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Show 2009 jfjESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009 DIXIE SUN r 1. i' mj ue V MARK GREEN Sun Opinion Editor il. T he clc have always viewed the Grand Old I ng gaiage ' lliataicie. Il was ' nd a half i vi id the land Partys stance legalization path he illegal aliens ently living and ong in this country loi ih had hiocii ' j he lights been hlni-t- bleaker ights 'ped m tle rooted in ; irra-- J and bigotry. immigration fear L tie took ;oal and li lends n. including, seen a political bat-oun- d for many amidst all of ophoniore Sl yet fiom Las .eeming e. a sopho-nao- i possibly I01 hoin uncertainty terrible that rave about, simple solu- - equences A pul ictans m,io a is ; Spimgs.ane i, a lieslinijs get into this ;fore I loin St its important ion, the sense of aspect of ippositions view, Jdress hn'cient lement il. "Most hots, bull irgument that be-eand Tim dio had the good jne be born to within a specific geographic location we are presumed to be better or more important than other human beings, is frankly silly. With the exception of a now disenfranchised minority, each and every one of us is the descendent of an immigrant. We can make no claim to this land as the original inhabitants. Additionally, it is selfish and presumptuous to assume that because our parents, grandparents and so on came here long ago that we are now entitled to exclusive ownership of this country. There is a reason America has blossomed over the last 200 years to become the pinnacle of economic and technological achievement. The reason is a melting pot of citizens who ail had enough ambition and drive to leave their native land to seek out he only better opportunities, and a government that, until recently, has allowed free market competition to flourish. This combination has rewarded success and ambition and brought about a vast increase in wealth and prosperity for all Americans. Illegal aliens have just as much claim to the potential offered by the American ideal as our ancestors had, and fortunately they are not committing mass genocide on Americans the .vay the first immigrants to this country did. On to the solution. All illegal aliens in this country should be invited to register with the government. They will be issued anl.D,, receive a number for tax purposes and be fingerprinted. They will immediately be eligible to live and work in this country. Their children will be allowed to attend our schools. They will not be citizens yet, and will not have the vote, but there would be a simple, though rigorous, path to citizenship that would involve learning the language, among other things. The first benefit of this program is that Illegals will be paying taxes, essentially paying for their use of the public infrastructure, roads, schools, hospitals, libraries, police, etc. This will alleviate the tax burden placed unfairly on citizens and should temper the resentment Americans feel towards immigrants. The second benefit is a boost to free market capitalism. You often hear the phrase, they steal people's jobs." This is nonsense. It is impossible to steal a job; it is possible to full-fledg- find somebody who is willing to work harder for less money. Part of what makes the pay for illegals lower is the fact that employers are not taxed on what they pay illegals, and illegals do not pay taxes on their wages. The average American pays 30 percent of their income in taxes. Imagine you were paid slightly less money, but you got to keep roughly 50 percent more of the money you earned. It seems pretty appealing. Once taxes cut into illegals wages, there will be fewer illegals willing to work for low wages. As wages increase, and taxes are equal across the board, businesses will no longer find it beneficial to hire illegals over Americans, and the only factor that will remain is the fair and open competition of the free market. Finally, imagine what would happen if every single illegal alien in this country were to be magically deported out of this country. Forget the cost of rounding them all up and forcing them out, and focus on the immediate consequences. Agriculture, construction and many service industries would suddenly find themselves with a massive shortage of labor. Most businesses would not be able to afford the sudden jump in payroll, especially since demand for work would be greater than supply. Many industries would be crippled overnight, and the consequences would negatively impact each and every person in this country. Embracing immigrants and their contributions to society while requiring that they pay the same costs expected of citizens of this nation is the only way to solve this dilemma. That is both fair and beneficial to all parties involved. had wciej meia and spent oui s at he Skewed Review: a y the shopping MATT ii liue Sun JACOBSON Staff Writer College: The only place where people spend ; shadows an of a is edited, nal show tc posted oi imeo Ue nc mote lostalkeiV icy ate look s fot these dollars to get and then their time trying easel out of it. of Jucation d ant say ising. to s and en- -' dodging gorge ;t mtciestni. icotee Im innocent when it tie said in the e Ois lissing class a waste me they uld nun col on camera d shadows nc of the black and 7 )eporting illegals not the answer ? 4 1 -- dont I eularly like, but comes a point i students go a bit ar. annoyance is 'helming. I have a that meets only a week, so our 'time is very pre- -' We are a class of ) debaters, and our isor encourages us so. However, last ' the debate got It and out e off-top- ic intro 1. e image that is popping up ,antly .'mind is that thy of surrounded by 'hng, chattering 'hkins in "The trdofOz." Our 'Was so close to wasnt even rely funny. I was siting for our pro-- r to disappear in a t 'ated pillar of The class not shut up. Jlnk the part that is mng me the most felt as if I was fthe few who was attention. I was llng and trying to 'smoke. 11 1 ne gist of every-Iw- e were talking There was a 'lie group that con'd to shout down llJdents who were d upon to speak. : fact y that my think I was 1 of that group is n Chicag0 in,ng to me. I had th other Tpress some seri pro-,rma- ous urges to jump up and yell: Teacher! Teacher! It wasnt me! Im a good student! The truly sad part is the majority of the class probably felt the same way I did. When our professor cut the class short almost an hour early because of that one group of kids, I could almost read the thoughts of my fellow classmates: Why are we being punished for those expletive jerks? of you who are really responsible for interrupting classes, especially mine, you To those are hereby awarded five out of 10 hours in class sitting next to someone who has serious body odor problems, a bad case of diarrhea and absolutely no body control. You also get the other five out of 1 0 hours being the person with the BO, the squirts and the dirty pants. I apologize for being so graphic, but maybe that will get the point across. Are these people paying for their own educations? I think I need to start taking names because my guess is either their learning is funded by the government or their parents. In either case, someone needs to be notified. Seriously, grade school was fun and all, but I think we can all agree that were beyond all that. Dont get me wrong, I really miss the and finger-paintin- g if thats but playing tag, something you really need to get out of your system, maybe you should do it outside of the college classroom. Students, think about the crucial information you might be missing because you're paying attention to things like Jacks dorm totally smells like sardines, or I hope its not infectious. Yeah, both topics are probably really important, but are they important enough to sacrifice your tuition, or someone else's you may be distracting? Es pecially since its too late to drop classes? I wish I had the money to take every class on my schedule twice. First time through I can just bull-poo- p around, chit chat e about who wears the sluttiest clothes, come in late, leave early, ignore the content of the class, and just generally have a good time. I could actually pay attention (along with more tuition) the second time around. However, I have an obligation not only to myself, but also to my investors. I know it seems far fetched that there are those who would dump money into an opinionated polymath such as myself, but its true. I have received funds from the state, a loan from a private bank, and help along the way from none other than my family. If I dont pull in sufficient grades, I can pretty much guarantee loss of funding from the state and my family. And as for my loan, it would be pretty tough to pay it off if I cant get a degree because I dont pay attention in class. And if you still dont care about your own education, please consider the education of those around you. I am still so ticked off almost a week later because a group of students cost me an hour of class time. Im madder than a True Rebel looking at a Red Storm mascot. what's-her-nam- -- ,C7ys Healthcare reform still needs work (MCT) A sweeping overhaul of the nation's health-car- e system cannot be considered much of a success if it still leaves millions of Americans without health insurance. So while the approval of a reform measure by the key Senate Finance Committee was a turning point, the work of congressional lawmakers and the White House is far from finished. . As President Obama said after the vote Tuesday, this is "not the time to pat ourselves on the back." Without question, the plan crafted by the committee chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, represents a major step. The Baucus bill would impose needed reforms to prevent insurers from refusing or dropping coverage. It would require most people to obtain health insurance, or pay a penalty. And it would provide billions in subsidies so that citizens and legal residents can purchase coverlow-inco- age. But the Senate's approach would fall short by leaving 25 million people without insurance. The key reason: While respecting Obama's reasonable plea for a middle-of-- the-road plan, Baucus simply doesn't do enough to drive down the cost of care. Watchdogs at the Congressional Budget Office cannot say whether the measure would "bend the cost curve," most likely because it won't do so. In part, the Baucus bill falters because it tracks other congressional proposals that indulge the health-car- e industry and labor lobbyists who have d beaten a path from their K Street offices to Capitol Hill. These interest groups have succeeded in minimizing the discomfort to various stakeholders, hospitals, drug makers, emdeficit-neutr- al DIXIE SUN Rachel WTiitnev Phillips, hews Editor Mark Green, Opinion Editor T Icr Roberts, Sports Editor Katie Johnson, A Z? E Editor Natasha Vu, Lijestyks Editor Casie Forbes, Online Editor Da na Lundin, Assistant Online Editor Amanda Anderson, Photo Editor Brjan Uhn, Assistant Photo Editor Ta lor Forbes, Ad Manager Richard yearly penalty of only $750 a year, the Baucus measure would enable millions of young, healthy adults to delay buying insurance with confidence that they could get it if they got sick. see HEALTH page 8 Briggs Lauren CentrcUa Erik Dorn Kassi Gillete AJ Gri&n Matt Jacobson Shannon Johnson Adam Metcalf K.or Phelps Kate Semmens Brcc Skinner Trevor Whitlock Zach Vu well-funde- ployers, and unionized employees with generous workplace coverage. Proposals to squeeze savings or require that employers provide coverage have been watered down, leaving less money to devote to covering the uninsured. At the same time, the mandate that all Americans purchase health insurance has been weakened. With a Tanner, REuannon Bent, Adiiser DIXIE SUN HOW TO REACH US Dixie State College Jennings Bldg. 225 South 700 East St. George, UT 84770 Phone: (435) Fax: (435) 8 9 dtxiesundLie edu www dixiesunitnk com TheDl!I SL N is distributed each dnesdat during hall and Spring semesters a a publication of Dixie State College Arts criers and Sciences a and Dixie Si itc College Student Activities The unsigned editorial on the opinion p igc represents the position of DIXIF SI N as determined b its editorial board Otherwise the views and opinions cssed in DIME SEN arc those of the individual writers and do not ncces reflect the opinions oi DIXIF $L N or ant cnm ot the college |