The Rise of Pessimistic "Conservatives"

Having cut my political teeth on the philosophy of Ronald Reagan, I have a hard time seeing "pessimistic" and "conservative" in the same sentence, but such a group is quickly on the rise. What's most interesting about this group is that they claim Ronald Reagan as their philosophical ancestor. I think the former President would be rolling in his grave if he knew that those claiming his mantle have become xenophobic about immigration and anti-free trade. But those are the exact positions many on the Right are proclaiming.

Pat Buchanan was the first conservative to get on this bandwagon back in 1992 when he ran as an alternative to Bush I and in direct opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the time, only hard left, pro-labor, candidates (remember Dick Gephardt) adhered to such positions. Slowly, but surely, it is becoming conservative dogma. I'm afraid that, in another decade or two, it will be on the same level of common held Republican beliefs as tax cuts generally are. Unfortunately, undermining free trade has a very different result than cutting taxes.

The reason people are opposed to free trade is because other countries (whom we trade with) don't practice it and it results in the "exportation" of jobs. There is no doubt that other countries are protectionist, but those countries suffer from extremely high prices and fewer choices than we enjoy. Are you ready to pay multiples more for the type of goods we buy from China in order to artificially prop up the prices of goods from more friendly nations? Punishing our trade partners with tariffs or quotas, punishes our consumers more than it hurts competitive nations and it leads to a reduction in the quality of goods we produce while "enjoying" such "protection." People advocate eliminating free trade because of "jobs" being exported to these countries? What jobs? The unemployment is this country is 4.5 percent, which is considered almost zero (four percent is the actual number) by most economists when you factor in voluntary unemployment, illegal activity, seasonal unemployment, etc. Protectionism will not only fail to protect jobs, but destroy them; because so many jobs (sales, marketing, legal, import, etc.) are created by trade into this country. In the end, attacking free trade will attack our prosperity and our jobs.

Regarding immigration, I understand the concern of conservatives wanting to protect our country, but te populist view does nothing to help the problems coming from it. The problem is that the system doesn't offer hope to people who want to contribute to this nation of immigrants, much opportunity to do so legally. Rather, they force people underground and allows those of us who have been here longer to act holier than thou and call them criminals. I, in particular, find this offensive. My mother was born and raised in England, met my father during World War II and came to this country, eventually giving birth to me. I know I'm the child of an immigrant. It just happens I'm one that our country finds attractive. You, too, are a descendent of immigrants unless you are a Native American. It is by luck I'm a citizen of the greatest country of the world, not by any effort on my part. We must offer opportunities to others, but they must make sense. Here are a few ideas:

* Require people to be in this country for an extended period time (minimum of ten years) before they are allowed to become citizens. This, in my opinion, should be the case regardless of where they come from.

* Provide a fast track program for those from foreign countries willing to serve in our military. Over 60,000 people serve in the US military from foreign countries. That kind of sacrifice deserves special consideration. We should consider expanding this program, especially during these times.

* Allow a long term separate status of people who never get citizenship, but work, send some money home, and eventually return there. That is the desire of many, if not most of them.

* Curtail welfare programs for immigrants, placing severe restrictions.

* Move away from an income tax and go towards a consumption tax, to make sure everyone is paying for the blessings of liberty with every purchase they make.

These are just a few things we can do to keep valuable labor important to this country (again, at 4.5 percent unemployment, there are many jobs Americans don't want to do) here, without compromising our security. In fact, it will make us more secure than ever to know who these persons are, where they live, and what they are doing here. America is a nation of immigrants. Reforms like this will make them legal ones.