The White House is reportedly open to making concessions to Republicans in its negotiations over aid to Ukraine and Israel that go far beyond border security.
I don’t think this would just be a concession to Republicans. I live in New York and I used to think Texas was making a big deal out of nothing but now I have to admit that I was wrong. Some sort of policy change is clearly necessary - having the federal government admit so many refugees while leaving state and city governments to pay for the care these refugees require isn’t working very well.
Not seeing the issue here in NW Florida. Hell, our asshole governor and Congress straight scared 'em out of the state and now we can’t get our fields worked and are sorely lacking healthcare workers.
We’ve faced a lot of migration after Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Climate change is likely to displace billions in the coming century, so it’s not going to get any better.
You can’t simply not address migration, pretend mass migration doesn’t (also) have negative effects on communities or affect the social fabric of your society. If you do that, you only embolden the far right, who get to pretend they’re the only ones offering solutions.
Sure, plenty of those concerned about immigration are racist. But plenty also have legitimate concerns.
You’re better off being honest about it. Admit that there are downsides, show the electorate you have a plan to deal with those downsides, and that the plan doesn’t just involve dumping newly arrived migrants in the poorest areas of your cities where public services are already overstretched. Emphasise the positives too.
It’s easy to be ok with immigration if you live in an affluent area, are well educated, have a good job, never use public transport, and none of the housing in your area is affordable for recent arrivals.
It’s far harder when you live in an already deprived area, where good jobs are hard to find, where you’re forced to rely on already overcrowded public transport or crumbling public services, only to be confronted with hundreds of new faces who don’t speak the language, increase demand for housing, and depress wages. Especially when you’re already struggling and are now forced to compete with these new arrivals.
Politicians who hand waive these voters’ concerns, are likely to be seen as elitist and out of touch. Often by traditional left wing voters. And justifiably so.
Comments along the lines of “Hurdur, if a migrant can take your job, you must be dumb.” are also inherently classist. Elon Musk is not richer than you because he is that much smarter than you. The world is simply not fair. The world is full of very intelligent and talented people, who are forced to do menial jobs, because that’s what it takes for them to survive, and because they were never afforded the opportunities they deserved. Those who pretend otherwise are no better than the stereotype of an out of touch boomer who goes on about the young not being able to afford a house because they eat too many advocados.
I don’t think this would just be a concession to Republicans. I live in New York and I used to think Texas was making a big deal out of nothing but now I have to admit that I was wrong. Some sort of policy change is clearly necessary - having the federal government admit so many refugees while leaving state and city governments to pay for the care these refugees require isn’t working very well.
Not seeing the issue here in NW Florida. Hell, our asshole governor and Congress straight scared 'em out of the state and now we can’t get our fields worked and are sorely lacking healthcare workers.
I take it oranges will be expensive this year.
European perspective:
We’ve faced a lot of migration after Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Climate change is likely to displace billions in the coming century, so it’s not going to get any better.
You can’t simply not address migration, pretend mass migration doesn’t (also) have negative effects on communities or affect the social fabric of your society. If you do that, you only embolden the far right, who get to pretend they’re the only ones offering solutions.
Sure, plenty of those concerned about immigration are racist. But plenty also have legitimate concerns.
You’re better off being honest about it. Admit that there are downsides, show the electorate you have a plan to deal with those downsides, and that the plan doesn’t just involve dumping newly arrived migrants in the poorest areas of your cities where public services are already overstretched. Emphasise the positives too.
It’s easy to be ok with immigration if you live in an affluent area, are well educated, have a good job, never use public transport, and none of the housing in your area is affordable for recent arrivals.
It’s far harder when you live in an already deprived area, where good jobs are hard to find, where you’re forced to rely on already overcrowded public transport or crumbling public services, only to be confronted with hundreds of new faces who don’t speak the language, increase demand for housing, and depress wages. Especially when you’re already struggling and are now forced to compete with these new arrivals.
Politicians who hand waive these voters’ concerns, are likely to be seen as elitist and out of touch. Often by traditional left wing voters. And justifiably so.
Comments along the lines of “Hurdur, if a migrant can take your job, you must be dumb.” are also inherently classist. Elon Musk is not richer than you because he is that much smarter than you. The world is simply not fair. The world is full of very intelligent and talented people, who are forced to do menial jobs, because that’s what it takes for them to survive, and because they were never afforded the opportunities they deserved. Those who pretend otherwise are no better than the stereotype of an out of touch boomer who goes on about the young not being able to afford a house because they eat too many advocados.
I agree that something needs to be done.