Assimilate or leave …

Obviously, we’re a nation of immigrants. Let’s just get that out of the way upfront. 

Among the many miracles of the United States is how well so many people from so many different parts of the world over the past couple of centuries became one – Americans. 

It’s something too many of us take for granted all too often. 

Most immigrants came here seeking a better and different life for themselves and their families, not simply to recreate the country and political, religious and cultural environment they left behind; if it was so great there they probably wouldn’t have left in the first place. 

And for the most part, the nation delivered on the promise of a better life. The only thing the nation asked in return was to join fully in our American experiment where who they were, and where they came from, mattered less than what they did from this point on. That’s what almost all the immigrants in wave after wave wanted anyway – a fresh start.

A break with the past. 

Our nation didn’t ask them to abandon their culture and traditions. It simply asked them to join a larger, newer American culture where their origins, or their religion, or their personal or political beliefs, or wealth, shouldn’t affect how they– or their neighbors – were treated under the law.

Established laws – and the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution – seemed too good to be true for many immigrants. Especially for those fleeing environments under the tyranny of an absolute despot, or a theocracy, or a dynastic plutocracy. They were grateful to be here.

They wanted to become citizens. They worked hard to become citizens. They wanted to be enfolded into this America as full partners. And in gratitude, they gave back to this country, often with their lives defending our freedoms and the freedoms of others around the world.   

Was it always a perfect process?  No.  The first generation of immigrants typically faced an uphill battle.  There was discrimination in employment, in housing and acceptance into society. But by the second or third generation, most of these barriers were falling as these later generations more fully assimilated into the American experiment.

As time went on, most became Americans first, and Italians, Poles, Irish, Russians, Cubans, Venezuelans, Armenians, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Thais and whatever else second.  And they were proud to be Americans. 

If someone in a foreign land asked them their nationality they would say American.

That’s because they assimilated. They accepted the Constitution as the ultimate law of the land. And they believed that while America is not perfect by any measure, it’s a lot better place to live than most other countries in the world, all things considered. 

Including where their parents and grandparents came from. 

That’s why we don’t have a huge outflow of people from the United States every year. But we do have millions of people coming here – legally and otherwise – from other regions. 

Some of our latest immigrant classes – the ones we read about all the time – are quite different from past immigrants.  

Many of these relatively recent immigrants, particularly those from Latin and Central America, simply aren’t interested in ever going through the proper processes for becoming citizens of the United States. They’ve bypassed all that already by sneaking across our borders or overstaying visas or temporary work permits. They truly believe – and some politicians have encouraged this belief – that once they are here there’s nothing we can do about it. They’re already here and they’re here to stay.

It’s a classic squatter’s mentality.  Far from “living in the shadows” many now arrogantly flaunt their illegal immigrant status as publicly as possible, whenever possible. They refuse to accept any distinction between themselves and legal residents; they feel that since they are already here they’re automatically entitled to all the rights, privileges, and benefits afforded U.S. citizens.      

That includes public assistance to feed, clothe and help house them, and scholarships, grants-in-aid and in-state tuition to taxpayer-funded colleges and universities. But it also includes new benefits as well – such as interpreters, special teachers and special classes for Spanish-speaking students, and “sanctuary” city policies that limit cooperation with Federal ICE detainer requests to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation after being caught breaking other U.S. laws.

Consequently, to get the benefits to which they feel “entitled” many have falsified official documents, including using fake Social Security numbers, to fraudulently qualify for a wide variety of social programs, tax credits, and health benefits.  The annual cost to American taxpayers is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.   

What do we get in return?  Too many of these same illegal immigrants undercut American wages, take jobs from American citizens, and defraud our tax system.  Then some mock our laws and dare us to find and deport those here illegally, even staging highly publicized mass protests in major cities defying local authorities to do anything about it.

And there are millions of them.   

They are ingrates.  Especially considering where they came from – third-world countries at best beset with violent crime, human trafficking, excruciating poverty, widespread unemployment and oppressive political regimes that give banana republics a bad name.  

They aren’t seeking asylum and protection; they’re just looking to make a buck at our expense. They are taking money from our economy, often untaxed, and sending much of it back to where they came from in the form of untraceable remittances. And no, they aren’t simply doing jobs American citizens won’t do – they’re doing those jobs for lower wages unscrupulous employers know our own workers won't accept. Plus they are thumbing their nose at us in the process. 

That’s bad enough, but then we also have certain immigrants and “refugees” from the Middle East who not only want us to take them in, but actually hate us, our laws, our culture, and our tolerance for people of other faiths, sexual preferences, lifestyles, and belief systems.       

Some of them want to replace our laws with Sharia law, where adulterers, idolaters, homosexuals, blasphemers, and anyone who doesn’t believe and worship as they do can be put to death, and slavery is acceptable. Oh, and let’s not forget that in their worldview women are considered property and can be beaten by their husbands at will, or even killed by their families for immodest behavior – like being alone with a male other than a relative.  Or refusing at 12 or 13 years old to go along with an arranged marriage to a man many times their age.   

Certainly, not all Hispanic or Middle East immigrants are bad people. I’m sure many of them want to become part of our American culture and will accept our laws, our values, our culture, and cherish the same freedoms we do as protected in the Constitution. They will learn our language, strive to become citizens, and participate as full partners in our institutions. 

I welcome anyone who comes here legally and works to assimilate themselves into our culture. 

But I feel strongly that any immigrant who isn’t willing to adapt to us, and more importantly accept and embrace our freedoms and values, is not welcome here.  

That includes immigrants who make no effort to learn English, and demand that we produce all our government documents in their language of choice.  

Honestly, that’s ridiculous.  If I moved to Mexico, I’d expect to have to learn to speak Spanish fluently so I could communicate with the majority of people already living and working there. And the majority – for now – of the people living and working here in the U.S. speak English.

Also not welcome is anyone who accepts female genital mutilation as a cultural rite, believes promiscuity and adultery are punishable by death, thinks gays should be executed, or wants to isolate themselves in enclaves with Sharia law superseding American law.   

These attitudes simply can’t be reconciled with American culture. Ever. 

And if they are already here – legally or illegally – and they refuse to assimilate and get with the program after a relatively short time, then they can pack up their shit and go someplace else. 

Preferably back to whatever crap hole they came from. 

Despite what some politicians claim, we don’t have a responsibility to take in everyone who wants to come here. The plaque on the State of Liberty is a poem, not a legally binding agreement. While we have a long history of accepting immigrants seeking asylum, we have no legal – or even moral – obligation to accept anyone who breaks our laws or wishes to destroy us or our way of life.

When you enter our country illegally, or overstay your visa or work permit, you have broken our laws.  When you openly want to replace our laws and values with your own, or seek to bring your own racial, ethnic, and sexual bigotry into our nation, we should stop you from entering.

Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – himself the descendent of South Asian immigrants – articulated it succinctly when he said: “Immigration without assimilation is invasion.” 

This is America. A real nation. If someone isn’t willing to assimilate, they should leave.    

The ultimate tweet …

Republicans in Congress don’t like him. Democrats in Congress despise him. Bureaucrats and lobbyists detest him. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hates him.

So what is Trump to do?

It’s really quite simple. Bypass them all and go directly to the American public with his weapon of choice: Twitter. With one simple tweet he can rock them all back on their heels. 

That tweet?  Ask for legislation to enact term limits on Congress. I suggest two terms each for Representatives and for Senators.

I’ll even write the tweet for him: “Today I’m asking Congressional leaders to start the process to enact term limits -- two terms in the House; two terms in the Senate, max.” 

That’s under 140 characters. But it would be like a nuke.

All the lifers in Congress would go berserk. All the lobbyists who own them would shake down to their Gucci loafers. The media would go ballistic.

The only people who would love to hear this?  The American public.  Poll after poll shows an overwhelming majority of American voters – up to 75% according to Gallup – would vote in favor of term limits for Congress.  It’s one of the few things on which registered Republicans and Democrats, and independents, can wholeheartedly agree, and they do in a big way.  

Of course, an overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress are opposed to this. Which is why, despite what most American voters clearly want, they always fight any consideration of term limits on themselves. 

And which is why it takes a Donald J. Trump to seriously propose it.

He doesn’t owe them anything. He was elected without their support. In truth, he was elected despite their complete opposition, not just from Democrats, but from the Republican Party itself.  Even now he’s only nominally a Republican.

I would love to see the press conference following his term-limits tweet. And there should be a press conference by Trump about it.  He could point out that voters elected him to shake things up in Washington. Nothing could shake up Washington more than term limits.

He should add that grandfathering in existing members of Congress – which would certainly come up – should be off the table.  Those in office now who have exceeded the suggested term limits would be allowed to finish out their term, but they couldn’t run again.  No exceptions.

Americans realize that nothing will change in Washington as long as those in Congress wielding power on both sides of the aisle remain the same for decades. I think the voting public will applaud this move to change the way Congress now works – because frankly it doesn’t. 

With dinosaurs such as Schumer, McConnell, Pelosi, McCain, Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings, Dick Durbin and Steny Hoyer at the helm, nothing gets accomplished. Trust me, regular Republicans want the Democrats in that group kicked out; regular Democrats want the Republicans in that group to hit the bricks as well. Independents probably want all of them gone. 

It's time the clown car Congress has devolved to empties out. And, unfortunately, given the power of incumbency to out-raise and out-spend potential challengers, and outright bribe constituents with pork projects and government handouts, it won’t happen without term limits.   

The talking heads and political pundits will note that it would take an amendment to the Constitution to put term limits on Representatives and Senators.  

That’s precisely when Trump should double down.

Since everyone knows the current Congress will never, ever vote for term limits, he should announce that he will only back candidates in any coming elections, regardless of party, who promise to enact term limits if elected.  Also, as a backup plan, he should announce that he plans to start working with state legislatures across the country to get the two-thirds required to force a Constitutional Convention to consider Congressional term limits among other things.

He should say that nothing is more important to our democracy than allowing the people to have the final say about the direction the country should take. Reversing the wholesale corruption of our political system by lobbyists and special interests can only be done by slowly but surely making Congress more reflective of the needs of the people, rather than the needs of the well-financed few. 

In short, he needs to attack the status quo, something he did so successfully when he ran for office. He needs to attack – dead on – the lethargy and inertia in Congress that keep anything substantial from getting accomplished. Far from attacking our democratic principles – which he will be accused of doing by asking for term limits – he can make the case that he’s trying to reinforce our democratic principles by wiping out a political class increasingly isolated from ordinary voters.      

Would it set back his legislative agenda with Republicans now in Congress? In case you haven’t noticed, his legislative agenda has been stalled by Republicans too worried about their next election to get anything done, and those who want things to stay just the way they are. 

That’s why he really has nothing to lose. And everything to gain.  If he gets the public on his side again, this time about term limits, Republicans in Congress will have a clear choice: Listen to what the broader public wants; or make his case they are only interested in retaining power, public be damned.

Choosing the latter is not a good position to defend.

So I hope he does it. One tweet can change everything.    

As Randy Newman sang: “They all hate us anyway, so let’s drop the big one.”   

Taxpayers versus moochers …

This is what it’s really all about. 

Trump’s proposed budget. The Republican healthcare plan. Tax reform.  These are all about reversing the headlong plunge we’ve been in for decades rewarding deadbeats and all those who consistently refuse to accept personal responsibility for their actions, all at the expense of taxpayers. 

If you haven’t noticed, the pool of those paying taxes has been shrinking. Meanwhile, the pool of those reaping benefits from government largesse has been steadily growing. 

Sooner or later, as Maggie Thatcher said, you run out of other people’s money. 

We actually hit that point years ago.  Why do you think our national debt is over $20 trillion?  How do you think it got to that level? 

A big part of how has to do with entitlements. Everybody in Washington knows spending on entitlements is out of control. Yet any time someone suggests reining in entitlements even a little they are tagged as a heartless monster – someone who doesn’t care about the poor, the disabled, the sick, the elderly, and especially the children. 

Or as some clown on TV last night claimed, promoting ethnic cleansing. Particularly against people of color who are dependent on entitlements to survive. 

Most Americans haven’t a clue who is getting entitlements and why. 

The real answer is just about everybody.

People too old or sick to work. People who could work but choose not to. People with crappy jobs because they dropped out of school, have a criminal record, or aren’t willing to do more than the absolute minimum at work.  People who’ve made a lot of bad life choices like having babies in their early teens, getting addicted to drugs, or joining a gang – and their offspring.  People who’ve never taken personal responsibility for anything – including their health, the well-being of their family, keeping a roof over their head and food on the table, or saving a dime for their future. 

But that list wouldn’t be complete without a whole lot of other people – well-educated, with good jobs and decent incomes; people who could easily afford to take care of themselves, their families and the health and nutrition needs of their families, yet expect assistance.  And let’s not forget those who have substantial money set aside, but still claim to need financial aid.

On one hand, you have people struggling to survive – but that’s actually a very small group of the very sick, the truly disabled, and the impoverished elderly. However, the vast majority of the people receiving entitlements use these not for survival, but for a more comfortable life. 

And a large portion of that group never paid a dime into these entitlements. 

They are the moochers.     

Those of us who have actually worked for a living paid hefty taxes for decades for our Social Security and Medicare.  When we collect Social Security, or use Medicare, we’re simply getting back some of what we paid for.  We may not have liked those taxes, but we understood their purpose, the same as we understood why employers and employees paid taxes to support unemployment comp, workers’ comp and other safety net programs.  

It was our responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to others. 

Over the years, however, the glaring abuses of many of these well-meaning programs started to wear on us.  We saw obviously well-off people in late-model luxury SUVs use their EBT cards (the new version of food stamps) to buy $45 birthday cakes at Wegmans. We saw their kids – wearing Ralph Lauren clothes and $120 sneakers – behind them in check-out lines.

We discovered that many otherwise able-bodied people got an average of up to $47,000 a year in financial aid and benefits for choosing not to work at all, while turning down regular jobs because they would lose all their free stuff. We saw people with expensive big-screen TVs in their carts at Walmart while they paid for their groceries with their EBT card. 

What constituted “poverty” was increasingly less draconian than what we considered “poverty.” When people with household incomes approaching $100,000 were considered “poor” enough to qualify for government assistance we knew something was wrong.

More and more kids “needed” free breakfast, lunch, and dinner – plus snacks – at their schools, not just during the school year but over holidays and vacations, because their parents couldn’t afford to feed them; that didn’t seem true. Especially when you drove through some of the neighborhoods where these kids lived and saw new cars parked in the driveways.  Or saw their moms sporting custom nails, hair extensions, $500 designer eyeglass frames, while talking on the latest iPhone from Apple. And they couldn’t afford to feed their own kids? 

None of it made sense. At least to a lot of us.  

We felt like suckers.  We felt too many people were taking advantage of us.  We were perfectly happy and willing to help those in real need. But there comes a time when you think you’re bending over backwards, but discover you’re really bending over forwards.   

That time was long in coming but it finally arrived.   

Hence the new Trump budget. It tries to put a cap on some – not all – entitlement spending. 

So what is he cutting?

There’s been a massive increase in people claiming disability benefits. According to CNN and the Social Security Administration, since 2003, there's been a 29% jump in Americans with little or no work experience getting disability payments. There's been a 44% increase in disability claims by people formerly in the workplace over the same period, largely, some suggest, because of the recession as people who lost their jobs moved from unemployment comp to disability benefits. 

Not everybody on disability is faking it. Yet not everybody claiming benefits is truly disabled – we all know that. Trump wants to cut $72 billion from the disability program over a 10-year period, most likely by tightening the standards for who qualifies and who stays on disability. 

He also wants to cut programs that subsidize college education for the “poor” and those who take jobs in government or non-profits.  Honestly, I’m fine with those cuts, and given the rampant abuse of welfare programs in general his proposed cuts of $272 billion there over 10 years also sound like a good idea to me. 

His plan proposes saving some $40 billion over a decade by barring illegals from collecting the Child Tax Credit and ensuring illegals cannot collect the Earned Income Tax Credit, either. The abuse of both those by illegals has been widely documented. The simple fact that someone in DC has to bring this up only confirms what most of us have suspected for years: under the Obama Administration thousands upon thousands of illegals were allowed, with a wink and a nod, to take billions of taxpayer dollars they should never been given.

And not just in those two programs, but in food stamps and Medicaid as well. If anyone believes illegals aren’t abusing those, too, they’re not just blind but stupid.   

The biggest howls of course have been reserved for his proposed cuts to the SNAP (food stamps) program and Medicaid. He wants to cut $192 billion from “nutritional assistance” programs and $800 billion from Medicaid, both over a 10-year period.

Right now, just about anybody qualifies for SNAP. That’s because states can apply for waivers from the qualification standards and not surprisingly under Obama these were granted practically every time. It’s hard to tell if these were granted out of compassion or simply to expand the number of people who would become addicted to food stamps and, as such, more likely to vote for anyone who promised to continue and expand this program.

The cynic in me believes it’s more likely the latter – politicians generally being the pandering whores they are. It’s the modern equivalent of bread and circuses to get re-elected.   

Medicaid rolls also exploded under Obama.  States were encouraged to add as many people as they could to Medicaid, I believe for the same reason I think pushed the increase in food-stamp recipients. To sweeten the deal, and get the numbers of "uninsured" down, the Feds promised to pick up as much as 95% of the states’ expense of adding more people to the Medicaid rolls, with that percentage from the Feds declining over the years. 

Again, not surprisingly, with the lure of free money in the short term some states went wild adding new Medicaid recipients. Now Trump wants to stop the profligate expansion of Medicaid by changing the formula for the states from blank checks to block grants and capping the number of new participants to be included in determining the block grants for each state.

That means states would get a set amount of Federal money to work with each year and would have to determine how best to allocate that money to their citizens most in need. States will most likely tighten who qualifies for Medicaid – and maybe even add some work requirement, as some states are considering now – while setting standards for how long recipients of working age physically able to work could remain on a state’s Medicaid rolls.     

This all terrifies the poverty-industrial complex to its very foundation. 

It’s about time. Taxpayers have been footing the bill for astounding waste – and yes, fraud – for far too long. Nobody is saying we shouldn’t take care of our citizens in need.  Nobody is saying that children should go hungry or be forced to live in squalor. Nobody is saying any of that.

However, a lot of us are now saying that it’s well-past time for a lot of able-bodied people to step up, get off the couch, and start assuming responsibility for themselves without relying solely on the rest of us to ensure they have a comfortable lifestyle.

The media and Democrats can bitch about it all they want. They still don’t understand what’s happening – a tectonic shift in the attitudes of the American public.

As someone said about Trump’s proposed budget – it’s a budget designed by taxpayers.

Is it perfect? Nope. But it’s a start.