Immigration Re-Debuttal

Okay, so I can’t convince Scott based on internal consistency or adhering to strict libertarian principles.  That’s fine.  No one is 100% consistent.  Although, I would think it is prudent to strive to be consistent and adhere to a set of principles as much as possible. 

I am afraid this will turn into the age-old immigration debate that goes nowhere, so I’ll try to keep it simple and still add some interesting points. 

First, I’ll start with the California reference.  As Vox points out, California has become too socialist for its own good.  There simply aren’t enough productive businesses and individuals out there to keep up with all of the government programs, and that has caused the state to go bankrupt.  According to this logic, the problem is not immigration.  The problem is that there are too many incentives in California to be lazy and live off the government (i.e. taxes from the productive folks in society).  And I guarantee you there are plenty of hippy citizens over there mooching off the system, doing nothing.  And I’m sure there are plenty of lazy immigrants as well.  The point is the system is flawed, not the people in it, necessarily.

 Next, the idea that immigrants from unlibertarian states will whittle away at the libertarian values of the citizens.  There is some logic to that argument, but here is one counterexample.  Cuba:  Communist State.  Cuban-Americans:  staunch conservative Republicans (at least historically: article 1 and article 2).  Miami may be a little Havana, but just because they dance Salsa doesn’t mean they pledge allegiance to Castro.

 And that brings me to my next, related point.  I’m not sure what part of a particular culture makes it prone to freedom or non-freedom.  It seems to me that someone who is willing to navigate a raft from Cuba to Miami is pretty unhappy with his current situation and would be a pretty good candidate for endorsing freedom.  Anyone from any culture can be freedom-loving. 

In conclusion I would argue that the solution to many of the perceived societal ills of immigration is to stick to a libertarian philosophy and style of government.  The US Constitution is an iron-clad document that is not to be negotiated.  It should be strengthened whenever possible.  Socialism does not work as an economic system, and it should be eliminated whenever possible.