The unintended consequences of deportation. A 40-cent bitcoin is now worth nearly $100,000. And Australia bans social media for under-16 year-olds.
Unintended Consequences of Deportation
Yes, immigrants who are here illegally should be sent back home. And Donald Trump, who campaigned on the issue, is evidently serious about doing so, especially with his appointment of hardliner Tom Homan as Border Czar in charge of deportation.
But the number of illegal immigrants is so high and they have been here so long that they occupy a significant niche in the labor force, one which may not easily be filled.
The farm industry is raising an alarm. Nearly half of the nation’s 2 million farm workers are here illegally. That doesn’t count the workers in the meatpacking industry, a huge number of whom are also undocumented. Industry spokesmen say that the labor problem can’t help but raise food prices dramatically.
The construction industry is also in a panic. Some 60% of Texas construction workers are reportedly illegal immigrants. One big contractor, speaking of mass deportations says, “It would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools. Housing would disappear.” Other businesses, such as landscaping companies and restaurants, are also heavily dependent on undocumented workers.
The theory is that without the illegal workers, there would be more jobs for American citizens. Wages would have to go up to attract them, which, yes, will send food and construction prices higher, but arguably for a good cause. But would Americans really take those jobs? Could they do them? How many pounds of fruit could a city slicker or a college student pick in an hour? Would they be willing to tie steel in a wet ditch under the hot sun, or would they rather hold out for a factory job or even go on welfare?
There is such a thing as the H-2A visa program, which allows seasonal workers to come into the country temporarily. Some 378,000 farm laborers have that certification, so that they are here legally (as long as they go back home when the visa expires). But the visa involves a lot of red tape and wage and housing requirements that many immigrants can’t qualify for. Or, rather, that their sponsoring employers can’t or won’t provide.
Do you have any ideas for how to solve this?
A 40-cent Bitcoin Is Now Worth Nearly $100,000
On November 22, bitcoin reached its highest value so far: $98,739. In 2010, at the debut of the cryptocurrency, you could get a bitcoin for 40 cents.
The first time anyone bought something with the cryptocurrency was on May 22 of that year, when a devotee spent 10,000 bitcoins, worth $40, to buy two pizzas from a Papa John’s in Jacksonville, Florida.
At the current exchange rate of $96,317.90, as of the last day of November 2024, the value of those 10,000 bitcoins would be nearly a billion dollars, $963, 179,000. That’s really expensive pizza. Unfortunately for the franchise holder, another early devotee took the bitcoins himself and paid for the pizza with a credit card. (The whole story is here.)
Maybe you bought a bitcoin back in 2010 as a joke and forgot you had it. You may want to cash that in.
Such an investment would not be in a tangible asset, such as precious metals, nor in the value of the goods and services produced by a company, but in. . .nothing! A bitcoin’s value is purely arbitrary, a matter of convention, based solely on supply and demand. The technology behind Bitcoin assures that ownership can always be determined (though without real names) and there can never be more than 21 million of them. Since the supply can’t go up, the price is based solely on demand. You can’t just generate more of them in the way the U.S. government just prints more dollars, sending their value down. (Yes, there is a whole industry of “mining bitcoin,” but there still can’t be more than 21 million, a number that won’t be reached until 2140. Right now, there are some 19.1 million in circulation.)
Australia Bans Social Media for Under-16 Year Olds
Australia has passed a measure that will ban social media for anyone under 16 years old. No more Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or Reddit.
If the social media companies cannot prevent minors from getting an account, they will be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million U.S.).
The Australian parliament passed the law overwhelmingly, 102 to 13, with support across the political spectrum.
It isn’t clear exactly how this will be done. An amendment to address adult privacy concern prevents the companies from requiring government-issued ID documents, such as passports, driver’s licenses, or a government-administrated digital identification. So how will the companies know how old their users are?
Critics say that preventing children from using social media will cut off some of them from the only friends and the only support group they have. Advocates of the ban say that cutting off access will protect children from online predators and bullies, plus make them go outside and play instead of spending so much time online.
Some American states, both blue and red, have passed various restrictions on social media for children. (Go here for the details.) The Kids Off Social Media Act is making the rounds in the U.S. Congress.
Why do I feel uneasy about this?
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