Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Finder's Fee for Immigrants?

As I was watching the Fox & Friends co-hosts discuss illegal immigration ad nauseum, I remembered I had read in the Economist that Canada is in such desparate need of blue collar workers that it is reexamining its immigration policy to cure the problem. In the western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, unemployment is almost 1/2 the national average of 6.4%. With Canada's generous social benefits, it is finding few of its unemployed well-educated populace willing to move out of their home provinces to ones needing people to "work with their hands." Ergo, employers are having a difficult time getting workers in the booming oil sands of Alberta and to prep for the 2010 Olympics in British Columbia. Maybe, the US should charge Canada a "finder's fee" for all the illegals who are detained and vetted by the US and who agree to be sent to an amenable Canada. The US gets additional revenue, Canada gets much needed workers, and illegals get desired income for them and their families: it's a win-win-win situation!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good idea, James.  (Maybe just getting rid of the $21 per person "airport use" tax would help too.  Of course, that's $21 of 'funny' money=Canadian)  
We ought to grant free bus rides to the Canadian border from Texas, etc.  Forget the finders fee, it'd save us money just by sending illegals their way.  We wouldn't have to pay the health care, food stamps, etc for each family which means a savings for getting rid of them.

Anonymous said...

My bad, James and readers...sorry for the triple-post.  I didn't realize that if the server at AOL was busy, that it would remember posting attempts, which is what happened.

Anonymous said...

I am used to work with my hands.  I greatly need job.  Therefore I go up to Canada to find gainful employ-ment.  I am willing to give honest days work for honest days pay.  I have my own tools.   I am used to them.  

Anonymous said...

No prob, Jon: I deleted the inadvertant ones this morning. You are quite right as to the saving that the US would incur: however, I'm not sure that the US should dole out more freebies to another country, esp., one that has lately been a bit obnoxious. (Of course, now that it's gov has changed into friendlier hands, we might want to oblige.)