Eliminate the minimum wage. Then, Americans could compete with immigrants and there would be little incentive for employers to hire illegal immigrants.

The fact of the matter is that

1. No matter what draconian measures we put in place, illegals will eventually find a way around it. The costs are asymmetric. It's expensive for us to put up a barrier, it's cheap for them to device countermeasures. A small change in tactics by them requires a large change in tactics by us. This is why the war against marijuana is such a failure.

2. The economic incentive for immigrants to try to come here is much greater than any deterrent we put in place. If they get caught, they simply try again until they get through. They have a lot to gain and little to lose, and we can't imprison them because the cost is too high.

Eliminating the minimum wage is something that a bunch of people, especially republicans, have wanted anyway. It addresses the fundamental incentives that cause illegal immigration, and it is much easier to implement than whatever layers of nonsense we are planning to use to kick illegals out and keep them out.

6/2/2006 7:26:33 PM

so much stupidity. so little time

6/2/2006 7:28:16 PM

Trying to kick them out is fucking stupid, granted.

But without the guarantee of a minimum wage, I think cheap labor prices would spiral out of control even further- it'd increase the number of people coming here to work, since they'd be the few who'd do such work for even cheaper.

6/2/2006 7:29:58 PM

im failing to see how eliminating the minimum wage wouldnt make more of a market for illegal immigrant labor

unless you know of a large block of americans that are fine with working for a couple dollars an hour... i am not

6/2/2006 7:30:04 PM

WOO WOO! Here comes the clue train!

http://maddox.xmission.com/hatemail.cgi?p=1#CLUETRAIN

6/2/2006 7:39:50 PM

Just bring back indentured servitude.

6/2/2006 11:03:25 PM

What it would do is equalize the supply for cheap labor with the demand at a market clearing price.

It most likely would result in more immigrants, but in the long run the flow of people would stop because they can no longer get a higher paying job here than in Mexico with that set of skills.

The way to deal with the problem is to put Mexico's economy into high gear (or any gear). (I realize not all immigrants are from Mexico, but I'm dealing with the largest contributor). When the economies are similar (ie US and Canada) you'll see a smoother movement of people without anyone bitching.

6/2/2006 11:16:03 PM

we could also nuke america to see if the radiation would detour them, but the making america suck to keep foreigners out seems like it defeats the point

6/2/2006 11:35:16 PM

The minimum wage is already largely irrelevant in today's labor markets, thus eliminating it will have little to no impact.

The only places that utilize the minimum wage are found is economically depressed areas where deflation has been a real problem for a long time, and even then only the lowest skilled workers (such as teenagers) are paid this minimum wage.

As such, only about 0.4% of the total U.S. workforce is currently paid the minimum wage. Clearly not a sufficient quantity of workers could be affected to visibly alter the prevailing labor market.

6/2/2006 11:41:59 PM

The only way to dissuade illegal immigration is deny citizenship and government services to illegals (health insurance, financial assistance, school enrollment, drivers licenses) and deny citizenship to those born from illegal aliens.

6/3/2006 12:14:32 AM

make it illegal to spend tax dollars on social services for illegals

6/3/2006 12:37:38 AM

Make them chop wood for cowboys.

6/3/2006 1:09:58 AM

We could always try actually shooting them when they cross the border.

6/3/2006 6:34:18 AM

oh, I forgot to cite:
http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2004.htm

6/3/2006 8:01:52 AM

Quote :

"The only way to dissuade illegal immigration is deny citizenship and government services to illegals (health insurance, financial assistance, school enrollment, drivers licenses) and deny citizenship to those born from illegal aliens. "

winner.

Oh, but it'd be SOOOOOOOOOOO horrible to deny this stuff to people who break our laws. How can you be so CRUEL?

6/3/2006 1:48:48 PM

Quote :

"only about 0.4% of the total U.S. workforce is currently paid the minimum wage"

citation?

6/3/2006 2:01:48 PM

dig a mote...no, wait, there already is a river there.

make the climate harsh...no, wait, it already is.

i guess we'll have to build that minefield after all.

6/3/2006 4:02:06 PM

^^ I did:

Quote :

"oh, I forgot to cite: http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2004.htm"

"some 73.9 million American workers were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.8 percent of all wage and salary workers.1 Of those paid by the hour, 520,000 were reported as earning exactly $5.15"
0.52/(73.9/0.598)*100 = 0.4%

6/3/2006 4:05:32 PM

maybe we could help mexico become better, even if their gov. doesn't want it to be.

6/3/2006 4:07:35 PM

Quote :

"Just bring back indentured servitude."

Or at least conscription into the military.

--

but realy ^ sounds like the better solution and investment

[Edited on June 3, 2006 at 4:16 PM. Reason : +]

6/3/2006 4:12:09 PM

Quote :

"some 73.9 million American workers were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.8 percent of all wage and salary workers.1 Of those paid by the hour, 520,000 were reported as earning exactly $5.1"

dumbfuck. that's not .4% of the American workforce... That's .4% of the hourly-paid American workforce

6/3/2006 4:48:33 PM

^ Hmm, I believe you have made a mathematical error. I found the total workforce (73.9M / 59.8% = 123.57M) and then found the percentage (0.52M / 123.57M = 0.4%) you dumbfuck.

At least do the math before making yourself look stupid.

6/3/2006 5:19:12 PM

pwnt

6/3/2006 8:03:30 PM