Quote:
Originally Posted by Freebase Dali
I don't know how far off topic I'll be with this, but I just wanted to put it out there and get other people's insight into it...
About 9 years ago I used to work as a welder in a large assembly factory where I was employed for about a year and a half. In that time, I met and talked to a lot of Mexicans (who comprised about 3 quarters of my department alone) and of those people, over half of them were illegal.
In conversations with them, particularly the men, I learned that most of them did not want to become a citizen at all. Their sole mission was to make as much money as possible to send back to Mexico to support their families, and not have to pay a lot of taxes on it. They would work it so that the very least amount of income tax was taken out, there was no state tax--this being Florida--and by the time tax season came around, they obviously didn't file. They wouldn't be in the system anyway.
So avoiding paying back taxes they would otherwise owe was an advantage to them.
Also, the exchange rate was in their favor for sending the money back to Mexico.
I'm not condoning nor condemning any of this, but from talking to these people I know why many of them were doing it. The interest wasn't to become an American citizen. It was simply to get a job in America because it pays a lot better than in Mexico. Some of the guys had been working there long enough and their families were even considered "rich" in Mexico because of the money they made for them.
I just wonder how some of you view that scenario.
Personally, if I were in their shoes I'd be doing the same thing. But being in my own, I have more of an objection for economic reasons. I still don't really know how I feel about it in every regard.
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You bring up a very good point, and it got me thinking about the way other countries handle this kind of situation. In Singapore, they allow citizens of other countries (namely poorer regions of Indian, Malaysia, and Indonesia) to work construction and other menial labor jobs tax free to save up their money for the period of time they work there. This allows them to send a sizable amount of money back to their families, they can go back after the job is done, and come back when they need more money. This is a win win for both sides as Singapore gets their construction done in a timely manner with a readily available labor force and they get more money than they would ever make back in their home countries.
This, I think, would work wonders here in the US.
Edit: An obvious argument to this is they would still be taking a lot of potential jobs for US residents. Granted, Singapore is a tiny country, but the point is they have very high expectations of its citizens. Their government also makes sure everyone has a job, even with the construction jobs given to foreigners. Honestly, I feel if they can do it the US can do it as well.