On November 4th, 2008, United States citizens will be electing a new president to lead the way of our great American made country.  It is probably important now more than ever that we get the right set of political leaders to help our great country run more efficiently, and legally.  What I mean by legally is our problem with illegal immigration, and how it is affecting our country in more than one way.

    I feel so strongly on this topic because it is going to affect me and my future as a United States citizen.  Living in the best country in the world, I think it is only fair to our people that they deserve what they earn.  When the illegal aliens cross the border, they understand that they are going to have to work hard, only to receive little pay.  Companies and business will fire their qualified and educated employees to hire less adequate workers who are willing to take less pay.  This causes a domino effect and little by little our economy starts to fade.  The illegal worker isn't making enough money to support our economy, and our blue collar working man doesn't have a job to even support his family, let alone boost the country.  Part of this falls back on the corporate business world.  The head honchos are living the high life and worshiping the almighty dollar, when others are struggling on a day-to-day basis.  In a recent study done by the NCPA (National Center for Policy Analysis), nearly 12 percent of U.S. workers are compromised of immigrants. 

    Some people believe that inflation is an immediate effect of immigration, while others believe that immigrants actually keep the prices down due to wages the capitalists are paying their employees.  However, I see it like this: immigration increases the demand, and the supply.  After the immigrant worker is done with production, they turn into a consumer, which in return increases the demand for production.  If companies hire too many untrained workers, inflation will definitely increase due to the lack of production.  A positive outcome of this would be in the situation of a company begging for workers that don't need any prior knowledge to successfully complete their tasks.  If this is the case, I can see this decreasing inflation for the American people.

    Now one may argue that many immigrants are fleeing here for the "American Dream," but instead of over populating our cities and country, and jeopardizing our economy, maybe we should help out our neighboring countries get a stable economy to keep their citizens there.  It's not the United States' job to take care of other countries, but it's our responsibility to lend a helping hand when and where we can.  There have been many points brought up about the illegal immigrants increasing the crime rate, but that has been proven untrue.  Just because they aren't legal citizens of the U.S., doesn't mean they are any more violent than your everyday American.  I'm not angry with the people crossing the border, because I couldn't make it a day in their shoes, but I am disappointed in the little effort our government has done to protect their valued citizens and help out a country in need. 

    There are many measures our leaders could attempt in order to stop this problem once and for all.  Part of the reason no action has taken place is because we are living in a "me, me, me" society.  Everyone is willing to put in their two cents and throw a fit about the instance, but very few people are ready to follow through with their thoughts. There have been countless proposals about a wall that a human is incapable of scaling, an electric fence tall enough to prevent any trespassers, and the Harry Binswanger theory of legalizing immigration, and many more.  I don't really give a hoot which route is taken, but I do care if one is chosen at all.  The purpose of my essay isn't to come up with a possible solution, it's to take action and push for something to be done.