Nativist Nonsense

"Take our country back!"

   For all the warning rants that undocumented or illegal newcomers are either taking jobs away from "good Americans" or draining the social welfare system collecting benefits they are not entitled to, the reality is that newcomers typically sign on for jobs that other Americans do not want and will not take. As for collecting benefits, those who are in America illegally avoid contact with government agencies, lest they be discovered and deported. Meanwhile, payroll deductions help support a social welfare program they dare not use.
   But this does not deter the demagogues, because they thrive on fear.
   As for promising that "as President, I will build a wall so strong it will make your head spin," this is a meaningless promise, since America's system of government requires approval from both houses of Congress, as well as passage of a funding bill by Congress.
   Even a dictator is powerless without a devoted army of followers who do what the beloved leader says. In America, a President may propose, but without the consent and budget approval from Congress, proposals are just that.
   Only if a politician is persuasive enough to convince a large enough number of followers to blindly follow his lead, will that politician succeed. Once that happens, America becomes a dictatorship.
   But to the issue of closing America's southern border, and financing construction of a wall by seizing remittances that relatives and friends try to send to their needy families, or by imposing prohibitive import tariffs on incoming goods on the pretext of also "saving American jobs," that, too, is dangerous, and leads to retaliatory tariffs on American exports, thus raising prices on both sides of the border.
   All of this is counter to the concept of free trade being beneficial to all participants. Not all opposition to free trade pacts comes from Fortress America conservatives. Hard Left liberals also oppose them, but for different reasons. Despite historical economic evidence, both sides warn of a disastrous outflow of jobs, with left-wingers complaining of tyrannical influence on government policy by corporate bosses.
   On the Left, many fear a loss of jobs as lower labor costs in other countries prompt firms to relocate their operations. On the Right, the fear of competition is about the loss of contracts and profits, as foreign firms leverage lower costs to make more stuff to sell at lower prices in America.
   Lost in the argumentative shuffle is the fact that more jobs in other countries means less emigration to America, legal or otherwise. And while low-wage, low-skill jobs would increase in other countries, high-wage, high-skill jobs would increase in the U.S. At root, this is why highly educated, skilled Americans do not want and will not take low-wage, low-skill jobs. Yet theses same Americans enjoy the services of landscape workers, kitchen helpers and hotel housekeeping staff, many of whom fill the positions that American college students and graduates don't want.