Let's Live With Cost of Jobs Increasing

True, the guest worker pass idea does have some other problems, besides not squaring with the federal government's right to be the sole grantor of the right to be here.

For one, if government is bringing them in, aren't they going to be obligated to pay taxes? That is exactly what we want, of course, but will the farm owners and others still be able to afford them? What if we decide they must be insured, to help prevent them from receiving free medical attention? Isn't that, too, going to drive up the employer's outlay?

Taxes are something we want them to pay. If for no other reason, their children will be attending schools here, and that should come at their expense. Insurance is something we want them to have. If they are insured, they should not be receiving free medical aid at everyone else's expense.

If we as a state to create a guest-worker program, let's find a way to make the insurance as affordable as possible. Then, let's simply require the employers to put more out for their workers. At the moment, I am seeing no other way.

Do not let it go unnoticed, though, that these same things that are negatives are also positives. People are yelling at the immigrant for getting an education without paying for it. They are yelling at him for getting medical aid without paying for it. It would be great to fix these inequities.

If farmers and other employers do not end up hiring through a guest-worker program, as they either cannot or do not want to pay the extra money, then to the degree of non-participation, we have failed. But, let us do try to make this better. Look at what we are fixing. We are taking away much of the reason people are angry with immigrants, fixing that problem, by reducing how much of a drain they are by not contributing to social and educational funding. We are drawing them into our payment systems.

And, we are serving the immigrant, helping him, by getting him medical insurance, not to mention making him a legal resident. Fixing the problems is what it is about, so, let's do this.