3 ms·

Why is the US not tracking all these humans? Count them in the census, let them pay taxes, get them all legal protections under US law. Let them fight to stay i

by 1-6 3y ago

Why is the US not tracking all these humans? Count them in the census, let them pay taxes, get them all legal protections under US law. Let them fight to stay in this country with productivity. I'm pretty sure they'll want to leave once they realize the US government robs people with taxes. There's a two-tier system going on and we're living in a modern day Rome.

hotpotamus 3y ago
> Why is the US not tracking all these humans? I've come to believe our government is too small to do so. If I was stopped on the street by law enforcement, I wouldn't have any way of proving my citizenship; it's just not something we're typically socialized to in the US. And obviously documents would be pretty easily forged these days (and I believe often are by/on behalf of employers). I think you would need a pretty strong, centralized database to include various biometrics of all citizens in order to do the thing right, and that's way beyond what I think the average citizen would accept (though I'd actually be willing to participate). I feel like immigration is like most aspects of the US economy - we leave it up to the market to decide, and labor is a market as well.
- 1-6 3y ago
  You have a good point there. I understand that citizenship is tracked at the federal level and not the state level; although the federal government relies on local county records to prove status. The system requires an overhaul and the states should have a bit more power to police their own territory.
  - hotpotamus 3y ago
    > The system requires an overhaul I'm sure we'll get to it one of these decades. Again, I think that a small government ethos will make it quite challenging. It's interesting when you parse the constitution carefully, particularly the 14th amendment, you'll often note that it is all about due process and it does not limit that to citizens only; it seems quite careful in using the words citizen and person.

by 1-6 3y ago

hotpotamus 3y ago

> Why is the US not tracking all these humans? I've come to believe our government is too small to do so. If I was stopped on the street by law enforcement, I wouldn't have any way of proving my citizenship; it's just not something we're typically socialized to in the US. And obviously documents would be pretty easily forged these days (and I believe often are by/on behalf of employers). I think you would need a pretty strong, centralized database to include various biometrics of all citizens in order to do the thing right, and that's way beyond what I think the average citizen would accept (though I'd actually be willing to participate). I feel like immigration is like most aspects of the US economy - we leave it up to the market to decide, and labor is a market as well.

1-6 3y ago
You have a good point there. I understand that citizenship is tracked at the federal level and not the state level; although the federal government relies on local county records to prove status. The system requires an overhaul and the states should have a bit more power to police their own territory.
- hotpotamus 3y ago
  > The system requires an overhaul I'm sure we'll get to it one of these decades. Again, I think that a small government ethos will make it quite challenging. It's interesting when you parse the constitution carefully, particularly the 14th amendment, you'll often note that it is all about due process and it does not limit that to citizens only; it seems quite careful in using the words citizen and person.