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Saturday, February 20, 2016

Miscellany: 2/20/16

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via Catholic Libertarians
I'll bet they aren't collecting welfare and getting free housing and health care.
What kind of moron thinks that the welfare system's problems are related to immigration? This is fairly transparent xenophobic bullshit.

(follow-up exchange on Catholic Libertarian thread, original comment lead)

 I don't agree with Pope Francis on economics, but here he is spot on. The right to migrate is a fundamental aspect of liberty, and Jesus references it in several places even if you somehow ignore the fact that His whole ministry was spent traveling between towns in Israel.The Good Samaritan and Jesus' directive to go and preach the Good News to all make that clear; most of the apostles died away from Israel.

 I tried reading through the comments of others but got pissed off, because most of the people whose comments I read are not libertarian. So help me if I read one more idiot talk about welfare systems--what retards! Seriously. With some dark exceptions, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, until WWI, this country practiced virtually open immigration. Immigrants helped us build the greatest economy in the world by the end of the nineteenth century--and there was no welfare system as we know it. There were charitable efforts in the private sector to help newcomers.

 The fact of the matter is that the reason we had an unauthorized immigrant problem is because we had abandoned the bracero guest worker program by 1964 under special interest union pressure. As for the libertarians in name only, you sure the hell don't have any right to tell me who I can hire from anywhere in the world, and you can't tell me who I can sell a house to. Immigration restrictions are morally corrupt, pure and simple. Your attempts to control what other people can do ends with your property line.
 I would disagree. The US had once a very controlled legalized immigration policy, in fact would stop immigration for periods, as needed. And I would add that the right to legally migrate is an aspect of Liberty, not just illegally circumvent existing systems and controls.
Nope. "Americans encouraged relatively free and open immigration during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and rarely questioned that policy until the late 1800s. " https://www.uscis.gov/.../early-american-immigration...

Other than some racist restrictions, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, we had fairly open immigration until WWI. Around the turn of the 1920's, we saw the morally corrupt quota system (which still exists today in updated form) introduced. It wasn't until about 1965 that the quota system extended to the Americas. Immigration from Mexico and Latin America is a more complicated story beyond this post, but it was a non-issue until labor protectionism during the Depression. Then facing a labor shortage during WWII, a more flexible policy came into play until labor protectionism after the end of WWII. You then saw a wave hit as the US economy prospered.

 Eisenhower had a problem but basically legalized migrant workers under the bracero program. The right to migrate is fundamental.http://object.cato.org/.../wp.../uploads/nowrasteh_1.jpg
(separate comment)
I just want to drive home a point here regarding the commenter's description of Statist immigration restrictions. Basically, nobody who believes in free markets can accept the prohibition of migrant workers. Just as a sterile pond will attract no fishermen, a saturated labor market will not attract migrants. Would you spend thousands to get here, only not to find work or a market for your goods? In fact, there was a net outflow during the early years of the Great Recession. Now, if and when there's a market, as the commenter points out, people will work around the laws, whether we are talking alcohol or drug prohibitions--or the labor market. I'm actually amazed any commenting in a libertarian group wouldn't realize the telltale signs of an overregulated economy.

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