Immigration-2006

So, according to estimates, there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US. (where does that number come from, anyway?) Leaving aside the question of the accuracy of that number, let’s look at some other assumptions. Let’s say that of that group, around half, let’s say 5 million, work full-time jobs, using phony ID and SocSec cards. And let’s say that the employers are enlightened enough (HA) to pay the minimum wage of $5.15/hour. That comes to an annual wage of $10,712.

Social Security and Medicare taxes, (employee & employer contribution is 15.3%, so those 5 million workers and their employers pay $8,194,680,000 into the SocSec fund. Let’s go a bit further, and say the effective tax rate for withholding is around 5% for these workers. That comes to $2,678,000,000. This adds up to $10,872,680,000, give or take, that is put into the US Treasury annually by these workers. Let’s adjust that to $10 billion, smoothing out errors in my assumptions. They will never be able to receive SocSec benefits, or get a tax refund, so that money will stay in the treasury. So let’s cut the crap about them somehow getting a free ride.

So far this year, about 4 or 5 hundred people have died attempting to get to this country. The US and Mexican governments are both complicit, along with the corporatistas, in destroying opportunities for the poor Mexicans to find ways to support their families in Mexico, so they risk all to come here, to be able to make some money to send home to their families. Just as we would if we were in their position.

Yet, still they are reviled.

“They take jobs away from Americans.” Ha. What a load of crap. Corporate America decided a long time ago to take advantage of the unfettered capitalism practiced by the WTO, and encoded into NAFTA, and deregulation. Nobody “took” jobs, they were sent away by your capitalist masters. And while they were doing that, they were setting up in tax havens, so that they wouldn’t have to pay their fair share of the burden of keeping this country afloat and functioning (and so you can toss out that bullshit about the illegals sending home money, and taking it out of the US economy). These same corporations also insist on the US sending its troops into other countries to protect their “interests”, but as we’ve seen, they don’t want to have to pay for that service. At home, they’ve shredded the pact with their remaining workers, decimating pensions and healthcare benefits. Along with the bushistas shredding the remains of America’s social safety net, US workers are fast approaching the aristocratic order that is preferred by the rich. And guess who ain’t gonna be part of the aristocratic class. And you’re worried about a handful of immigrants? What fucking idiots.

And some final thoughts on the demonstrations tomorrow. I support them. I support their message, and I support their cause. And I support their methods wholeheartedly.

Are we pissed because we’re jealous? The illegal immigrants that will be marching tomorrow have a lot to lose by exercising their rights. Are we jealous of their courage? Are we jealous because they’re standing up for their rights, while we roll over and let ours be taken away? Fill the streets, “shut down cities”. The American people should have done it in 2000 when the Supreme Court selected the president. We should have done it again in 2001, when the president bush cut the taxes on the rich, we should have done it again in 2003, when he invaded Iraq. And we should have done it 2004, when the bushistas stole the election again.

Separate yourselves from the bigoted rhetoric of the nutzoid right [they’re ALL nutzoid], and start looking at ALL peoples as people. They are not illegal immigrants, they are people. They are not Iraqis. They are people. People, goddamn it. Just like you and me, with the same hopes, dreams, and fears.

Opportunity for life itself, let alone upward mobility, is being destroyed right before our eyes. All we need do is open them to see it. May 1 is International Workers’ Day. We should be reveling in these actions, not reviling them. The immigrant population, with its recent actions, presents the most graphic demonstration of where our corporate masters are taking workers the world over. We are all going to have to decide, and soon, do we join them in solidarity for justice for the worker classes?, or do we let the corporatistas keep us separated in subsets, so they can take our children’s future from us?

And one last thing for you Christians out there. What the fuck do you think Jesus would do?