Immigration and Gas Prices
Looking back, I haven't posted about the hot topics o' the day. What's wrong with me? Well, mostly I'm well decided in my mind what I'm at. I usually use this blog to work out my thinking.
So here it goes:
As anyone who read my book knows, I'm pretty pro-immigrant. I'm also pro-Rule of Law. Illegal immigrants broke laws to get here. Where do I fall? How do we solve this? Can we let them jump to the front of the line?
Yes. Look, they are not like any other immigrants. Ireland and Italy do not border us. There's a natural movement of peoples that occur. Basic labor economics dictate that Mexican and assorted others have a different status.
As for them breaking our laws. They respected our immigration laws just as much as we respected our immigration laws which is not very well.
Here's my solution: Build a great wall. This can't be hard. The desert is already a decent size wall. For those already here, investigate them put them through a slow 8 year process of paying taxes, not engaging in criminal activity, and contributing to our society. If they piss us off we toss them on the other side of that great wall.
As for gas prices, it's back to basic economics. We won't drill in North America. We won't build refinerys. We thus limit supply - prices rise. If you don't like it, then stand up to the environmental laws that created this condition. However, rising prices will bring about what all "enlightened" folks want - making different sources of energy financially viable by comparison.
The one bit that pisses me off is all the whining.
On this point I'll make a very broad sweeping generalization: Americans are idiots.
We use 5 horse power gas push lawn mowers or for slightly larger yards, a ride on machine that bags and mulches and sucks up gas. Families of four drive SUVs and trucks that seat 8. The dream is to live in the suburbs where you have to drive to everything. The idea of walking to the grocery is just crazy!
We pay more for a gallon of milk harvested from a cow and processed within 25 miles of our home than a gallon of gas pumped up from a mile beneath the Saudi desert, shipped around Africa, across the Atlantic to be processed in Houston then tanker trucked to our local station where we complain about it costing - almost $3. That $3 - depending on the car - will carry us 20-50 miles. That's further than most people went in their life not 200 years ago. So standing at the gas station pissed off we quell our anger by going in and getting some dumbass designer coffee for $2.50.
Stay You.
Back to Main Page
So here it goes:
As anyone who read my book knows, I'm pretty pro-immigrant. I'm also pro-Rule of Law. Illegal immigrants broke laws to get here. Where do I fall? How do we solve this? Can we let them jump to the front of the line?
Yes. Look, they are not like any other immigrants. Ireland and Italy do not border us. There's a natural movement of peoples that occur. Basic labor economics dictate that Mexican and assorted others have a different status.
As for them breaking our laws. They respected our immigration laws just as much as we respected our immigration laws which is not very well.
Here's my solution: Build a great wall. This can't be hard. The desert is already a decent size wall. For those already here, investigate them put them through a slow 8 year process of paying taxes, not engaging in criminal activity, and contributing to our society. If they piss us off we toss them on the other side of that great wall.
As for gas prices, it's back to basic economics. We won't drill in North America. We won't build refinerys. We thus limit supply - prices rise. If you don't like it, then stand up to the environmental laws that created this condition. However, rising prices will bring about what all "enlightened" folks want - making different sources of energy financially viable by comparison.
The one bit that pisses me off is all the whining.
On this point I'll make a very broad sweeping generalization: Americans are idiots.
We use 5 horse power gas push lawn mowers or for slightly larger yards, a ride on machine that bags and mulches and sucks up gas. Families of four drive SUVs and trucks that seat 8. The dream is to live in the suburbs where you have to drive to everything. The idea of walking to the grocery is just crazy!
We pay more for a gallon of milk harvested from a cow and processed within 25 miles of our home than a gallon of gas pumped up from a mile beneath the Saudi desert, shipped around Africa, across the Atlantic to be processed in Houston then tanker trucked to our local station where we complain about it costing - almost $3. That $3 - depending on the car - will carry us 20-50 miles. That's further than most people went in their life not 200 years ago. So standing at the gas station pissed off we quell our anger by going in and getting some dumbass designer coffee for $2.50.
Stay You.
Back to Main Page
posted by Howard McEwen, CFA at Tuesday, April 25, 2006
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