Will we ever get honest politicians who will say "Calm Down" over issues?

[Armstead]

This whole crap over immigration reminds me of the destructive over-reaction that occurs on many issues, to the detriment of our political system and democracy.

Instead of politicians pandering to the "crisis of the week," why can;t they say: "Yes we have a problem. But let's count to ten and think about this before we do anything rash or counter-productive that we'll be sorry for later on."

Now, I'm not anti-regulation of business. And I don't believe that we should just "look the other way" regarding the hiring nd exploitation of illegal aliens.

But this whole flap over illegal immigration has been whipped up to the point that the supposed "cure" might be worse than the problem. Suppose, for example, they put in excessively restrictive requirements on all hiring of anyone. Background checking to the max. So that even an obvious American citizen can't get hired without an immensely intrusive, cumbersome and expensive process. Could this just make life needlessly complicated, and also make government more intrusive? What-- beside citizenship -- could this lead to? You can't get a job if you have unpaid parking tickets? Will it add to a needles database?

What would it do to employers, regarding their ability and willingness to hire anyone? Will another level of bureaucratic requirements discourage them from hiring?

It seems like we do this crap all the time. A legitimate problem arises, and we become like the villagers going out with torches and pitchforks. It happens on all sides of the spectrum.

That's why we have the abusive Patriot Act. In response to the legitimate fear of terrorism, we have allowed an erosion of our civil liberties in a broader sense. A high school kid goes crazy and shoots up a school, and suddenly there are pushes for more gun control. A judge rules to outlaw repressive laws against sexual behavior, and suddenly gays are made into a threat to our cultural fabric....


It seems to me that there are two aspects to this:

1)We ignore problems, and only respond when something dramatic makes them the "Issue of the Week." Then there's a big hue and cry, and overzealous, short-sighted "solutions" are proposed....Then, either there's a lot of "sound and fury" is raised, but nothing is done. Or, something stupid and short-sighted is done.

2)We never stick with anything. We become obsessive with something, and then we forget it and move on to the next earth-shattering pseudo crisis. Which leads to over-reaction, because people get frustrated -- or are too impatient -- with the perpetual inaction on issues that really do matter.

[Ian David]

1. We have nothing to fear but fear itself...

You mean stuff like that?

[Armstead]

2. Yeah, that's the geenral idea.

[Inland]

3. I agree, immigration is one of those issues

I recommend Paul Krugman's column today, which just goes over some basic facts.