Introduction
America faces a plethora of problems and issues on a daily basis. Let's face it, though many view us as superior to all other countries, we, as a nation, are far from a utopia. Because of our supremacy and power, we probably deal with more issues than any other country in the world. But, judging the importance of these issues is simply a matter of opinion. One can argue valid points for multiple issues as being the most important of all. In my opinion, third world immigration and the affects it has on America is the most important problem we face. Third world immigration into the United States of America has boosted poverty levels, put millions of Americans out of work, contributed to over 25 percent of the federal prison
…show more content…
Labor Market Third World immigration into the U.S. has not produced a highly skilled labor force, as the above statistics show. Instead, the U.S. labor pool has become flooded with low level, menial laborers, whose desperation for work of any sort has undercut the wages paid at the lower end of the labor market, which in turn made it more difficult for native born American citizens to escape poverty. An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration. The cost for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a year. (Associated Press, 1997)
Third World Immigration and Prison The Citizenship USA project, pushed by the White House in 1996 to expedite admission of 1.3 million aliens, allowed as many as 130,000 criminals into the U.S. from Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean. It is almost unfathomable that all these criminals who could be rapist, murderers, child abusers, or robbers were allowed in. The U.S. already has enough crime, so much that our prisons are basically bursting at the seams with low lives. Third World immigration just adds to that already overpopulated population. They account for more than 25 percent of all inmates in federal prisons and are the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Upkeep for each prisoner costs taxpayers $21,300 per year. (New York Times, 2001) 80 percent of cocaine and 50 percent of heroin in the U.S. is
Mexican immigration has a large impact on the United States both politically and economically. Focusing on the labor market, and how over history, especially throughout the 20th century, American employers in various industries, have benefited from the immigrant workers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Recognizing the value of immigrants willing to work various job positions for low wages, during worker shortages in America. In the 1990s alone the number of Mexican Immigrants workers grew by 2.9 million, a 123 % increase. (PP.
Over the years, the rates of immigration in the United States has fluctuated. As time progresses, the change in migration to America is undeniable. Between now and 1990, there have been various events, political conflicts, and new legislatures which have each had their own major impact on the flow of immigrants into the country. The Immigration Act of 1990 kick started a notable shift in this flow. Today, in the present, with struggles against programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking people out, America is forced to see the unsettling turn which immigration has taken. The 1990 Immigration Act fueled skilled immigrants in their migration to America, causing an increase in visa distribution. Whereas, now, America’s
Over the past two decades the number of low-skilled workers in the United States has increased because of immigration, both legal and illegal. (Chiswick, 2006)
Since the first human civilization, cheap, exploitable labor has been inherent to the economic system. This was illustrated in The Life of Peasants, one of the provided stimulus materials, in which it was accepted that providing for the upper classes was “the obligation of the servile class”. Ergo, the US can trace its history through the various exploited labor systems, starting with our dependance on indentured servants, to slavery, to our current reliance on undocumented workers.Unfortunately, the cultural progress indicated by the advancements of modern life, have not been paralleled by an alternate method of production. Worker exploitation, especially in agriculture, is conventional and commonplace. In the midst of the 2016 presidential primaries, with illegal immigration a hot topic among all candidates, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the people most often victimized by this system are mexican immigrants. “America’s immigration system is broken” - Hillary “The country has to be able to lock its doors” says Kasich. Trump suggests building a wall. Bernie advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. Regardless of political leanings, our politician’s inciting statements whisper of truth. The immigration system is broken, and there is an overwhelming number of undocumented immigrants in America. An estimated 11.4 million of them (as of 2012 according to the department of homeland
What are the largest problems that plague America? Most would argue that issues such as mass hunger, climate change and poverty are the most prominent difficulties that the United States faces. While these things are important, and do have a great impact on the country, there is another large and often forgotten issue that faces America: childhood obesity. This nationwide problem is also directly harmful to the strength and conditioning industry. Physical education classes are failing to involve kids in the necessary amount of daily physical activity. Parents are lacking proactivity to get kids exercising. Food marketing is aggressively drawing children to junk food, and restaurants are failing to provide healthy food options for kids. Children in America today are fatter than they’ve been at any point in the history of humans. Childhood obesity is the largest problem facing the strength and conditioning industry because it causes severe physical, psychological and social problems later on in life; therefore it is imperative that children be educated on nutrition so that they can be knowledgeable viewers of modern day food marketing.
The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute
Today American citizens undeniably face some of the nation’s greatest challenges. No matter the issue, there will be consequences as a result. A great issue as voted by most Americans is believed to be the high percentage rate of unemployment. Unemployment is a distressingly bad aspect, and unfortunately it is a daily normality and struggle for most individuals. There are a plethora of reasons why unemployment is intensively high; frictional, structural and voluntary unemployment for example, serve as major purposes to the leading cause of high unemployment. Frictional unemployment occurs from the amount of time spent in finding new employment in the free market. For example, a recent university graduate may not necessarily expect to find a job of their expertise and skills right away therefore the job hunt continues. This also occurs whereas people choose to be unemployed rather than accepting the first job that comes around or are in between jobs because they have become inessential or simply looking for a better, beneficial career. Structural unemployment occurs due to inconsistent labor skills such as occupational immobility where learning a new skill required for a certain occupation is complicated. For example an unemployed mechanic will struggle to find an occupation in the medical industry because of the difference in occupational knowledge. Geographical immobility
Immigration is both a domestic issue and global concern. It involves economics, politics, and culture. Unlike other current issues, it has been at the center of the American experience for hundreds of years (Tirman, John). Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants from around the world, come to the United States. These immigrants have many different motivations as to why they leave their home country; but as currents events indicate, it is injustice, poverty, and violence in their own country that generally make people move to save themselves and to ensure a better future for their families. Many of these people believe the United States is the best place to go, because there is more freedom, protection, and benefits,
Another fiscal problem immigration is the decreases in wages. When examining the issue,immigrants are more likely to willingly accept decrease wages which in turn allow businesses to favor immigrants. In a report “Immigration, Poverty, and Low Wage Earners, Mathew Graham, a second year PhD student in American Politics and Political Economy, who primarily focuses on immigration policy states that, “The reality is that immigrants and natives compete for the same jobs and native workers are increasingly at a disadvantage because employers have access to a steady supply of low-wage foreign workers.” Such labor disrupts the flow of other workers in certain industries displacing American workers and decreasing the average wages for the average work force. These industries include food preparation, building and ground maintenance, construction and other unskilled labor that requires little to no education. Illegal immigrants are the least educated “with nearly 75 percent having
The United States of America (USA) has been one of the traditional receiving countries of immigrants (Friedberg & Hunt, 1995), and they do not take in too lightly of allowing immigrants violate its law and entering illegally to settle in its country without consequences. To date, millions of people have violated its immigration policies. The USA is also the economic leader of the world. It has been the notion that illegal immigrants are devouring up the US economy and for that reason they should be ousted. However, illegal immigrations have rooted into society since far back in history, and realized now, it is that illegal immigrants are not damaging the US economy; they contribute to it and their services costs
As the population of Latin America and the Caribbean raised in 1995 with a 190 percent increase (Gonzalez 199), the job markets in Mexico are becoming scarce and competitive. The living conditions of residents in provincial towns like in Cheran, “whose timber-based economy is in tatters” (Martinez 9) are greatly affected. Mexican immigrant workers are forced to cross the border and find a greener pasture in the United States, because “in 1994, Mexico was crippled by a profound-and-prolonged-economic crisis” (Martinez 8). With the huge influx of Mexican immigrant workers coming to the States in search for better jobs, the US citizens are concerned about the economic impact: jobs, government and public services. However, the Americans’ concern that the immigrants are draining the nation’s resources, is a sweeping statement, it is based on a myth. There are many recent studies that the immigrant’s population living in the United States helps the economy. Similarly, the Mexican government and immigrant families are grateful for their immigrant workers for lifting the ailing economy and the status of immigrant families. Immigrant workers, legal or illegal, are positively reshaping the economy of sending and receiving countries through these major myths.
Unfortunately, welfare reform is a very difficult issue that faces this country, as is immigration. The political and social implications of welfare reform have yet to become organized in a way that benefits the maximum number of people with the littlest drain on our nation's economy. In 1980, the U.S. Census Bureau concluded that non-native immigrant households received 8.8 percent of government welfare, while about 7.9 percent of native American households received the same type of aid. (3) The difference between these two statistics proves that a there is no valid argument against the so called "drain" or "consumption" of U.S. government aid by immigrants. Although this does conclude that immigrant families do receive more federal funding, the infinitesimal amount of .9 percent difference is scarcely enough evidence to establish this prejudice against foreign cultures. More importantly, the distributions of
For decades immigrants to America were sure of two things. They came for the opportunity to build a better life for their families and they would not seek nor would they accept a handout. The drive and attitude of immigrants who came to America during the nineteen twenties through the nineteen sixties built strong work ethics that created our now famous American melting pot. But for the past thirty years a runaway welfare state has poisoned our good intentions. Well meaning but misguided entitlement programs gave billions of dollars in free handouts to a deluge of new immigrants as the floodgates opened and annual immigration levels more than tripled. The effects of this mass migration
Prisons for a long time have been a gateway to try to save society, when the only thing that it’s doing is hurting the social order because it’s creating more problems that are not being treated from the beginning. Crime has become a big problem during these hard times with the poor economy, but it has especially affected Latin America because of all the problems that overcrowded prisons have brought forward. In Latin America Brazil and Mexico are the two largest countries that have been affected with having the highest percentage of crimes, inmates in prisons, and concerns with overcrowded prisons. And these increase with the high crime rates in Latin America that are rising due to drug trafficking wars in Brazil and Mexico. "The
I believe that America is facing a great deal of problems at this time; however, the top four issues in my opinion are economic instability, unemployment, gun control and limitations on Constitutional rights. I selected my top four based upon how the issue impacts American citizens and their families. I also selected things that I