Think, think, think.

Greg sent a link to an article by Nathan Smith: Don't Restrict Immigration, Tax It, noting that Smith seems to be calling for a form of indentured servitude, which I'm all for. Servitude is what gets you tips. What's a guy gotta do to get a little servitude around here?

Anyway, I skimmed the article, mustered the bare minimum number of brain cells, and fired off a reply.

Wonks. Nothing's too complicated to work in their world. In the real world, unfortunately, you have transaction costs and administrative overhead.

I don't have the energy to think very hard about immigration, but if I did, I think I'd start with Derb's observation that they're cheap because they're illegal. Step one: make them legal, withhold taxes, social security, provide health insurance, workman's comp, and unemployment benefits, the whole HR package. Step two: they're no longer cheap, so there's no obvious benefit to hiring them. Step three: they wander off looking for work in a less civilized country, like maybe Canada.

I don't have the energy to think this through, though. That's why I delegated the job to Bush.

Think, George. Think, think, think.