The U.S. Capitol building (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
In Washington, 2009 was the year of complicated legislative decisions. Preventing another Great Depression, regulating greenhouse gas emissions and reforming our complex health-care system are all difficult, often involving conflicting, complex policy concerns.
If 2009 was complicated, 2010 can and should be the year of the no-brainer. Here are four upcoming issues with relatively easy solutions, but with some tricky emotional or special interest opposition.
Reform immigration
Good reform punishes criminals, puts undocumented immigrants to the back of the line, brings an underground economy out of the shadows with earned citizenship (not amnesty), and enforces our immigration laws for the first time in decades. Doing so isn’t that complicated.
We also should require basic English proficiency, not because other languages aren’t great (my New Year’s resolution is to put in at least 10 minutes a day on Rosetta Stone Spanish). Rather, we should require basic English proficiency because we’re not doing anyone a favor, least of all immigrants, if we don’t.
The current system is bad for almost everyone, excepting race-baiters and the big agribusiness, construction and hospitality conglomerates.
It’s bad for honest businesses — including those in agriculture, construction and hospitality — because they can’t compete with the unscrupulous employers who prey on immigrants’ desperation by paying them a few bucks an hour.
Carter Bundy
It’s bad for citizens and other legal workers, because flooding the supply side of the labor market with people who will work for half the minimum wage and no benefits reduces everyone else’s compensation.
It’s bad for immigrants, who are far less likely to report things like domestic violence, and who are in no position to ask for help when their employers steal their meager wages.
It’s bad for taxpayers, because we’re not getting the full measure of taxes out of people who use some government-funded services, including water, sewer, roads and schools.
It’s bad for national security and domestic law enforcement, because our not knowing who is here is always an asset to terrorists and criminals.
If done right, immigration reform can end decades of illegal immigration and the nightmares created by our current system of an underground society.
End ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
You say you want to win the war on terror? How about starting by allowing good, patriotic Americans to serve their country with honor? We’ve discharged thousands of American servicemen and women merely for who they love. Many of them, by the way, were our best Arabic translators. Whoops.
This policy is cruel to those patriotic individuals, and also undermines our national security. We need to grow up as a nation and embrace the contributions of gays to our military.
This is a no-brainer. You can dislike gays in your personal and religious life all you want. We’re a free country and I’m not advocating silencing anti-gay thought or speech. Just don’t put our servicemen and women — and innocent civilians — at risk in furtherance of your own personal prejudices.
Allow the option of unions
Obviously this is near and dear to me, but it should be for every working American. Even if you never join a union or never want to, you should respect the rights of others to do so — especially since the benefits that union workers achieve often spill over into the non-unionized workforce.
The central element of any labor reform is to restore the rights of workers to join a union democratically without fear of losing their jobs. America was at its strongest when unions were at their strongest. At a minimum we should allow workers that choice again.
Revamp trade policies
Perhaps the single most important policy change we need is in trade. Creating a level playing field for American businesses and workers is another no-brainer to help our economy.
It’s hard for our home-grown companies and workers, union or not, to have a decent standard of living when we stack the deck against them by incenting those companies to move to places that readily abuse workers and the environment.
Our current trade agreements encourage (who’s kidding who — they virtually force) companies to move to countries that have no environmental standards, no consumer protections, no health and safety rules for workers, and no basic human rights (like a ban on child labor).
Trade has great potential to make everyone wealthier. But if trade agreements don’t set minimum standards, they actually lower the quality of life in both the developed and developing world.
We’ve lost millions of good manufacturing jobs to China, creating misery here, but it’s miserable over there, too. They have skyrocketing cancer rates caused largely by Western factories and their byproducts. This link gives the visual evidence backing up what any economist will tell you was a natural outgrowth of unbalanced trade policies.
Setting minimum standards for trade is a populist, commonsense idea that should unite conservatives and liberals alike. With it, we can start to reverse our long-term economic slide.
All it takes
If Dems can find the backbone to support these reforms that benefit almost all Americans, and the GOP can find the decency to resist fear-mongering against workers, gays and immigrants, 2010 can be a golden year of bipartisan reform.
Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com.