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As population density increases, corruption becomes the baseline

Nothing to "do about it" except play political whack a mole

 

posted by majroj on April 4, 2008 at 10:58 PM | link to this | reply

Re: In the end, benzinha, something must be done. An infusion of economic

saul_relative,

If I hear that Mexicans crossing are security risks one more time, I shall move to D.C. and begin to lobby for a fence across our Canadian border. Canadians, which America has millions of, too, also cross undocumented and stay beyond their papers and feel quite at home here. If I were a person trying to come into America without the proper papers, I would hit the "much less supervised and less patrolled by border guard" states, up north there, like the Chinese are doing daily.

In Mexico, only ending corruption  and ending drug sales and drug imports are the only hope for Mexcio and only the legalization of drugs, removing profit from the trade will slow it down at all.  And, ending corruption, which NO ONE ON EARTH can do, as America grows more corrupt daily, will only happen when, well, I'm beginning to believe, old as I am, that it will never happen.

OKAY, saul_relative, you have thrown me into a deep abyss.

posted by benzinha on March 31, 2008 at 12:26 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Re: Re: I understand that folks making little money want to come make some

majroj, I hope that you entered your rant into a blog post, or sent it secret email to me, heeheehee.

This self censorship will not do, we must get some controversy going on around here....things for people to throw words at....

posted by benzinha on March 31, 2008 at 12:14 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Re: I understand that folks making little money want to come make some

Madame, I cannot enter the rant I spent the last 1/2 hour writing.

Suffice to say that the Latinization of much of America is inevitable and we must all stand by our decent friends of any persuasion no matter where they or their languages came from.

posted by majroj on March 30, 2008 at 8:37 PM | link to this | reply

In the end, benzinha, something must be done. An infusion of economic

equalization into Mexico or a far better system of monitoring immigration.  Not that I begrudge our southern neighbors that come to our country for betterment, but I do recognize the security risk. 

posted by saul_relative on March 29, 2008 at 11:09 AM | link to this | reply

Re: I understand that folks making little money want to come make some

majroj, you would come across the border to help your family, too. Seeing children with no food, no welfare, no food stamps, no medicine, drives a good father or mother over the edge and into the desert which may kill him/her, into the gun range of the Border Patrol which may kill him or her.

Having lived in Mexico and basically starved and I have the skinny photos to prove it, watching my hungry children, the first two....I had to come back to America.

Yup, maj, we let our government open up free trade and then gave the factory owners tax incentives to move the factories out of America, saying that this would allow us to compete price wise, with the poorer nations in our comptetive fields, totally abandong the workers at home....and then the iguana poop hit the fan, Gary, Indiana, and Detroit, Michigan, etc. died and no one has done anything about them, as they were the First Hurricane Katrina's and nobody cared....nobody cares today except their own citizens.

We say tha the Mexicans take our jobs, but we really don't want those horrible jobs, we hold out a foolish hope that 'real' jobs with old time 'real' pay will return....ain't gonna happen. However, watching them come in and work and succeed (in older times, not just now) because they work three jobs that we imagine that we want, we resent the hell out of them and want them to go home and die, crying, hungry and alone inside their own country.

We say that they will  stay home and change their government and make it a better one, and they might, but only after a revolution which will really mess up Arizona, I thinkkkkkkkkk.

We are building the border fence for just this eventuality as we push for it to happen.....

And if prices keep going up, I will join my black and Mexican neighbors, who always garden their own veggies and fruits and subsistence farm right in my back and front yards.....

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 12:12 PM | link to this | reply

Re: First of all, Dear Benz, You are not a silly old woman

Katray4, and don't you ever stop fighting the good fight either, sisterwoman....thanks for reading and commenting.

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 11:59 AM | link to this | reply

Re: benzhina

Bhaskar.ing,  When I read you, I find a wider world. Thanks for reading and commenting.

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 11:58 AM | link to this | reply

Re: i live FRUGALLY in alaska and i have to clear 3000 just to make living exep

Wow, Alaska always did pay better after the oil pipeline began, and I know that this makes others poorer or richer....And your tax situation is a kind one....

But, if I had to live as frugally as I do on about $800 a month, I would have to find some dog house to live in there. Scary to need to so much to live frugally. We poorer states cost less to live in, but Furr-iners from other states are retiring here and moving all prices up and it makes it hard for those of us whose income is fixed at the ACKKKKKK level. We end up being the servants of those newcomers.

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 11:57 AM | link to this | reply

Re: I remember, too

Halfelven, we were six children and Dad's paycheck was not large, he was a journalist in a small town. He only tithed three dollars to the church on Sunday. That was a lot.

We ate mostly potatoes and veggies, no fruits, or rarely fruits and meat was cut into tiny portions and stewed or something like that, to spread it out for the entire family.

Mom sewed our clothing and then made dolly blankets for a store, for extra money. She went back to college and I babysat five kids and she became a teacher and we made more money then.

I remember that Mom and Dad bought their GI Bill house, three bedrooms, one bath, for $8,000 in about 1952 or 3...

Doctors and lawyers did live more like the middle class back then....salaries were not so hugely different between the professions. They didn't need a BMW and they didn't do much that was much different from everyone else on a free day from work.

Redefining Capitalism in the 70's and 80's changed this country enormously. It  has made people cuckoo in my opinion, heheheh,

So, only half elven?

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 11:53 AM | link to this | reply

Re: sam444, I read the title of a book, The God of Small Things,

and though the book was painful to read in its way, I have never gotten over the title.

I now understand why many societies broke God down into smaller, more easily addressed fractions.

Catholics break him down into Saints of various responsibilites or departments on Earth...easier to imagine being listened to than by some omnipotent ONE, who is very busy attending to all prayers or not busy at all, just watching. The Saints, the gods of small things have time to listen to lowly mortals.

I break down my need to help the whole world and the laughter that this thought brings, I break it down into small things which I do constantly, like gather and toss out litter around where I sit, catching lost dogs and finding owners, helping strangers do some small thing, like giving women rides from the super market when I hear them ask the clerk to call a taxi for them. Simple, small and fairly unimportant things, in this big world.

A kindred spirit, you.

posted by benzinha on March 28, 2008 at 11:45 AM | link to this | reply

I understand that folks making little money want to come make some

I am critical but when I ask myself what I'd do in the same straits...dunno.

When "automation" was becoming a real word afer WWII they predicted we'd all work four days a week, they were right...only it averaged out across society, with many of us working six or seven days a week and many with nothing.

The "automation" they envisioned was robots or big machines. In reality that happened, but the real kicker was free internati0nal trade and sweatshops filling the shoes of the robots.

But, again, the folks who get the factory jobs may be a bad situation, but they often prefer it to subsistence farming without cash for doctors or consumer goods.

posted by majroj on March 28, 2008 at 7:45 AM | link to this | reply

First of all, Dear Benz, You are not a silly old woman

Your awareness and warmth of spirit are refreshing. If enough of us would start caring about people again - every little body - as opposed to the plastic gunk of materialism, I think peace and prosperity could revive. Most informative and excellent post!

posted by Katray2 on March 28, 2008 at 6:59 AM | link to this | reply

benzhina

I can see the kindly soul in your thoughts. Very nice!

posted by Bhaskar.ing on March 27, 2008 at 11:32 PM | link to this | reply

i live FRUGALLY in alaska and i have to clear 3000 just to make living exep

posted by thecryptkeeper on March 27, 2008 at 11:05 PM | link to this | reply

I remember, too

Most families got by on a single paycheck. It wasn't so much that most everybody was middle class as that the upper end of the working class was just as well off as the middle of the merchant and professional classes.

posted by Halfelven on March 27, 2008 at 6:45 PM | link to this | reply

I like your thoughts. I like to do small things that please only God.   sam

posted by sam444 on March 27, 2008 at 3:38 PM | link to this | reply