HOW AM I BETTER OFF?

It is a standard question, often dominating political discourse, only taking a rear seat when
international escapades and domestic corruption are the front-page stories.

In any case, the question occurred to me when I saw ICE forcibly apprehend the guy who had
recently done my roof. Carlos had fixed the roofs for many in the area, for quite a few years in
fact. He and his wife and their two children lived in the town a few miles away.

When Carlos was at least temporarily removed from his American life, multiple immigrant
advocacy groups quickly attempted to provide assistance.

But I confess, when these people talk about the Constitution or the inscription on the Statue of Liberty or the generalized concept of human rights, it’s difficult for me to stay focused.

I like to keep things simple. If the removal of Carlos and so many other immigrants is to be
considered appropriate, should not I benefit?

So I decided to sort through some possible ways this could be true.

*will I feel safer? The crime rate for immigrants is no higher than for the rest of us.
*will my aging parents receive better at-home health care? This seems doubtful given the
number of immigrants who provide those services.
*will my grocery bill decline? With the importance of immigrants to the California agricultural industry, the opposite is more likely.

*will my doctor remain on my case? I should check his complete background, including his visa.
*will my favorite restaurant still be in existence? Kitchens and immigrants go together.
*will my kids’ schools be improved? I suppose fewer ESL students could make teaching easier.
*will there be more roofing business for residents? They do not seem to want hot, dangerous
jobs.
*will driving become safer? There is no data to support a claim in either direction.
*will my taxes go down? I am consistently doubtful that this ever happens.
*will my insurance rates be reduced? There is no chance this occurs.

*will the skyrocketing rate of financial scams, something my mom and dad worry about, be cut with the roofer and his compatriots no longer around? This is hard to imagine.

Sometimes, aided by a legal beverage or two, I do think a touch more broadly:

*will the country grow faster? Since the classic growth formula starts with population, fewer
people equals slower growth.
*occasionally, a complex issue will pop into my head; for example, will the ICE apprehensions help the country to reduce its inequality? That’s way beyond my bandwidth, but I don’t see how it would.
*everybody talks about our polarization. I get it; when I asked a neighbor to have a couple of
beers and talk about whatever, he turned me down. Perhaps he disapproved of my roofer
selection. But if Carlos is deported, does my neighbor actually feel better about his own life?

*will political corruption go down? I am not holding my breath.
*will the welfare system be less burdened? The system is a mess, period. Professors can
debate when any person is a financial negative to the country and when they become a positive.

Undoubtedly there are other issues, e.g. global warming, which did not make it onto my list.
And I suppose that some of the observations above could be open to debate, but

TELL ME AGAIN: HOW AM I BETTER OFF?

Creative writing by Bob Howitt 07/26/ 26