Much anti-immigrant sentiment, even among some libertarians, appears fueled by resentment that non-citizens might get tax-financed welfare benefits. This gives a curious amount of offense, especially when it concerns so-called "illegals," whom I prefer to think of as residents without government papers. (Like that's a big deal.)
I can only say this: There are things that offend me far more than foreign-born people's going on welfare. Here are two in no particular order:
1. Native-born Americans' going on welfare. (They were born in the "land of the free" and are supposed to know better.)
2. State-police tactics, including the witch-hunting of employers who have the audacity to hire "illegals," designed to catch or prevent the migration of people who are merely exercising their natural liberty.
Let's get our priorities straight.
Cross-posted at Liberty & Power.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
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If this is a matter of priorities, then don't we have to accept that - for whatever reason - some people regard foreigners getting welfare as a higher priority than the police state or their own dependence on government?
I think we should come to terms with the fact that there the difference between us who value liberty most highly and nativists who value national identity most highly is not easily reconcilable... but this is liberating in a way. If we simply acknowledge this primal difference of opinion, we can form arguments for our position that acknowledge it. Or at least stop wasting our time.
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