Immigrant Labor 2016

     

Three Mexicans painted the exterior of our house last week. A friend who had recently employed them, recommended them highly. We called the owner and he promptly came by and we accepted his quote without quibbling. He and his crew arrived on the day appointed and got right down to work. I never saw such hard working men. The owner has been working in this country for eighteen years and his girlfriend cleans houses.

That same week I had two doctor appointments. The first was with my glaucoma surgeon, an immigrant from Russia, who saved my vision almost ten years ago with surgeries to lower the pressure on my optic nerves. He is one of the leading glaucoma specialists in the country. He is a relatively young doctor who left Russia many years ago to get away from bureaucracy and red tape. Now, he complains that the USA is becoming like the old Soviet Union.

The next day I saw a plastic surgeon who had just repaired my drooping eyelids, a procedure necessary to avoid future eye infections. This doctor is an immigrant to this country from Spain. He runs a very successful practice in a nearby town and employs three or four assistants.

Finally, I went to my local barbershop for my monthly haircut. The owner has been cutting my hair for almost 50 years. He came to this country from Italy with his family when he was only 14 years old. It took him six years to become a citizen after which he joined the Naval Reserves and then did two years of active duty in the Pacific during the Vietnam war. Within a couple of years after his return, he opened his own shop and now provides work for four other barbers, two of whom are his own children.

Some, like the editors of the Wall St. Journal, take a middle ground on immigration and argue that our doors should be open, but only to highly skilled workers like physicists and engineers. They believe that others are undesirable.

But who is undesirable? All of the immigrants that I met in the past week are, despite differing educational backgrounds, and occupations, exactly the kind of people that we should want in this country.

I am a descendant of Italians who migrated to America over 100 years ago. Most of the immigrants who came in that great wave were poor and uneducated. Most of the Italian immigrants came from the south of Italy, the poorest and most backward region of that new country. Few had even a grade school education.

Although lacking in formal education they were intelligent and hard working. Significantly, most had a strong family and religious background that provided them with a sense of community in their new country. It’s true that the good, the bad, and the ugly can be found in any group of immigrants.  Like immigrants before and after Italians had their share of gangsters and criminals whose activities tainted the great majority who were hard working and law abiding.

Nevertheless, the great majority prospered and their children quickly became assimilated, and became policemen, firemen, and teachers. Their grandchildren became today’s physicists, engineers, and tech experts. The descendants of the original immigrants now play an integral role in the affairs of this country. Two descendants of illiterate Italian immigrants have sat on our Supreme Court. Many others can be found in other high offices both public and private.

It is true that they were legal immigrants. They had to make their way through Ellis Island just like the Irish, the Germans, the Jews, the Poles, the Slovaks, and all the others who came through the so-called “Golden Door.” However, if these legal immigrants had come to this country after 1920 the great majority of them would have been illegal. What happened? Why did a country that had always kept its doors open to immigrants suddenly impose quotas?

After the First World War a wave of prejudice and bigotry swept over this country that led politicians to severely restrict the flow of immigration. In addition to their poverty and lack of learning, most of the Italian immigrants were Catholic, and they were regarded as ignorant and superstitious. They were called wops and guineas and their crowded streets were believed to be breeding grounds of crime and depravity.

In the 1920’s racists and advocates of ethnic purity decided to stem the flow of immigration into this country. They wanted no more undesirables, especially if they practiced alien religions like Catholicism and Judaism. New immigration laws made during the 1920s made a mockery of the Statue of Liberty and the famous poem written by Emma Lazarus.

  "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,  The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
 I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Why do commentators believe that the Mexicans, who have crossed the borders of our country in order to find a better life for themselves and their families, will be different from their own ancestors? If the law had been different all of these immigrants could have entered the country peacefully without danger to life and limb and without employing criminals to guide them.

Nevertheless, I can understand the vehemence of Donald Trump and others against illegal immigration. His opponent seems to be oblivious to the criminal element among the illegal immigrants or those who overstay their visas. Certainly, he seems more willing to identify and deal with the threat of Moslem terrorists among the refugees seeking asylum in this country. His ideological test may not work but at least he seems to recognize the threat.

He is also right to insist that citizenship should still mean something in America. There should be real benefits attached to citizenship. Immigrants should have to apply for citizenship and meet certain criteria. They should not immediately enjoy all the benefits of citizenship, for citizenship in this country should still be regarded as a great privilege.

In the long run opening up our doors to immigrants will provide great benefits. It is not just a question of who will cut our lawns, remove our garbage, or paint our homes, but how will we compete with China’s huge population with only 300 million people? Who will buy up our unused housing if our population continues to decline? Don’t immigrants now rent American apartments, drive American cars, and buy American products in American stores?

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Acting Presidential

                                                       

Trump in Louisiana

From the outset of the long primary campaign right to the present, commentators have criticized Donald Trump for failing to act Presidential. This criticism has been directed primarily at his words and manner. Hillary Clinton, for one does not like Trump’s “tone”. Nevertheless, in some respects Trump has acted as Presidential, or even more Presidential, than Clinton and the current President.

Just this past week he delivered a number of major speeches that, despite the scant media coverage, were serious and dealt with important topics like the economy, foreign affairs, and the plight of African Americans in the country’s major cities.

Moreover, Trump looked even more Presidential when he visited flood ravaged Louisiana this past week, especially since the actual President, Barack Obama, declined to cut short his golf vacation in Martha’s Vineyard to visit stricken Baton Rouge. Obama’s failure was really ironic since in 2008, while running for the Presidency, he severely criticized then President George Bush for merely flying over Louisiana in 2005 to view the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. He said that Bush should have been on the ground with the suffering people.*

Even though Hillary Clinton does not like Trump’s “tone”, I believe that their actions during their respective conventions were equally presidential. Trump’s choice of Mike Pence as his Vice-Presidential running mate can hardly be faulted. Pence, a former Congressman, is currently the very successful Governor of an economically resurgent Indiana. A few days later, Clinton followed suit by naming Tim Kaine, a current Senator from Virginia, one of the key battleground states in this year’s election. Trump’s choice certainly seems more practical and political than John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin back in 2008.

Coincidentally, both Pence and Kaine were born and raised as Catholics. Pence left the Church during his college years to become an Evangelical protestant. Kaine describes himself as a Pope Francis Catholic even though he openly disagrees with the Pope on abortion. It would seem that some identification with Catholicism is appropriate for a Vice- President. Joe Biden, the current Vice-President, is a liberal Catholic while Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for Vice-President four years ago is also a Catholic.

I also think that Trump’s decision to release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees a few months ago was very Presidential, even though somewhat unprecedented. I wish candidate Clinton would release a similar list of her favorites.

Clinton has, however, released her tax returns. A brief look at them indicates some embarrassing details. Clinton and her husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, showed income of over $10 Million in 2015. They paid over $3.2 Million in Federal income tax. The blow was somewhat softened by a donation of $1,042,000 to charity. Their choice of charities was significant. They gave $1,000,000 to their own family foundation. This personal family foundation is not the famed Clinton Foundation that does charitable work all over the world. Wealthy individuals set up personal family foundations when they want to control where their money goes, and for tax avoidance purposes.

The remaining $42000 of Clinton charitable contributions went to some Golf Classic run by a political associate who has made large donations to the Clinton Foundation in the past. Not one cent seemed to go to the Methodist church to which Mrs. Clinton belongs, to the Girl Scouts, or even to Planned Parenthood.

Perhaps, details like these help to explain Donald Trump’s reluctance so far to release his own tax returns. We will just have to wait and see. I suspect that Trump’s high-powered accountants have used every legitimate loophole to reduce his income tax burden.

Speaking of the release of information. I would love to see President Obama release the list of people he plans to pardon before the election, rather than wait to the last days of his administration as Bill Clinton did when he left office. Is it really acting Presidential to pardon these often nefarious individuals on the day you leave office?

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* Bowing to pressure, President Obama finally visited flooded Louisiana yesterday.

Trump in Connecticut

                                            

Both Presidential candidates made an appearance in my home state of Connecticut this past week. The settings could not have been more different. Last Saturday Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, appeared at the Pitt Center, the sports complex of nearby Sacred Heart University, to address a crowd of 5000 standing in a packed gymnasium. There was no cost to attend but tickets were needed. The response was so great that loudspeakers had to be set up outside to handle the overflow despite the 100-degree heat.

On Monday evening Hillary Clinton, the Democrat candidate, attended a fund raising dinner at a 14-million-dollar estate in Greenwich, the wealthiest town in the State. Attendees to the dinner paid about $33000 per plate to the Clinton campaign. How is it possible for Democrats to keep up the charade that they are the party of the poor, or that they are really concerned about income inequality? There was no news in the paper today about what transpired at the Greenwich dinner but there was a story about the Trump appearance in the CT Post, my hometown newspaper.

I read the story but failed to find more than a handful of sentences about what Trump actually said in his talk. Instead, the newspaper gave most of its attention to some local small-fry Republican politicians who refused to attend the Trump rally. Is it any wonder that Trump thinks the media is biased and dishonest?

Although I did not attend the Trump rally, my wife got a report from a friend who did. She related that the large crowd packed into the gym was well-behaved and orderly throughout the presentation despite the heat that strained the effectiveness of the A/C system, and the lack of any seating. She was also impressed by the number of young people in attendance, especially young women.

For details of Trump’s presentation, I watched a YouTube video. I did not take notes but must say that I was extremely impressed. Trump was in good form. He spoke for almost an hour with ease and humor, and never resorted to a teleprompter.

He began by introducing Giacomo Brancato, a local high school student, who had used the Make-A-Wish organization to wish for a meeting with Trump. Giacomo had overcome a bout with cancer and gone on to be a star athlete for the local Fairfield high school team. Trump’s interplay with the young man and his family was charming.

Getting down to business Trump raised the issues of Hillary Clinton’s competence and experience. He noted that when she had run for the Senate in New York, she had promised to bring 200000 new jobs to economically depressed upstate New York. He claimed that she failed to keep that promise and that today that region is a disaster area.

He contrasted her performance with his own in helping to revitalize New York City. He read from an opinion piece that credited Trump with daring to invest and build in the City back in the years when it was verging on bankruptcy. Then President Gerald Ford had told the City to “Go to Hell” in response to pleas for Federal assistance.

Trump also contrasted his own expertise with that of the Obama Administration. He said that a new Veteran’s hospital under construction was over a year behind schedule and was way over budget. He compared that with a new hotel his organization was building on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, right down the street from the White House. It was under budget and a year ahead of schedule.

Perhaps thinking of the Clinton fund raiser in Greenwich, Trump pointed out the contrast between his supporters and hers. He held up a placard that showed that wealthy hedge fund managers had contributed over $48 Million to the Clinton campaign. So far, Trump’s campaign had received a total of $19000 from these investment giants.

Trump did spend a good deal of time criticizing the media for its “dishonesty” during the campaign. In particular, he blamed the N.Y. Times, a paper he felt was on its last legs financially, and CNN, a cable news channel whose ratings were consistently dropping. The failure of my own local paper to provide an account of his remarks, and its continued use of anti-Trump cartoons on the editorial page supports his argument.

Trump’s most telling and perceptive comment came almost out of the blue. He mentioned that when Hillary Clinton was asked what she thought of him, she replied that she didn’t like his “tone.” Actually, this is the opinion that many people have of Trump. He replied that in the Middle East Islamic radicals are cutting off the heads of people, mainly Christians, drowning others in steel cages, and burying others alive in the desert sand. Yet, she doesn’t like my “tone”.

Some commentators criticized Trump for even coming to Connecticut, a traditional Blue state that hasn’t voted for a Republican candidate for President in decades. Even though most of them don’t want him to win, they argue that his time would be better spent in the so-called battleground states. Yet, I like to think that my home state is not as “Blue” as generally believed. In the last two campaigns for Governor, the Democrats eked our very narrow victories mainly with the support of political machines in cities like neighboring Bridgeport.

At the rally in Fairfield, Trump spent a good deal of time criticizing the Democrat governor of Connecticut for leading the State down the path of economic decline. In particular, he cited the Governor’s failure to keep General Electric from moving its corporate headquarters from Fairfield into neighboring Massachusetts. No matter what one thinks of Trump’s tone, why should anyone in Fairfield or Connecticut vote for the Democrat candidate?

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