Nannies made the news in North County last week, on this page and in local theaters. An editorial suggested that state lawmakers, minions of a nanny state, may be plotting to take away our favorite toys, beginning with plastic grocery bags. Meanwhile, a nanny named McPhee tamed unruly kids on the area's big screens.
We're happy to see fictional caregivers like Nanny McPhee and Mary Poppins take firm control of our kids. They do the right thing in ways that are not always the most popular at the outset with either kids or parents. Kind of like nanny states.
A closer look reveals how nanny states vary according to the politics of those who complain about them. Nannies who want to regulate our behavior in the bedroom, for example, are not usually the ones who want to regulate it in the boardroom. It seems the definition of "nanny state" lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Take, for example, 50th District Representative and immigration nanny Brian Bilbray (R-Solana Beach). He wants to save us from immigrants. Not just the ones who sneak in. Bilbray chairs the Immigration Reform Caucus, which he calls "bipartisan" because the 96 member committee includes four Democrats, one of whom hails from north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The caucus was established in 1999 to "address both the positive and negative consequences of immigration." But a search of its website reveals it's all about closing doors. A more accurate name for it would be the Anti-Immigration Caucus.
The only legislation proposed by the group that doesn't target illegal immigrants would keep legal immigrants away. Bilbray's committee boasts that H.R. 878, The Nuclear Family Priority Act, could reduce legal immigration by as much as 50 percent.
They don't say it would also put us at a disadvantage in competing for scientific and technical talent in a global marketplace. Fortunately, the bill was relegated to a subcommittee a year and a half ago, where it's dying a quiet death.
In a recent Fox News interview, Bilbray explained why he wants to redefine birthright citizenship. American Indians, he observed, weren't originally recognized as citizens by the 14th Amendment because they were not deemed "subject to" U.S. jurisdiction. It wasn't until 1920 that Congress made them citizens. In a breathtaking leap of logic, Bilbray asked why pregnant millionaires from other countries, residing here legally on temporary visas, should be allowed to give birth to instant citizens.
You'd think a flood of wealthy immigrant babies would be good news for the economy.
The congressman should be reminded of the lady holding a torch aloft in New York Harbor. That nanny has served us pretty well over the years.
No comments:
Post a Comment