Outgrowing Jane Jacobs and Her New York - New York Times
What is overlooked in both the New Urbanism and the national immigration issue is how these issues are tied together. The hollowing out of cities like Baltimore and Cleveland rests not with better design (although it would/can help some neighborhoods) but that there are no people that live their anymore. The folks that left or passed away have never been replaced by new immigrants. In cities like LA and Chicago, they eat their young. The cities expand outward swallowing up smaller communities while at the same time receiving an influx of people from their regions. It's the sucking sound of Dubuque and Youngstown to places like Chicago and Atlanta that are killing middle America.
The solution that I suggest is radical, but worthy of some discussion. First, we change the policy to let everyone into the U.S. This eliminates the pointless dollars wasted on walls and law-enforcement. We interview everyone that wants to come in and take photos, detailed medical and personal histories. Anything else that we can do to make sure that they are safe and registered. Anyone that wants to become a citizen gets an ID card. If you don't want to be a citizen, we send you back. We could have a serious time restraint on travel (can't leave the country for 5 years, let's say) and have to pay a fee ($2,500 per person). The key is these folks will help increase the population of the country by filling it with folks that are motivated and willing to sacrifice for citizenship. These are the same people that filled Cleveland and Chicago, they just come from Mexico and Vietnam instead of Ireland and Italy. They will give energy to states like Kansas and North Dakota by filling them with willing workers. It's the best option for a country like the United States, one built on the backs of immigrants that will renew the U.S.'s energy and population.
What is overlooked in both the New Urbanism and the national immigration issue is how these issues are tied together. The hollowing out of cities like Baltimore and Cleveland rests not with better design (although it would/can help some neighborhoods) but that there are no people that live their anymore. The folks that left or passed away have never been replaced by new immigrants. In cities like LA and Chicago, they eat their young. The cities expand outward swallowing up smaller communities while at the same time receiving an influx of people from their regions. It's the sucking sound of Dubuque and Youngstown to places like Chicago and Atlanta that are killing middle America.
The solution that I suggest is radical, but worthy of some discussion. First, we change the policy to let everyone into the U.S. This eliminates the pointless dollars wasted on walls and law-enforcement. We interview everyone that wants to come in and take photos, detailed medical and personal histories. Anything else that we can do to make sure that they are safe and registered. Anyone that wants to become a citizen gets an ID card. If you don't want to be a citizen, we send you back. We could have a serious time restraint on travel (can't leave the country for 5 years, let's say) and have to pay a fee ($2,500 per person). The key is these folks will help increase the population of the country by filling it with folks that are motivated and willing to sacrifice for citizenship. These are the same people that filled Cleveland and Chicago, they just come from Mexico and Vietnam instead of Ireland and Italy. They will give energy to states like Kansas and North Dakota by filling them with willing workers. It's the best option for a country like the United States, one built on the backs of immigrants that will renew the U.S.'s energy and population.
posted by Spud at 10:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home