"In Arizona, a majority of the grade school children now are Hispanic. That means Arizona's future is as a Hispanic society. That means in effect, the border has moved north."There is one important aspect that the quote does not even bother to mention. It is not a "Hispanic society" but American children.
Such is the Republican rhetoric these days, thanks to 63 million racists who voted for their Dear Leader!
In the introductory class that I teach, I provide students with demographic data on Mexico, which shows the important changes there: Sharp decrease in total fertility rate; decrease in mortality rates; and improvements in economic conditions. Therefore, while in the 1980s plenty headed el norte, now the net migration is negative--more Mexicans return to their homeland compared to the ones coming to America!
That is the story that another Indian-American, Shikha Dalmia, writes about before she concludes:
America's economy over the last several decades has been built on the backs of Hispanic migrants willing to work their tails off in jobs that Americans simply don't want to do. In a rational world, the president wouldn't be wasting taxpayer dollars on militarizing the southern border to repel peaceful workers from a friendly neighbor. He would be sending them invitation cards to come north and help him Make America Great Again.But, trump and his white supremacists have made it very clear that this is not really about any logic and evidence. It is simply about racism. Norwegians are welcome. Shitholers need to be deported.
Dalmia has been going ballistic for quite some time now. She is not merely a right-of-center commentator, but a libertarian. An immigrant. In another essay, she writes:
The GOP is now fully Trump's party. There is no limit to what principles it'll abandon just to keep immigrants out of the country. Maybe it will deport the Statue of Liberty next.The 63 million racists may have won the war. But, they will lose the battle. The next decade will be completely contrary to what these racists dream about. We shall overcome!
1 comment:
The noise from the racists, I submit, is the flaring up before the flame burns out. Its a fringe that is making disproportionate noise.
But they cannot be defeated by demonising all the 63 million who voted for Trump. A large number of them are decent Americans who are not racist. Many voted for him, holding their noses. Their problem was that they judged the left's policies worse than Trump's idiocy. And that's what political commentators must address.
You badly need a true centre political force in America. In the eyes of the 63 million, the Democratic party is way too left of centre. The independent voter is not comfortable with that. You need a force that will
- talk less on social issues and let them evolve slowly
- address health care without going single payer. Make a war on health costs (hint hint ; rein in the law of torts).
- control immigration sensibly (Obama did that well). Make it more talent based than family based.
- not indulge in foreign wars
- curtail government spending (a cost cutter can wield an axe on government costs ). Allow some programmes to be stopped even if they have merit. Government action is all about priorities.
- slowly introduce environmental changes without yelling too much about them. It may take 10 years to implement but that's better than going two steps forward and two steps backward
- slow down the rate at which jobs are outsourced. Its possible to force other countries to consider jobs imbalance, just like trade imbalance. There is some merit in the idea that the trade relationship with China is not favourable to the US.
The conditions are ripe for an outsider like Macron to arrive in the US. Bypass the gridlocked parties. Create a truly new political force right at the centre. Bring some decency to American politics.
Arise Sir Bill (Gates)?
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