Funny thing: this rampant immigration invasion, so long in the making, so badly mismanaged by our elected elites, is increasingly understood by many of our citizens, many of whom have bright ideas about how to solve it.

I talk daily to people who "get" the fact that our country is being given away through mass immigration. They regularly come up with interesting thoughts. That they "get" the fact that we have a crisis is perhaps the most encouraging sign that change is coming. As my late father-in-law often opined, "There is nothing so beautiful as the sight of an intellectual sunrise."

Recently, for example, I challenged a 68 year-old, well-educated retired male executive friend to give me his take. He still works full time, but this allows him to collect Social Security, which he proudly notes, "I have been contributing into for over 50 years".

Here in part is what he said:

"I still remember Nikita Khrushchev's statement of the early 60's:

 

'We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism. We do not have to invade the United States, we will destroy you from within.' [VDARE.com note: We can't show that Khrushchev actually said this—it's one of those urban legend things. We could, however, show that it has actually happened.]

 

"I believe that this scenario has come to pass for four major reasons:

 

1. Excessive, inefficient and arrogant government
2. Welfare that promotes unemployment and negative motivation for work
3. An inequitable and costly tax system
4. Illegal immigration."

Note that this well-informed voter apparently does not realize, as many Americans don't, that we have been importing over a million immigrants legally every single year, despite our current 8.8% official unemployment.

However, my friend lists these resulting cultural effects flowing from the above Big Four factors:

"1. The college educational system is infested with left wing progressives since the 1960s
2. Ghettos are worse now than in the 1950 and 1960's
3. More people are on the public dole
4. More government workers (1 of 5 when you include local, state, and Federal employees."

He argues that, notwithstanding recent histrionics in Wisconsin and elsewhere, these employees get obscene compensation packages and retirement benefits. He claims the Obama Administration has added 153,000 net new Federal employees.

He adds other cultural factors to his list:

"5. Rampant financial abuse and compensation by corporate leaders
6. Layers of middle management paid to comply with too many laws, raising business costs.
7. And a growing number of our young people brought up to feel entitled to bounty without work."

While my friend failed to mention the fact that our nation's population was 152 million in 1950 and has now reached twice that number—over 320 million, of which I estimate120 million are post-1965 immigrants and their offspring—his points mesh neatly with the fact of this rapid population growth. Our systems of education, transport, and all tax-supported services, have felt the pressure.

My friend, however, is not without some interesting, doubtless difficult, solutions. They include:

"1. Taxes: eliminate all forms of taxation except a consumption tax. Anyone buying anything pays the appropriate tax rate and only a popular vote can increase the rate. The Fair Tax means everyone pays, everything is taxable–no formulas, no exemptions, no administration beyond proving what your total income is."

I presume this mirrors the arguments of those advocating a flat tax, which would simplify greatly our hopelessly complex present system.

For immigration reform, his thoughts are again simple and practical. "Require biometric ID for all undocumented aliens, such ID's to be completed within a year".

Wow! That would require the 12 million-plus now here illegally to be found and put in the ID system.

As for the common practice of off-the-books illegal immigrant workers getting less than the legal minimum wage, he would enforce payment of that wage.

And as for welfare: "To collect, you must punch a time clock and work for the benefit calculated at less than minimum wage. This work force would replace existing over-paid government workers. Child care and skills training would be provided."

As for our out of control government spending: "Cut 25% of all budgets including the number of employees and eliminate all [public sector] union representation".

Then we come to a point of disagreement: My friend would issue illegals a 3 year work permit and a tax ID number, allowing illegals to apply for citizenship or to renew their work permits, after paying over 3 years a $5,000 fine. But, he adamantly says, they must be made to go to the back of the citizenship line (leaving the country?) behind those who went through the onerous process legally.

I think this is an amnesty—and amnesty of any kind is not acceptable, even if the Executive branch could be trusted to administer it.

But the main point is that we now have too much immigration, both legal and illegal, and we need to act on both fronts to reduce it ASAP.

Bottom line: many smart citizens understand the present situation cannot continue.

The elites currently in power aren't listening to new ideas. We plunge forward, importing two million legal and illegal aliens annually into our faltering economy, while pretending to step toward fiscal fitness with a nip at spending which will hardly pay for a month of the present war.

But those affected now include more and more American citizens every day! Let's begin to sift through their ideas for more golden nuggets for action.

Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.