No drilling in my back yard!

Although my main residence is in Brentwood, I also have a weekend getaway on the beach in Malibu. The cool, fresh sea air invigorates my senses, and the view of the sunset clears my mind after a long week of investigating corruption in Washington and uncovering the malfeasances of the Bush administration.

However, if a new plan has its way my view might be blocked, and I and several of my friends intend to do something about it.

On Sunday, a small group of my neighbors gathered to protest the proposed building of an oil platform off my beloved, tranquil beach. This oil rig would pollute the seas from Point Mugu to Venice; it would be an unsightly menace; and, it would encourage even more gasoline consumption when what we should be doing is encouraging the use of electrical cars or personal wind farms.

Halle Berry - an Oscar winner - was there, as were Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke and Tea Leoni. Loretta Swit oversaw the catering for the event, and we had a wonderful pancake breakfast with elderberry jam, sourdough pancakes, soy sausages, and - for those not vegans or octo-intolerant, free range eggs. Afterwards, David Faustino on his blue board, and Daryl Hannah on her pink board surfed out to a wonderful prop that Ivana Trump and Nicole Ritchie had constructed meant to represent the evil oil drilling platform that the Republican forces want to construct.

Did I say "Republican forces"? Why, yes I believe I did. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has it within his power to stop this drilling plan, but so far he has not. While lately he's moved to the center in some ways, apparently he's only willing to go so far. (I intend to chat with Maria in an attempt to change his mind, and I'll report back.)

As it said on the prop in a wonderful reference to Arnold's famed character as well as our demands: "Terminate it!"

We shall see which side Arnold is truly on.

Posted by Ariadne to Ariadne at 10:05 PM

October 9, 2006

North Korea: the new Mexico?

Could North Korea be the new Mexico? Let me explain. Mexico is the foundry of our massive economic explosion and the source of all of our recent economic gains. The hard work of millions of Mexicans keeps our economy afloat, lowers consumer prices, and increase incomes across the board. However, that cure has led to its own disease: many Mexicans are now a bit "selective" about the jobs that they will take. Many have, for instance eschewed working in the fields for taking jobs in construction. Instead of threatening us with nuclear tests, could North Koreans take their place, keeping our economy growing and also reducing the nuke threat from that nation?

A couple years ago, my friend Michael Beatty had a wonderful idea: bring victims of the South Asia tsunami to the U.S. as guest workers. Those workers would then send a large portion of their income home. Not only would those Indonesians take jobs Americans don't want, they would also help rebuild their straggling society. Shortly after Beatty's proposal, CATO Institute analyst Will Wilkinson came up with a remarkably similar plan. Despite the support, unfortunately the plan never came to fruition.

Now is the time and the chance to finally show just how well this plan would work.

What we should do is make a deal with North Korea. Yes, I know getting our minds around the concept will be difficult, but it must be done. We can import hundreds of thousands of North Koreans - on a temporary basis - to do the jobs that Mexicans won't do: picking crops, cleaning highway rest stops, sorting offal at chicken processors, and so on. A people that are almost starving will accept almost any wage they can get, leading to lower prices for the American consumer. (And, of course, that means the American consumer will have more money to spend on other goods... market magic!)

Whatever they're paid, our North Korean guests will send a chunk of it home, helping increase the North Korean economy and introducing the people back home to the wonders of a consumer-based economy. Now, certainly, our guests' leaders will want to make sure that their citizens do not seek asylum here or that they are not shocked by American lifestyles. That's why we will encourage the use of North Koreans as monitors and supervisors for their people. Of course, most jobsites will be at remote locations and with dormitory housing and similar, so we can assure our friends in NK that this won't be an issue.

In summary, the threat from North Korea is real. But, it doesn't have to be a threat just so long as we let the market work its magic, resulting in a win-win for all concerned.

Jim Gillespie is a former assistant professor of comparative politics at Arcata Community College, a former web editor of Rational Magazine, and a former Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate. His thoughts are presented here only for balance, and do not represent the views of Huff And Blow.

Posted by Jim Gillespie to Jim Gillespie at 08:03 PM