I dream of living in ... a World Without Dictators! I'm a Libertarian Paternalist in Slovakia - Freedom with Responsibility - 10% of income into your own Pension; Tax Loans for education, health, housing; now supporting Employment Maximizing Companies!

Billion dollar solution to immigration -- Tax Loans

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …”

When it comes to immigration, no country in the world treats all humans as “equal.” “Our” people are always treated differently, better, than “other” people. In the USA, in Mexico, in the EU.

This is not going to change soon. Not until countries are economically equal enough to allow free movement of people without massive migration, like the EU (rich half only). The USA and Canada are close, but for Mexico it’s far away; so massive illegal immigration has become an issue -- one bad for both US parties.

Immigration illustrates the moral hypocrisy of most Democrats. They’ve long been claiming a need to increase taxes so there can be more programs for “poor people”. Yet one can’t really claim this when one wants to force out the really, really poor immigrants who just want to work, even for lower than the minimum wage. Anti-immigrant Democrats have no moral high ground with respect to poor human beings.

Republicans are also stuck. Law-abiding conservatives don’t like the lawlessness, but profit oriented businesses want the low cost labor in order to sell lower cost products. Democrats are angry that the immigrants either take jobs away from poor native born folk, or offer to work at wages no American would take. Republicans are enraged that illegals come to the US and, without learning English, demand citizen rights and gov’t handouts/

The economic issue is clear: America tolerates illegals in order to benefit from their valuable labor (value = quality/price, lower labor prices mean higher values). Illegals not only work for less than minimum wage, they even send money home: estimated at about $20 bil./year.

As long as America is rich and Mexicans remains dirt-poor, any “solutions” will be reductions, at best. Most solutions offered are being somewhat dishonest about certain characteristics: a fence won’t work; employer sanctions won’t work; deportation won’t work; most “guest workers” are really immigrants--the “guest” part won’t work. Why push a policy when you know it won’t really work? (Politics, the illusion of activity.) 

How would a market solve the problem? First, “rights to work” in America must be politically defined. Then these rights are sold, so that those who really really want to work here, can pay the price and work.  Obviously, immigrants that now send home $20 billion/ year could instead be sending a lot of cash to DC and state capitals to reduce immigrant problems. 

Selling the legal right to work at a high price both reduces the desire to come to the US and especially increases the willingness of Americans to accept more immigrants -- Supply & demand. 

Any plan must have answers, in sound bites and details, for many questions.

How will this be financed, how will poor people pay the price? -- They borrow a Tax Loan, from the IRS.

For how long a stay? --They can leave anytime; they can only start on citizenship track after they pay off the Loan.

What about English? -- Pay for English lessons whether they go or not; reductions as they get better.

What about enforcement and employee sanctions? -- a big fine, increasing in size, per illegal hired; with 20% of the fine available as a bounty to illegals, legal immigrants, and any neighbors who turn the employer in.

How big should the quotas be? -- between 1/2  of 1% up to 1%: 1.4 mil. up to 2.8 mil.

What about a fence? -- good fences make good neighbors; Carrots and Fences.

What about those already here illegally, jumping the queue? --They pay twice as much, $40k, not $20. 

But where will poor immigrants get $40k, or even $20? Using finance. They’ll borrow. From the US gov’t, in a Tax Loan, with repayments based on their earnings and their taxes, as collected by the IRS. Along with this “ability to repay,” some fifty percent of their income tax paid, if any, would go to pay off the Tax Loan. A sample Progressive Loan Payment based on their income: 5% of all they make, plus 10% of income above the “middle class” threshold (of 80% of US average), plus 20% of income above the prior year’s average, plus 30% of income above twice the prior year’s average. These tax-like Payments would continue until the Tax Loan is paid off. With Tax Loans, America could easily sell 2 million work visas a year for $20 000 -- this means a deficit lower by this $40 billion increase in Revenue. 

Those already here illegally, like illegal speeders, should pay a fine. A big fine. Twice as much as those waiting and doing it legally -- current illegals should pay $40 000 to stay and convert to legal Immigrant Worker status. 

Because the immigrant is sending this money to Washington, not home, those back home won’t be so happy he’s gone; so fewer will follow. More immigrants will certainly return home than do so now, though it still seems likely to be few.

How long will the Immigrant Workers ( IWs) stay? Most will become full immigrants, eventually wanting citizenship, so that should be the honest plan from the start. A normal 5 year citizenship path should start after the Loan is fully paid off; this will take twice as long for the illegals.

All immigrants would be required to sign up for some private health care. Similarly all immigrants would be required to learn English  -- they should be required to pay $50/ month for classes, whether they take the classes or not, until they speak it well..

Enforcement and employee sanctions will be absolutely necessary if any program is to reduce illegal immigration.. Fines should start out small but keep going up until Congress agrees it’s high enough; perhaps a $1000 fine that goes up by $1000, until it reaches the $20 000.

There must be rewards for those who do the informing on employers. Illegals should be rewarded by a bounty against their employer, as they themselves go legal. Calling peaceful human beings “illegal” just because of where they were born is already morally questionable; making them felons is atrocious.

The USA should be building a fence, along the whole 2000 mile border.

Do Tax Loans solve the problem? Nothing but a richer Mexico can solve the problem. This is an attempt to balance the myriad issues the way a market balances issues -- with a price mechanism. US citizens benefit from lower taxes/ lower deficits if the Immigrants pay more to the gov’t; poor immigrants willing to take out a Tax Loan and be legal still feel it’s worth coming and working and paying it off.

Let’s especially please not lie in calling them “guest workers” when they’re not likely to be guests. If we want to maximize their return rates -- pay them a big bonus to leave. After 3 years, they should be eligible for a business starting / house buying bonus in their home country, equal to the amount they paid off of their Tax Loan. (If they paid $10 000, they’d be able to get that amount back if they go “home”)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/07/06 22:22 | link | comments (7)
immigration, tax loans

Comments:

#1  08 April 2006 - 06:12

 

good
切片机

Anonymous

#2  09 April 2006 - 01:36

 

Ah, yes. The solution to stopping people who risk everything, including death, to escape grinding poverty by taking very low-paying jobs is to.......charge them more money than they've ever seen in their lives and could ever hope to earn!!!

Anonymous

#3  10 April 2006 - 08:59

 

Silly Anon- right now it's estimated they send $20 bil BACK to Mexico.
Every year.

Give them a loan, let them pay it off; so they have less to send back, and less reason to come.

TomGrey

#4  10 April 2006 - 19:47

 

Fuck! Those immigrants are rich! Where can I sign up to pick tomatoes for a buck an hour????

Anonymous

#5  12 May 2009 - 23:28

 

your 10% income into the pension is a great idea and it should be done now at least in a voluntarily basis......

Anonymous

#6  12 May 2009 - 23:31

 

A fence will not solve anything!! it will create mafia in a different way to keep on happening these things the answer is Let the illegals can prove they have been hear for a long time, pay fines, taxes, lear english etc, etc legalize them thjey are part of this society just no diffenrent from a virus or the flu...and then set up an internal data base infrastructure to make sure work is done through legal papers........as simple as this and as complicated as it will be

Anonymous

#7  12 May 2009 - 23:35

 

Last, you will have to live in a society where all people are christians if you live in a place with different religions then you will be in trouble......it is better to stay out of people beliefs so we have learn due to past wars in Europe

Anonymous

Comments: