stay? Indentured?]
“I think the [Senate bill] will work much better for both workers and growers,” said Roy Gabriel, director of labor affairs for the California Farm Bureau. “It will stabilize the workforce and ensure the survival of the agricultural industry.”
I think if the government would stop subsidizing rich farmers, many of them would go out of business. This would be good for the rest of America. It would also stimulate the import of many fruits and vegetables from places like Mexico, where the farm workers already live.
Do you suppose that might have an effect on America’s “illegal immigration” problem?