Pay Now, Pay Later

The European Union is in big trouble, with their debts taking up more of their GDP than most other countries, and the euros value plunging something like the U.S. housing market two years ago, it is clear that something has got to change. But are the people willing to change and willing to learn or will they just pull out of this spiral and wait for the next. It is obvious that with out change to the system Europe will continue to have recessions. They way that the investments and euro value works was explained to me as something akin to the security backed mortgages that brought so many banks to their knees. Now I will not get into those because I don't know enough about econ to explain even what a security backed mortgage is, but I do know that part of Europe's problem is that the government has too many responsibilities. Europe has a health care system and a standard of living that for years has been the model of what a government can do for its people, now we are seeing what happens when the government takes a burden like that on its shoulders. It can only stand for so long before one little thing brings the whole system crashing down. I compare it to a building, has a foundation that is rated for so much weight and height, as you add on to that building you start to push the boundaries of what that foundation can hold, eventually a wind comes through and suddenly that foundation begins to break and crack up. Now you have a couple choices, one you can put filler in the cracks and just keep doing that till it all crumbles down, or two you can restructure the building. Aka take some rooms out, make it smaller. So it is with a government, they are designed to help the people to keep everyone pointed in a common direction, but if you start giving them more responsibilities like health care and retirement and people begin to depend on them for a standard of living, suddenly it is like that house and the foundation begins to break up. Then when that wind, for Europe Greece's mis-use of the system and the euros sudden lose, comes through something has to be done quick. Europe choose the patch method, of throwing money into the cracks to heal it. This may have been their only option but now they need to begin scaling back, raising retirement age, cutting health benefits, raising taxes. For people who have been so dependent this is a terrifying spectacle, but to me I see it has a look in the right direction. People need to be more self sufficient, it is not the governments job to make sure that we have money to retire on or that we have health care. That is our own job.

Currently America is following Europe, even as their system fails we are trying to copy it. There needs to be a wake up call to the white house that our government is not able to take care of what it has on its plate. We boast a multi trillion dollar debt and technically we already did what Greece did. We hit our debt ceiling and should have had to default on our loans, but instead we just had the power to raise our debt limit. To me this means we need to follow Europe's example today, cut benefits, cut health care, cut social security. And in due time that will lower our taxes and the country will be able to remain self sustaining and with a manageable debt.

What is Proof of Residence?

This question has been the biggest one in my following of Arizona's immigration law.


F. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN FEDERAL LAW, OFFICIALS OR AGENCIES OF THIS
 STATE AND COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS AND OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THIS
 STATE MAY NOT BE PROHIBITED OR IN ANY WAY BE RESTRICTED FROM SENDING,
 RECEIVING OR MAINTAINING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF ANY INDIVIDUAL OR EXCHANGING THAT INFORMATION WITH ANY OTHER FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY FOR THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL PURPOSES

 1. DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ANY PUBLIC BENEFIT, SERVICE OR LICENSE
 PROVIDED BY ANY FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE.
 2. VERIFYING ANY CLAIM OF RESIDENCE OR DOMICILE IF DETERMINATION OF
 RESIDENCE OR DOMICILE IS REQUIRED UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS STATE OR A JUDICIAL ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL PROCEEDING IN THIS STATE.
 3. CONFIRMING THE IDENTITY OF ANY PERSON WHO IS DETAINED.
 4. IF THE PERSON IS AN ALIEN, DETERMINING WHETHER THE PERSON IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL REGISTRATION LAWS PRESCRIBED BY TITLE II, CHAPTER 7 OF THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.

So that is what the bill says about it. NO federal officer or state officer is to be hindered in any way from obtaining proof of residence. So now I just do not seem to be able to figure out if that means a drivers license or a green card. Or if it means a birth certificate, in which case does that mean that everyone should carry theirs with them? And if you are a domicile or somebody here on a work visa or student visa do you have to carry your passport and supporting documents with you?

I believe that this bill is a good step, something needs to be done to keep illegals out. If for no other reason than to applaud those who are willing to go through the system and become legal residents. But there are hundreds of security reasons as well, we have a border that is like a sieve, anyone who wants to can come and go, both between us and Mexico and Canada and us. How is that for security? Achmed could walk right into the US and no one would be the wiser. But I also think that Arizona has placed a little too much trust in their police officers. It seems to me that the bill kind of gave law enforcement a open season on picking up Mexican immigrants. We do not need to put another race under again, come on people does no one remember history? they used this same kind of strategy to discriminate against blacks. I can just see at the voting booths people of color being turned away because they forgot to bring their papers with them. Meanwhile I walk by unquestioned simply because I am white. That is where this could and will lead to if it is not put in check. But every change has to be drastic to catch the publics attention, so maybe this will catch everyones attention and then together the people can find a bill that: supports our immigration laws, and gives everyone that is a legal resident the same rights.