Republicans never cease to simultaneously amuse and scare me with their ridiculous antics. Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois is the example for the moment. This shows the ignorance of said Congressman and how that lack of knowledge breeds outright stupidity. When talking about Mexico and the undocumented immigrants coming to the United States, it also makes him look like a xenophobic idiot.
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressman is pushing a not-so-quick fix in the debate over illegal immigrants from Mexico: free contraceptives.
"A slower rate of growth of Mexico's population would improve the economy of Mexico. It would also reduce the environmental pressure on Mexico's ecosystem. But a slower rate of growth would also reduce the long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders," reasoned Rep. Mark Kirk, who also supports stronger border security in the short-term.
In reality, fertility rates have plunged in Mexico since 1980, when an average couple would have five or more children. Now, the country's fertility rate has dropped to 2.5 children, compared to 2.1 for the United States, according to United Nations data.
So much for this London School of Economics grad (are you kidding me???) analyzing all the data before offering his 'wisdom'. Offering contraceptives to people is a good thing anywhere, but when the motive is to cut down on 'illegal immigration' the proposal smacks of racist xenophobia.
Thankfully Reuters includes a slice of reality for its readers in the third paragraph. If Kirk could take those massive blinders off his face he might be able to see that the flow of people into the United States has nothing to do with population and everything to do with economics. If there is more opportunity in Country A and you live in Country B where corruption and poverty is rampant, Country A might be a little more appealing.
Oh, not to let Reuters off the hook, but at the bottom of the little article they try to spin the story for Kirk. Their logic is that with his LSE degree, the proposal might be better accepted because its more fiscally prudent to ship condoms than build a big fence in the desert. Way to go Reuters, what would we do without that silver lining in the story.
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