Make Canadian $$$$!

Yes, it's prime time for us southern gringos to get off our lazy asses and go to where the real money's being made -- Canada!

The whole illegal immigration issue (it doesn't ever actually rise to the level of a "debate," unfortunately) and Americans' tribalistic "Mexicans are ruining America" complaints are a bunch of bullshit. I don't think Americans have the perspective they need to understand what's actually going on.

Let's say you can't find work as a web developer -- the way the economy is, that's not really much of a stretch -- but if you could, you'd make $75,000 a year. Not a bad deal, assuming you live somewhere where a starter house isn't tipping the million-dollar scale.

But you have a friend who has a great lead for you -- in fact, has a job already lined up for you -- and all you have to do is go up to Canada and start working. Problem is, the Canadians have made it illegal for you to take this job right now. They say they already have plenty of native Canadian web developers to do the work.

But it's clear there are tons of web developer jobs in Canada, and none of those Canadians are taking them -- they like ice-skating too much, and they can't bear to be cramped up in front of a computer when they could be out zipping around the frozen ice. And here's the kicker:

...They'll pay you $600,000 a year.

You go up there and work, and send the money back to your family in the US -- can you imagine the stuff you could own? The houses? The cars? No worries about paying for college, or even for retiring -- hell, you could retire plenty early!

And there are already ten million Americans working illegally up there, raking in a half-mil a year! What the hell are you doing unemployed in America? Sure, they're talking about building a wall, but how high does that wall have to be to keep you away from $600,000?! And if they catch you, they'll just send you back home to your family (or dump you in Montana), no big deal.

See you in Ottawa!


$600,000? Really? Well, in 2005, a Whirlpool exec told the NYT that "We may pay $23 an hour in Clyde, including benefits, versus $3 in Mexico versus $1 in China". So take your $75K and multiply it by 8, and there you go.

Americans have a problem with Latin American immigrants for one fundamental reason. They're different. Americans have had problems with every group of people who've come to this country; the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Russians, the Latin Americans. Did those waves of immigrants sink the country? No, they made it the incredible place that it is today.

I believe that if you want to come to this country to find a better life, if you want to work, and you're willing to do whatever job we'll throw at you, damn it, you have a right to be here. So, hope to see you all soon! That includes you, Canada.