On her way to work, a nurse is assaulted while racial slurs are yelled at her. The same route that she has taken to work for the last ten years without a problem, now leads her to violence (Hornblower36). Instances of discrimination and racism such as this one, have increased since the passing of Proposition 187 in California. For years, the border states of this nation have faced a steady increase in the costs they are forced to pay for providing benefits to illegal immigrants. California alone is home to over half of the nation’s illegal immigrants. This has cost the state close to $2 billion every year in education and $400 million in emergency medical services (DeGeorge34). The extreme burden this placed on the state and local governments is what led to Proposition 187. It is obvious that some sort of action must be taken to control the problem of illegal immigrants. However, creating initiatives such as Proposition 187 that deny all state-funded benefits to illegal immigrants, save emergency medical services, may not be the answer. The state-funded benefits that illegals have been receiving should not be denied because it does more harm than good. What this plan of action does has a negative effect on the medical community, punishes the helpless children, and spurs discrimination.
Although the states and local governments that deal heavily with illegal immigrants have a huge economic burden, it could be alleviated without the use of a proposition such as this one. This burden is on the states and local governments because of federal policies. The federal government could take some responsibility for this national problem and grant more funding to the s…
… middle of paper …
…nswer. The illegal immigrants should not be denied the benefits Proposition 187 does because it does more harm than good. There are other solutions that do not threaten the public health, punish children, or spur discrimination.
Works Cited
Cowley, Geoffrey. “Good Politics, Bad Medicine.” Newsweek 5 Dec. 1994: 31.
DeGeorge, Gail, Richard S. Dunham, and Catherine Yang. “Who Picks up the Tab for Aliens?” Business Week 28 Mar. 1994: 34.
Gwynne, S.C. “The Unwelcome Mat.” Time 28 Nov. 1994: 35-36.
Hornblower, Margot. “Hot Lines and Hot Tempers.” Time 28 Nov. 1994: 36.
Impoco, Jim, and Mike Tharp. “Closing the Golden Gate?” U.S. News
The Benefits of Foreign Aid
An enlarged, long-term program of economic assistance to the peoples of Free Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America is justified on this positive and constructive basis; it is in the interest of the United States that we and our children live in a world of independent, open societies, each developing its own version of political democracy…our enemy is poverty, despair, stagnation and the fear that only totalitarian methods can lift a poor agrarian society into sustained growth. Our task is to demonstrate in this generation that economic growth and human liberty can evolve hand in hand. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961
President John F. Kennedy established the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1961 to promote development around the world. There is a public misperception concerning how much of the federal budget is actually set aside for foreign assistance programs. “Only one-half of one percent is actually allocated and spent through the agency,” stated J. Brian Atwood, head of USAID, at the International Development Conference on January 1995. In addition, “U.S. Foreign Assistance levels are at their lowest levels in over 50 years” (Ten Questions Commonly Asked About U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs, March 6, 1995). The United States should continue providing assistance to poverty-stricken countries because American benefits from the assistance as well as the imoverished countries do. Because of foreign aid, the American economy is advanced, democracies around the world are fostered while strategic allies are secured, and the welfare of the needy is upgraded around the world.
I admit there are a number of reasons why the United States should not provide assistance to impoverished…
… middle of paper …
…y USAID action in southern Africa in 1992 prevented massive famine in the region, saving millions of lives” (“A Record of Accomplishment” March 2, 1995). USAID has a multitudinous number of accomplishments that make the program worthwhile.
The United States and impoverished countries both benefit from foreign aid programs. American oppose such programs because they do not know all the benefits that arise from it. In addition, they do not know understand how much of the federal budget is actually allocated for foreign aid. The United States should not be greedy and blind itself to the rest of the world. According to President Clinton, “If we withdraw from the world today, we will have to contend with the consequences of our neglect tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” Indeed, the compassion of the American people is reflected through aiding the less fortunate.