SWCAMBORNE

I wrote a piece I’m pretty proud of for Radical Immigration about the Berlin Wall.  In my old army footlocker somewhere I have a piece of The Wall.  I bought it for a few dollars shortly after it was torn down.  It is with my vial of Mount Saint Helens Ash.

I’m afraid that the future will see the US in the same light as East Germany when thinking about our Southern Border Wall.  Read the article here: http://www.radicalimmigration.com//content/view/149/1/lang,en/

An exerpt:  “The right to migrate gives people a powerful weapon against bad governments. A government that does not deliver goods, services and freedoms to it’s people at a level proportionate to its neighbors will be threatened if its aggrieved citizens can vote with their feet and leave. For this to happen people need a place to go to.”

Why is it that when 8 million people a year move from one state to another within the USA it is no problem, but when a half million people a year move here from Mexico it is a big problem?

Read a discussion of this question on Radical Immigration

Happy New Month!

I’m still very passionate about “the right to migrate” but I’m sure not making much headway building a like minded group.  I’m attributing it mostly to my lack of organizational skills and a bit to timing.  I haven’t lost heart.  When I started this project I said it was a twenty year effort.  It is now year four and there is a recession going on.  Almost nobody wants more immigrants.

I wrote a new article for Radical Immigration this week titled “Danger Signs.” I think it is good enough and controversial enough that it should be discussed.  And since I’ve had no takers on that site I thought that I’d appeal to my swcamborne audience.

The central argument I try to make is that the Obama administration is admirably trying to stop immigration related work- place raids by ICE.   At the same time it is increasing “employer audits” and is requiring employers who get federal money to use E-Verify.  These actions have the same effect as raids on undocumented immigrants.  They force them out of the workplace.

So if you have the time, visit Radical Immigration, read the article and write a comment either pro or con.  While you are on the Radical Immigration site take a look at the new design and let me know what you think.  Do the links work?  Are they intuitive?

All of the driving on our Colorado trip made us think a lot about cars.

We connected cars with immigration when we heard on the radio that ICE was going to start auditing companies to see if they were hiring illegals.  See my story about the insanity of this idea. Why is it that Americans can keep near perfect track of our cars with VIN numbers and registrations yet we can’t or won’t keep track of people as carefully?  The idea of a national ID card is opposed by both the far left and the far right.  My idea a few years ago was to have Mastercard and Visa issue the cards so that the government could not abuse the system as easily or screw it up.  The “RealID” idea that gives the states the task of doing it for the Federal government is doomed because it has become too political.

Libertarians (different than Librarians) believe that less government is better.

The Philippine however, by its negative example, makes the other side of the argument.  A successful society, it turns out, needs some general rules  of human interaction that are respected by all.  There need to be some rules about things like Zoning, Property Title, Helmet Laws, Building Codes and Pollution.

My observation is that the people in the Philippines are intelligent, creative, motivated to improve their lot and friendly.  The government on the other hand is ineffectual, corruptible and largely irrelevant.  The rich buy privileges and exemptions from the law so everybody else feels justified in ignoring laws that add cost to there lives without immediate benefit.

Wire anarchy

Motorcycle helmet are a good example.  There are laws requiring helmets that the police don’t enforce and so nobody wears them.

A cow, a pig and three men on a tricycle

The resort at Sabang Beach is the best example.

An undeveloped beach near Sabang

Title disputes caused the beautiful beach to be sold and resorts, stores and clubs to be built on a series of alleys.  Now there is an unplanned town where the beach used to be.

Sabang Beach today

There is no sewer system, no road and no beach.

Runoff

I tend to be a Libertarian and always look for nongovernmental solutions to the issues of the day.  I always see evidence that the government is a blunt instrument and should be used sparing to solve the delicate problems of society.  But the Philippines has shown me an example of a society that is less civil than ours because it has less enforced or enforceable laws.  As usual the solution is probably somewhere in the middle.

In the meantime the people of the Philippines are voting with their feet and leaving.  More than 15% of working age Philippinios are working outside the country.  This is an example of why I support an increased right of people to migrate.  Responsible people should not have to stay under the control of irresponsible governments.  You can see a lot more of my thoughts on this subject on RadicalImmigration.com