Excuse me if I don’t care

The Washington Times runs a story today about “remittances” to Mexico which have fallen in 2008 for the first time ever;

The money sent home by Mexican migrants fell in 2008 for the first time on record, Mexico’s central bank said Tuesday part of a global trend that could worsen as emigrants from developing countries lose jobs in the global financial crisis.

Remittances, Mexico’s second-largest source of foreign income after oil, plunged 3.6 percent to $25 billion in 2008 compared to $26 billion for the previous year, the central bank said.

Now, that means that money that was earned in the US wasn’t being spent in the US, so it wasn’t doing the American economy any good. But, to think that money was Mexico’s second largest source of foreign income ought to be embarrassing to Mexicans – like they’re our 40-something son living in the basement upset that his allowance has been reduced.

Let me say this before I continue; I’m sympathetic to the conditions of those who live south of our borders. I’ve spent a lot of time down there – and I love the culture and the language. But their conditions in that part of the world are mainly their own fault.

They’ve become dependent on free US dollars sent by their largely illegal relatives in the US. Instead of investing that money in their futures, they squandered it – and that’s a cultural thing.

The percentage drop is nearly twice what the government had expected for the year, and central bank official Jesus Cervantes said the decline will likely continue this year.

Can you imagine the government keeping track of money coming into the country from relatives as if it were some sort of agricultural endeavor. The Mexicans blame a crackdown on immigration violators as well as the economic downturn. I guess that’s the cost of doing business, huh?

“Remittances are the single strongest poverty-reduction tool that many countries have,” said Robert Meins of the Inter-American Development Bank. “This could translate into a great deal of hardship for a lot of people, which I think is underappreciated.”

Excuse me if I don’t care. Oh, I’m sure that somehow I benefit from the cheap illegal labor since I’m surrounded by tens of thousands of immigrants in my neighborhood, many of whom I’m sure are here illegally, but those folks sitting outside of our borders depending on our jobs for their sustenance need to learn trades and rebuild their own countries. But, I’m pretty sure the most motivated workers have left their countries to come here, leaving behind the eternally indigent.

The best thing we can do for those countries and our own country is to return those illegal immigrants to their homes so they can put to use that which they learned here, and build for themselves and their countries the life that they came to enjoy here. They’ve learned what is possible, and they’ve learned how to make that kind of life. And they know what a valuable partner the US can be.

Added: Sort of related, Michelle Malkin writes that Harry Reid does his best to keep illegal aliens here by doing away with most of the ID requirements that might keep an illegal from getting into the SCHIP. Sweet.

Category: Economy, Illegal Immigrants