You knew where this editorial was headed from the headline, 'Scapegoating Immigrants,' and if there was any doubt, when a few short paras in the editorial referred to 'undocumented workers' rather than illegal immigrants, you could have stopped right there. For that matter, you might have saved yourself the time when you picked up the paper, or opened to the web site, and noticed that it read 'The Boston Globe' at the top.
But for my sins, I persevered, and was treated to a classic bit of blame-Americanism. First, those sanctimonious souls of the Globe's editorial board accused their fellow Americans of racism:
"Mix anti-immigrant sentiment and overinflated rhetoric about terrorists, and false images emerge of white America being overrun by brown-skinned criminals."
The Globe was willing to acknowledge that "contractors and carpenters do make a legitimate argument that they are undercut by competitors who can make low bids because they underpay undocumented workers." So what's the solution? Punish employers who hire illegals? Nope. The Globe, observing that the town of Sandwich is considering a local ordinance to do just that, calls it "a factual and tactical mistake."
So just what is the Globe's solution? To pay the illegals more, of course: "The solution is not to demonize the workers but to aggressively enforce wage and hours laws." Great way to discourage illegal immigration - raise the pay of people who manage to sneak into the country.
Amusing aside: Having covered two of its bases - 1. accuse Americans of racism - check; and 2. stand up for illegals - check, the Globe somehow managed to throw in a gratuitous bit of a third theme popular among liberals: class warfare. Grumbled the Globe: "Another problem: The rich are getting richer faster."
That's right, folks. There's only so much money in the world. When the Bill Gates - on a grand scale - or Joe the small businessman - on a more modest one - do well for themselves, they aren't providing any useful goods or services for anyone else or creating any jobs. All they're doing is taking money out of other people's pockets. And that's "a problem."
