User:Freejoelp

Immigration: Let's Get real

By Joe Michaels

A main reason, and this is pure speculation on my part, for our current illegal immigrant mess may be that our military and law enforcement personnel are spread so thin worldwide in a vain attempt to stamp out terrorism. Billions of dollars worth of resources are being sent to Iraq and elsewhere, while border patrols are underfunded and understaffed. (Is it any wonder why the Minutemen felt like they had to take matters into their own hands?) However, there are solutions, and here's what I propose:

• All illegal immigrants with histories of violent criminal activity should be deported immediately. The US

has a right and an obligation to keep out potential menaces to our social fabric. Period.

• All persons who are here illegally but who are otherwise law-abiding may apply for resident alien status

(green card)via the normal process; no special status would be granted.

An absolute solution? No. A giant step in the right direction? Yes. And in this world, a giant step is often all we can hope for.

--Freejoelp 13:18, 21 Oct 2006 (EDT) Joe Michaels

Labor and Management : their relationship in a free society

Libertarians are not anti-labor. At least this libertarian isn't. I work on a loading dock to pay my bills, in addition to being a part-time writer. I'm non-union, by the way. Labor unions are voluntary associations of individuals, and as such, have a place in a free society. Workers have the right to bargain collectively with their employers over working conditions; business owners have the right to refuse their demands. Private sector workers have the right to strike; business has the right to fire the striking workers. If the employees and owners of private businesses spar over a greater share of their company's wealth, that is a private matter, and certainly not cause for any government intervention one way or another unless the dispute threatens public safety (and I don't see how it would.)

Really, it's none of our business.