And when you said “The American worker is more about an honest day’s pay,” did you mean the illegal American worker? Sorry, I put this comment through for you before final edit since you were on a looong conference call, before you took a last look at it!!

Now the idea of restricting these workers from entering our country means labor supplies will also be restricted. This will mean farmers, fast food restaurants, hotels and a plethora of other industries will have some serious labor pool shortages. The answer? They’ll have to pay more money to fill positions that many “legal” Americans don’t want. We’re snobs that would never stoop so low as to change someone else’s bedding or pick fruits and vegetables out of fields. After all, there are social safety nets and too many doctors willing to diagnose us with the latest ailment, mental or physical, no matter how obscure, so we can dip our fingers into some of that “free money.” The reality is that if we really crack down on illegals, it will cost us. Your new home will be more expensive, your dinners out will be more expensive and your grocery store will be more expensive. In other words expect inflation if you want to deport them all for the sake of “Saving American Jobs” (I can hear the national anthem playing). In short, the companies who use illegals are going to have to cover their higher labor costs and that will cost you.

So the other option, proposed by Bush, is to go ahead and recognize the contributions of this section of our workforce and society by making them legal, even if only for a little while. Sounds good, but again there is a cost. As it is, illegals do not cost us much when it comes to social services. They just work and if they can’t find a job the next day, tough bologna. They have no right to housing services, unemployment, welfare, Social Security or any of the other bloated, tax funded federal and state monies that go to help (ideally) the “down-on-their-luck” folk of this here great nation of ours. So the question is, will the large majority of legalized Mexicans continue at their same pace of low wages and humble and meek living conditions or will many of them evolve into social leaches who abuse the system. One advantage to legalizing is that these workers will now pay taxes into the system and thus help pay for all of our wonderful government funded amenities like paved roads, public schools and so forth. Of course, it makes you wonder how the farmer will feel when he has to now pay and track taxes, unemployment, workers comp, etc., etc. I think many will just opt for the good ol’ days and hand out cash from the back of the truck at the end of the day.

I would bet that if illegals are made legal they will become more than low income earners. You would see them working assembly lines at Intel and in banks taking your deposits and ever higher echelons of corporate office. I say this not naively as if legal Mexican Americans aren’t already doing this, but that the illegal workers here now have more drive and work ethic than many legal Americans. It is simple in my mind to envision the beauty and mechanics of our free market economy slurping up these hard working individuals who don’t let pride get in their way on the road to the pursuit of happiness. As a business owner for the past 10 years I can’t tell you how hard it is to find good loyal employees. As an employer, as an employer who is a Christian especially, I do not believe my employees should be married to their jobs/careers or that they shouldn’t move on were a better opportunity to present itself. However, more often than not the situation is that employees are just looking to get something, not so much an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. The American worker is more about an honest day’s pay.

So, the question becomes do we want Mexicans here in America, whom we have had no problem with as long as they are changing our beds, picking our fruit and diggin’ our ditches? Do we want them to be equal with us? I say YES, YES, YES. What America needs is a good swift kick in the butt when it comes to labor. We’re snotty nosed little rich kids who have pampered ourselves with our father’s money and set up all sorts of trust funds and insurance policies that guarantee we will never be for want. We’re wrong, aren’t we? I know there are a lot of honest, hard working “legal” Americans in this country, but you have to agree there are also a lot of people who are costing us. We need to learn to roll up our sleeves again and get the work done. By infusing a huge pool of “good labor” into the labor pool, it will only raise the bar – at least in the short run. Who knows what will happen when that good labor turns into lazy labor 50 years down he road, but that’s another debate and the need now is obvious.

Legalizing one of our most vital workforces will not fix America’s social woes, but it will be a damn good shot in the arm. I believe in simple principals, hold up and reward those things you admire and respect so that they prosper, and be agents of change for others. To continue to deny working illegals citizenship is to deny the fiber of who they are and what America once stood for – humility, hard work and a fair wage.

Legalizing pot? How successful have countries been that have done it? Would you want to live in Amsterdam? Does Canada want a bunch of drug tourists flooding her streets? The Netherlands is a major port for drugs entering Europe, and France & Germany are up in arms over this. I can guaranteee that if Canada takes this step, US/Canadian relations will go downhill.

I am polling Americans to see how much they know about Canada off the top of their heads. Come visit.