I believe most households and most businesses work within a defined budget and set priorities on which expenses are necessary and affordable. Umm. Seems our government doesn’t work quite like that. In their wisdom, they just spend as much as the other party will let them get away with, and then just print the greenback shortfall needed to cover those expenses. How our national debt of $33 Trillion, and counting, will be managed and how we will keep our country solvent is left to some future administration to worry about. The system, or lack thereof, is chaotic, unruly and basically corrupted by lack of agreed “national interest” priorities, and a rigid adherence to those things really needed and affordable.
There are many examples. I will mention here only one. Today there does not seem to be adequate funds for shoring up our social security system (which is projected to run out of funds in 2034), or fixing our healthcare system (Highest costs in the world but far from the healthiest population in the world) or helping our over 35 million Americans now living in poverty in America (Oxfam). However, we seem to have less trouble finding funds to accommodate, transport, feed and doctor the growing multitude of illegal immigrants poring over our southern border. The total number of illegals in America today is estimated at about 11 million, and who really knows how many evade border control: we have 700 miles of wall/fences on our 1954 mile border with Mexico. While there are some natural barriers there are hundreds of miles of ‘open gate.’ According to ‘The Hill’, aliens who have committed crimes in America account for about 20% of federal prison inmates. So far this year 22,000 pounds of the deadly fentanyl pill has been confiscated at the border.
Clearly, we should all embrace enticing more immigrants to make America their home, but we must be able to vet, screen, attract, and to prioritize, those we expressly need – – those who will help us grow America – – not criminals or drug pushers or those that would be an added burden on our already overburdened economic system.
Yes, we are a compassionate people and we do want to try to accommodate verified asylum seekers. It is estimated that 10% of the world’s population, that’s 700 million people, live in extreme poverty (on less than $2 per day). Add to this climate related migration and political repression and state terrorism around the world, which has been increasing at an alarming rate, and the number of qualified potential asylum seekers is staggering. How many can we help? Are the ones that show up on our border the most deserving?
To be a most effective helper, we first have to help ourselves. When the oxygen masks drop down in a flight emergency, we are told to put our masks on first and then to help our kids. Likewise, we must prioritize rebuilding America first, then we can better truly help others.
– – – – Just the view of a common man
Views of a Common Man 
Excellent opini
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Your comments are so well expressed and are so true. What baffles me is how do we get those in power to address the problem. We used to have Ellis Island to handle immigrants and it seemed to be effective. Unfortunately, our borders have so many holes in it that we can’t control who comes in, and those who might address the problem seem only to be concerned about their own welfare and not the welfare of the citizens of this country who elected them. In regards to Social Security, we paid into the program and the government was supposed to keep it safe, grow it so we could have access to it when we reached a certain age. What happened to that concept?
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