The process would not have given him the opportunity in the first place. The Statue of Liberty may be asking for the tired, the hungry and the poor, but Uncle Sam wants the skilled, the rich and the White. The real reason why Mr. Zapeta can kiss his hard-earned money goodbye: This is not about due taxes, but economic power.
daft comparing a $49k blackmail attempt by us gvmnt to a car tax ticket? i think majority here agree he should face some penalty, but $49k and the way its being handed is indicative of a facist state not the "land of the free" ? our currency is twice yours and minimum wage is $5.50/£5.50 - wonder if any correlation?
Then perhaps the process is flawed, laws should be constantly re-evaluated and it usually takes media highlighted issues like this to start the review. So the guy didn't pay tax he should be treated like any one else, taxed, fined, locked up and let go having payed his debt to both the tax man and the society he appears to have wronged.
Maybe, maybe not, Whatever the case, I would have been in big trouble. Alhough I must confess to not being American or have ever lived/worked in America, so I don't know how strict tax evasion and embezzling is considered over there.
Give the man a cigar. Someone finally got it right. Instead of crying for the poor, lawbreaking, illegal immigrant, we should be looking at fixing the systems that created the situation. The immigration system is atrotious, with huge waiting lists and gaping holes that encourage people to bypass it. Border security is also terrible, allowing those who want to bypass legal immigration ways in. The legal system doesn't prosecute the businessess who hire illegals, providing them the means to survive once they get here. The Mexican economy is dependant on the money sent back by immigrants, legal and illegal, as evidenced by Nexxo's figures. But giving this lawbreaker a free pass solves nothing. In fact, it encourages more of the same behavior by setting a precedent of "If he got away with it and was fawned over by the American people, so can I."
Do keep up. Nobody is suggesting that this man is given a free pass. Everybody agrees that he should pay the taxes due and be fined/sentenced as appropriate. What people object to is that he is receiving a punishment that no US citizen would receive, had he committed the same offence (i.e. confiscation of all his money). Now as for law reviews, the solution is really rather simple: shut down every business that hires illegals. Nobody has any problems with taking all of Mr. Zapeta's cash of him, after all, so why not do the same to businesses? Once they get the message, they'll stop hiring illegal immigrants. Once they stop hiring them, there is much less incentive for illegal immigrants to come across the border: no demand, no supply. No increased border patrols needed, no worry about money going back to Mexico. Now ask yourself why that will never happen. It is easier to take some illiterate wetback for all his earnings, than to harm a business that will pay your next bribe political campaign.
All quoted for truth Partly it's that the cost of living is also quite a bit higher in the UK (but not 2x).
i havent posted on the forums in a very long time, (around a year) but this stupid argument has pis^^d me off really bad. All you stupid idiots saying he deserves the money being taken off him should really fix how you look at things in life, because atm in my opinion you &*&*&*&*& idiots. The guy has worked for 11 years WASHING DISHES and earnt $5000 dollars a year (there abouts) and you guys are saying he should have paid taxes blah blah blah. Do you even realise how much of taxes goes to countries the US has borrowed money from. Like others have said also, what education system has he used? what healthcare system has he used? he probablly didnt own a car. At most he's probablly used public transport. If you guys think a hard working person should have there money taken from them freely. Just because he didnt understand and follow a few rules deserve to get &^&^&^&*^&. put yourself in his shoes, why the **** would u pay taxes?
But he is not a citizen, therefore the logical argument is, should he recieve the same legal protections that citizens recieve. I say no. He should be humanely shipped back to his home country, and his possessions left at the discretion of the authorities. If they wish to be nice ce la vie. If not, that is part of the price for being a criminal. On the surface, yes that does seem fair. But what about the legal employees of the company? Once again, I agree that these companies need to be punished, and the punishment needs to be significant enough to actually deter the actions. A total shutdown ususually would create a massive ripple effect that would damage far too many people. Confiscating this guys money doen't have those same ramifications. Oh crud, this has gone on long enough we come to a point of agreement. Too many politictians (left and right) are in the back pockets of too many special interest groups to really effect change here. Facinating aside, the democrats are torn here between two of thier leash holders. The unions don't want all these illegals pushing down wages, benifts and union dues, and the open boarder crowd doesn't want anything in the way of as many people running back and forth. It seems all that union money isn't quite enough to convince the dems to try and change things.
So if you are not "One Of US", you have no rights? Did you vote for Bush, by any chance? So it is not about justice, it's about picking on the easy target. Don't blame the dems or the "special interest groups". This is cold hard Neo-Con policy driven by cold hard business interest.
I did not say no rights, I said not the same legal protections as a citizen. He has the right to be treated humanely, that's why I said humanely shipped back to his home country, not nailed in a crate and sent UPS. And yes I voted Bush. Note Tyinsar's article where the special interest groups, ACLU and labor unions, are blocking attempts to force the companies to get rid of thier illegal employees or face punishment. Where does that leave the don't blame special interest comment?
May I remind you that's exactly what he was trying to do when he was arrested. He was at the airport, with ticket in hand to go home when they got him. The going home is not the problem, it's the government trying to take away the money he earned before he goes home.
Sorry, you can't have one law for American citizens, and another for "outsiders". If he is expected to pay tax like a citizen, he is entitled to his (remaining) earnings like a citizen. Where does that leave your comment about Unions not wanting illegals to push down wages? Don't get destracted by the players --look at the act. It's all about protecting business interests, and that business thrives on the exploitation of illegals.
Why not? Just like AmEx, membership has it's privilages. Otherwise what's the point of citizenship? The litmus test for being taxed is not citizenship, it is working in the US. People on legal work visas are taxed are they not? Based on the report, I fail to see why the unions are complaining about this plan. I'll take the hit on that point, for the time being at least.
Since this thread seems to on it's way to Davey Jonse's Locker, I want to thank Nekko for an educational, entertaining, and civil debate before it went too far down. I learned a great deal, I hope everyone else did too, and I look forward to many more.
