Are Concerns over Immigration to Do with Culture of Economic Reasons Essay Example for Free

Are Concerns over Immigration to Do with Culture of Economic Reasons Essay Almost all economists are in agreement that immigration has positive economic effects. Indeed in the United States it â€Å"provides natives with a net benefit of at least $80,000 per immigrant, or as much as $10 billion annually† (Bolin, 2006). However despite this there are huge numbers of advocacy groups pushing the pros and cons immigration to the populations of the host countries, with natives having negative views towards immigration (McLaren Johnson, 2007). Through the course of this essay I will examine whether the root cause of these often xenophobic views towards immigration have root causes in economic reasons (immigrants taking jobs from natives, and leading to lower wages) or symbolic reasons, where the natives are fearful that the immigrants will bring their culture to the host country and cause change. Enoch Powell, the Conservative British politician, gave a warning that immigrants were causing such strife that â€Å"like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood† (Powell, 1969). This turned out to be nonsense, and his advice that immigrants should be encouraged to leave, would have left Britain, and many other countries that rely on cheap foreign labour in a horrific state of affairs. Immigrants are now taking far longer to integrate into their host country and this is upsetting many natives. â€Å"In the past a third-generation migrant, for example in America, would have been expected to have shed much of his grandparents’ identity† (The Economist, 2008), not speaking his mother tongue and having little loyalty to the country his family originated from. This is changing â€Å"as migrants feel loyalty to more than one country† (The Economist, 2008). For example, Moroccans in Europe, even fourth generation, are encouraged by the Government to identify with the African country, and are granted Moroccan citizenship under the constitution. As many source countries such as India and China grow intent on gaining remittances from their emigres, â€Å"migrants even several generations on may come under great pressure to retain some of their old identity† (The Economist, 2008). This can all lead to immigrants never becoming fully integrated into the host country, causing social problems such as immigrants bunching together in the same place. Due to globalisation and time-space compression, it has become far easier for migrants to emigrate further away from their own country, this causes problems as they subsequently have little in common with their host country and find it harder to integrate into the community. Traveling long distances to emigrate is no longer a problem and in the future there will be the problem of â€Å"people moving greater distances and settling among different ethnic, religious and cultural groups† (The Economist, 2008), meaning they will have problems integrating. â€Å"Danes in Sweden or Albanians in Greece have little trouble integrating into the relatively familiar societies next door. Even Poles in Ireland prosper, perhaps thanks to the incomers’ good standard of education and skill and the shared Catholic faith. But Iraqis in Sweden, Somalis in Canada or Pakistanis in Norway typically find integration harder† (The Economist, 2008). Samuel Huntington blames this on the â€Å"great divisions among humankind† (Huntington, 1993) that are the differences between civilisations. He believes that immigration will ‘intensify civilization consciousness and awareness of differences between civilizations and commonalities within civilizations’ (Huntington, 1993). This leads to a ‘them versus us’ attitude, with the natives having the xenophobic view that the immigrants are qualitatively different from themselves. As the natives of the host country would have spent time constructing â€Å"discursive practices that attempt to fix meanings which enable the differentiation between the inside and the outside to be made† (Doty, 1996), they will resent immigrants not properly integrating themselves into the community. Research on social identity appears to conclude that identity is highly important to individuals, with individuals protecting these identities even if they have no realistic meaning (Monroe, et al. , 2000). People use these identities to provide a sense of self (Sniderman, et al. 2004), partly in order that they may distinguish between those similar to themselves and those different. The ‘identities tend to have their basis in perceptions of differences’ (McLaren Johnson, 2007)with those viewed as outsiders thought to have radically different values and approaches to life. â€Å"The threat posed by minorities and immigrants may be symbolic in nature and may stem from concerns about the loss of certain values or ways of life† (McLaren Johnson, 2007), due to immigrants having a significant presence in the host country. Immigrants also often congregate in areas of the host country, London for example has a huge immigrant and minority presence with only 44. 9% classing themselves as ‘White British’ (Gye, 2012), in the 2011 census. This all means that natives are fearful that immigrants will cause them to adapt or change their ways of life. Migrants who preserve â€Å"a strong religious sense that cuts across any national loyalty may be the hardest of all to assimilate into broadly secular Western societies†. In the post-9/11 world Muslims are often seen as being the greatest cultural threat to Western societies. In a recent survey McLaren and Johnson measured anti-Muslim feeling in the United Kingdom. They found that 62% of people agreed with the statement that British Muslims are more loyal to Muslims around the world, than to other Britons, only 12% disagreed. Only 30% of Britons felt that Muslims living in Britain were committed to Britain, with 47% feeling that they could never be committed to Britain. 52% of people thought that Britain would begin to lose its identity if more Muslims came to live there. Clearly there is considerable anti-Muslim feeling in Britain and concern that British-Muslims pose a threat to the identity and culture of Britain (McLaren Johnson, 2007). Most economists are in agreement that immigration has very little effect on native’s wages; this should mean that natives won’t oppose immigration based on the misbelief that immigrants lower wages. Although conventional economic wisdom states that an increase in supply of labour will lead to a decrease in price, this doesn’t happen. Friedberg and Hunt conclude that a 10% increase in immigrant levels in the population, decreases wages by 1% (Friedberg Hunt, 1995). Economist Francisco Revera-Batiz came to the same conclusion, noting that although immigration has increased the supply of low skilled workers into the United States, there has been very little impact on the wages of high school dropouts, the lowest skilled people in America (Rivera-Batiz, 1998). One of the most influential studies is Card’s 1990 study on the Miami Labour market after the sudden influx of 125,000 Cuban immigrants in 1980 due to a sharp downturn in the Cuban economy. Surprisingly the arrival of so many immigrants didn’t affect native wages, although it did lower the overall wage level in Miami; due to the immigrants being employed in low-wage jobs (Card, 1990). This tallies with the outcomes of other natural experiments in recent history such as the homecoming of 600,000 Portuguese after the collapse of their empire in Africa in 1974-76, the return of 900,000 Frenchmen from Algeria in 1962 (The Economist, 2008) or the influx of 610,000 Russian Jews into Israel 1990-94, increasing the labour force by 12%; all had negligible effects on native wages. Immigrants don’t decrease wages because as well as increasing the supply of labour, they become a domestic consumer for goods as well as services, they â€Å"create jobs as consumers and fill jobs as producers† (Bolin, 2006). A higher total population, ceteris parabus, will lead to the production of more goods and services, boosting the host countries gross domestic product (GDP). In some rare cases immigrants can even boost native’s wages. Illegal Mexican immigrants, who are â€Å"predominantly low skilled† (Bolin, 2006), have a positive effect on other workers’ wages (Bean, et al. 1998). This is due to immigration increasing the productivity of native workers by â€Å"taking low-skilled jobs, freeing higher-skilled workers to work in higher-skilled employment where they can be more productive† (Bolin, 2006). Based on the results of a range of economists, using results based on a â€Å"range of methodologies† (Bolin, 2006), it can be seen that immigrants have a small negative impact on native wages, although mainly low-skilled workers. Based on this, natives shouldn’t be concerned over immigration levels based on their own wages falling. The popular theory that immigrants ‘come over here and take our jobs’, has been shown to hold very little truth, as most studies â€Å"find no or negligible effect[s]† (Bolin, 2006) on employment rates. The ‘lump of labour fallacy’ is the mistaken idea that there are a set number of jobs in the economy, and when an immigrant takes one of those jobs, it is a job lost for a native. This is incorrect for three reasons. Firstly, by coming to a country â€Å"immigrants increase the supply of labour and hence reduce wages. In turn, cheaper labour increases the potential return to employers to build new factories or expand their operations. In so doing, they create extra demand for workers† (Grinda, 2006), and more jobs are created. Secondly, immigrants are consumers as well as producers. When there is a large influx of immigrants such as the 610,000 Russian-Jews into Israel in the early 1990’s, they are in need of goods and services. People are employed to provide these goods and services, meaning more jobs added to the economy, and immigrants simply enlarge the economy. Thirdly, immigrants are 10 to 20 percent more likely to become entrepreneurs and start their own business than natives (Briggs Moore, 1994). In 1999, The Wall Street Journal reported that â€Å"Chinese and Indian immigrants run nearly 25% of the high-companies started in [Silicon] Valley since 1980†¦The 2,775 immigrant-run companies had total sales of $16. 8 billion and more than 58,000 employees† (Thurm, 1999). â€Å"Immigrants not only take jobs, they make jobs. They open new businesses that employ natives as well as other immigrants and themselves. And they do so in important numbers† (Simon, 1999). Similarly, the findings by Friedberg and Hunt discovers â€Å"no evidence of economically significant reductions in native employment†. Card, as well as examining the impact of the Muriel boatlift on wages also examined the impact of it on employment. Even though Miami’s workforce was increased by 7%, virtually overnight, with an influx of relatively unskilled Cuban workers he finds â€Å"no evidence of an increase in unemployment among less skilled blacks or other non-Cuban workers. Rather the data analysis suggests a remarkably rapid absorption of the Muriel immigrants into the Miami labour force† (Card, 1990). Again with immigrant’s impact on wages, the evidence seems to suggest that a lack of evidence that immigration causes native unemployment. This should mean that concerns over immigration should not be linked to worries over employment. Due to immigrants being â€Å"disproportionately low-skill[ed]† (Bolin, 2006) they tend to have lower wages than natives. It is often assumed therefore that they depend more upon the welfare system than natives. The level of benefits are often higher in the host country than the source country, and it is often suggested that it is this difference that brings in migrants. Borjas coined the term â€Å"welfare magnet effect† (Borjas, 1999), making the point that immigrants are drawn to the country with the highest benefits. This however has all been shown to be completely false, and many economists believe that over the long term immigrants more than pay for the public services they use (Simon, 1999). In the United States â€Å"most immigrants, including Mexicans, are usually less likely than comparable natives to receive welfare†, with the per capita cost of social welfare for immigrants being 8% less than the per capita cost for natives (Bean, et al. 1998). It is plain to see that objections to immigration come from those who are worried about the identity and culture of their nation being eroded, rather than for economic reasons. Immigrants are solving many problems for the host countries, such as the problems of aging populations and those participating in the workforce being increasing choosy about the jobs they do. Immigrants have few economic disadvantages, although high immigration may bring about a small decrease in jobs for the natives, the tax revenue that they bring in more than displaces this negative effect. As the immigrants have little impact on jobs, and simply create more jobs in the economy, disproving the lump of labour fallacy, they don’t have a negative impact on wages which is a positive for the economy as a whole. The argument that immigrants have a negative impact on the identity and culture of a nation holds some truth. Due to the fact that a nation’s identity is made up of what its inhabitants believe it to be, immigrants having different views, can water this identity down.

Ghost Story of Santa Fe Ghost Trail Essay -- Ghost Stories Urban Lege

Santa Fe Ghost Trail As I sat down with the narrator in his dorm on a Sunday afternoon—not the most appropriate time for ghost stories—he told me this well known ghost story from New Mexico. The storyteller is an 18-year-old male freshman majoring in international relations who is from Bethesda, Maryland. He is biracial with an American father and a Taiwanese mother. Born in California and raised in Colorado, the storyteller is a converted Christian. The teller was in the Boy Scouts, which is where this story comes from: There’s this really small highway town in New Mexico called Cimarron, and it’s small now but in the late 19th century it was a bustling crossroads for all sorts of people – gold speculators, ranchers, oilmen, and especially those vagrant characters, like Billy the Kid, seeking refuge from whatever lawman was on his tail. In Cimarron is this hotel, the Santa Fe Hotel, and they say that this place is the most haunted hotel still in operation, in the west. The lights flicker on and off, and people, visitors just say they encounter really weird things – like if you go in this one room, you might see a woman out of the corner of your eye, sitting on the windowsill and looking out for someone. And when you turn to face her, she disappears, but all of a sudden you smell a subtle waft of strawberry-scented perfume. Weird – yet you still not sure if this is true? Sounds sketchy, I know. Oh – I should say this hotel is haunted because 23 people have b een shot to death in the hotel, either from a bar-fight or card-game or something. Well I went to stay at the hotel for a night, before I headed on to a nearby Boy Scout camp. I went with my troop, and we all got our own rooms. Guess what room I got – the strawbe... ... he brought it back with his great emphasis and repetition of certain words. For example, he repeatedly imitated the clicking sounds that he experienced. This reenactment drew the attention of the audience and placed the audience in the hotel room that he was sleeping in, therefore made the story scarier. Also, the storyteller narrated in the first person. Because his personal experience was incorporated into the story, it made the story seem closer to the audience. An interesting aspect of the story is that it incorporates an actual location and history into a ghost story: it is intriguing because the mysterious events occur in an accessible place that people can go and visit. Works Cited â€Å"Santa Fe hotel echoes with legends.† CNN news. Oct 12, 2004. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=475&item=2278226756&rd=1 (Oct 16, 2004).

Crime And Victimization

She tastes that all individuals in a community have the potential of turning to crime in cases where destructive social relationships are upheld. The theory emphasizes that the socio-psychology interaction with various institutions is a renowned contributing factor to crime. It is evident that offenders turn to crime because of peer pressure and other legal involvements that tend to advocate for the criminal behaviors. This emphasizes on the point that any individual can be a criminal. Currently, there are diverse cases that describe of incidents where the youths have indulged in violence and crime and the effect it has on their families.A research conducted on the issues states that there is a connection of the childhood involvements that the individuals have and their behaviors. In most cases children exposed to domestic violence have been described as the most vulnerable to the situation and they portray poor social interactions and uncouth behaviors (Curran and Reinvent, 2001). I t is evident that if individual's criminal aspects are encouraged from their close relatives, they rarely make the right decisions and this usually results to crime.In this case, children are supposed to be taught on how to behave and the issues that are acceptable in the community since they learn most from what they see. The theory emphasizes that no individual is born with the attributes of a criminal, instead they are influenced to commit crime by the people they grow looking up to (Dressier, 2002). 2. Discuss one (1 ) real-life scenario involving criminal activity, identifying the federal, state, and / or local agency (sees) with jurisdiction. Explain why the agency (sees) that took the case was the appropriate one for the particular circumstances.Late last year, Claire Davis, a 1 7-year old student was shot and killed by Karl Pierson at Arapaho High School in Colorado. Karl was said to have been on a revenge mission against a librarian who he did not find and decided to turn h is anger towards his schoolmates (Arapaho High School shooting victim dies CNN. Com). He fired randomly in the hallways with his pump action shot gun which he later used to kill himself. The state police were the first to arrive and were fully in charge of the investigations from the beginning.This case was zestfully handled by the state police since violent and gun crimes fall under their jurisdiction. 3. Describe a recent incidence of crime that occurred within your community. Suggest how implementing at least one (1 ) of the changes that SST. Evans had discussed and another change of your recommendation would have changed the circumstances of the crime that you selected. Recently in my neighborhood, an elderly woman was ambushed by three young men and robbed of cash and personal belongings at knife point. She had come from doing her grocery shopping at the local store which is open till ate.She was attacked as she was walking to her car in the dimly lit car park which is in a sec luded place away from other businesses. This is one of the incidents that have been reported to have occurred around the area and many individuals have turned out to avoid the local stores. However, the local store is usually opened till late hours and it is convenient for many shoppers since the surrounding stores usually close earlier. This has contributed to the place being an easy attack spot for the thugs who are usually heavily harmed.The region is secluded making it hard for shoppers to get help even after raising alarm. There are minimal occupants around the homes surrounding the local store and the street lights along the store have been broken. The local store car park is also dimly lit and this has made it easier for the thugs to target and attack the shoppers. According to SST. Evans, he recommends that individuals should avoid going to the shopping center alone. This will minimize the chances of the shoppers being attacked by the thugs. It is important that individuals consider their safety and visit the stores early. Crime And Victimization These individuals take the time to think out a plan for the rime from start to finish and consider only an easy self-centered profit motive. There is no regard or consideration for victims or their respective feelings. (Siegel/ World, 2013). The most serious crime that can result from this thought process is capital murder. Consider the recent real-life crime scenario involving the death of William Rounder, â€Å"Bill† Deviate, 55, and the visualization of his wife outside Marvin United Methodist Church, Columbia County, Georgia.Daniel Nelson Robinson, a Florida man committed these heinous crimes for the purpose of obtaining monetary gains in the form of cash. Additionally he appeared in need of a vehicle to leave the area to travel to his home area of Jacksonville, Florida. The grand jury charged Robinson age 21, with felony murder, armed robbery, motor vehicle theft, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The District Attorney of Columbia County, Georgia, Ashley Wright is seeking the death penalty for Daniel Nelson Robinson.Robinsons felony criminal behavior reflects Rational Choice Theory because Robinson was seeking expediency in his criminal behavior to obtain easy cash and immediate escape in Davit's SUB toward Jacksonville, Florida, ( Rowel, 2014). Many Criminologists would argue that Robinson is a psychopath because of the recurring theme of his criminal behavior. He was on parole. This criminal offender demonstrated total disregard toward human life and lacking a moral arm since this also occurred on Church property.Psychodrama Theory suggests that his psychopathology' reflects a lack of conscience and disregard toward helpless females since he did assault Davit's spouse. It would appear that Robinson was a delinquent, (records sealed,) and was placed on parole after a life Of youthful criminal behavior if not delinquent behavior. Another example of a criminal visualization is the national and sensational criminal case of the serial killer from the State of Indiana, Adrian Eden Van.This week Van pleaded not guilty though he confessed earlier to investigators killing prostitutes and disposing their lifeless bodies in abandon, run down houses in Gary, Indiana. Reportedly he admitted to the brutal murders of seven women. Many more women may have been sealed by Van. He is a former Marine who has a history of sexual assaults, victimizing women in the State of Texas and the State of Indiana. Investigators suspect many other jurisdictions ND municipalities are looking into their unsolved murder cases. Complex as these serial sexual homicides appear, investigations are at this time incomplete.State Police in Indiana and the Texas Rangers are sharing forensic data and trace evidence. In addition due to Van's comments about visiting the dead bodies of the women who were abandon in unoccupied houses, Federal Investigators are directing resources to assist local, county and State law enforcement to complete what wil l be an extremely lengthy and exhaustive criminal investigation. Adrian Eden Van was married sixteen years and had a biological son, (NBC News, 2014). Both spouse and son were never victimized by Van's penchant for violent, sadistic sexual behavior.Law enforcement officials from various jurisdictions are attempting to piece together Van's elusive past and apparent psychopathology history of disdain toward women, especially prostitutes and the disadvantaged. Perhaps no other case of extreme visualization in recent years parallels that of the brutal assault and battery of a young couple on the River Front, at Augusta, Georgia. The beatings were so severe that Kevin D. Richardson was charged with two counts of attempted murder. Robbery Moses, 21 and Kevin D. Richardson attacked two young people sitting on a bench on the River Walk near Fort Discovery, Augusta, Georgia.Richardson uses a metal baseball bat. Moss, his accomplice assisted without provocation. Both defendants, although sepa rated after the cruel behavior of visualization, were caught. Moss was apprehended in Newbury, SC. Richardson caught much later and appeared to have a criminal history. Richardson was reportedly involved in another assault in Downtown August the previous evening. The beating was so severe that Wesley Spires requires months of hospitalizing. He received broken hand and facial fractures requiring reconstructive surgery.Local business provided a ten thousand dollars reward for information and for the apprehension of these criminal suspects. River Walk Augusta at the Fort Discovery landing is a rather secluded poorly lit area on a sparsely travel or visited walkway on the Savannah River during evening hours. Police patrols are more recurring at the upper area on the River Front. Sergeant Evans' noted Problem Oriented Policing attempts to react proactively. Considering this brutal criminal behavior, proper lighting and cameras may have been an effective deterrent.Strategic location of ca meras along the River Front Augusta, Georgia, advertising camera locations and monitoring devices, as well as signage indicating routine police patrols may have abated, if not eliminated this criminal element, and social deviates from downtown Augusta, Georgia. This senseless criminal act of assault and battery with intent to cause serious injury indicates that criminals are impulsive and adept at finding opportunity preying on weak and at times the infirm. Curfews or area closings would be entirely appropriate within this area on the River Front t the Savannah Rivers edge.

The Grapes Of Wrath By Tom Joad Essay - 1004 Words

The Grapes of Wrath Although this book may a fiction work, it still hold a great deal of the mood of the 1930’s. The Americans of this time period were going through a huge economic depression. Most people were out of work and extremely poor. Food was scarce and homes were even harder to find. Many people lived in Hoovervilles made of tarp and tin. This book goes through the life of one family through their troubles. Although the family is made up, this would represent the untold struggles of thousands of American families. Tom Joad, recently released from prison makes his way back to his family. Along the way, Tom meets a man by the name Jim Casy. Jim is an ex-preacher, who now believes sacredness consists simply in endeavoring to be an equal among the people, instead of his teachings that all life was sacred. This just goes to show how living in complete poverty can change a man and his entire belief system. They set out to Tom’s home and find that everyone has been â€Å"tractored† off the land. This pretty much means the bank has come to collect money and all the families were too poor to afford to pay, so the bank took the land. The two travel to Tom’s uncle only to find the family packing up to move to California with the promise of fruit picking jobs. Everyone from the family is here at the uncle s house because their homes were also taken from them. The family heads out together toward California in hope to put their lives back on track and to earn a proper living.Show MoreRelatedGrapes of Wrath: Awakening of Tom Joad Essay630 Words   |  3 PagesGrapes of Wrath: Awakening Of Tom Joad Grapes of Wraith by John Steinbeck portrayed the awakening of a mans conscience dealing with his troubling trials throughout the novel. The character that goes through this monumental change is Tom Joad, son of two tenant farmers from Oklahoma. 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