How much would you pay for U.S. Citizenship?

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

Times are tough, we all know this.

The President is trying to pass a healthcare reform bill, businesses are going under left and right, and we still haven’t seen the worst unemployment figures. All while our children are subject to ever-worsening educational conditions and the scholars of our era are beginning to wonder if America will have the brainpower to innovate our way out of this slump.

The United States needs to get its groove back, get a little excitement on, maybe raise a little spending cash. How about we sell U.S. Citizenship?

C’mon, this is not blasphemy (ok, maybe a little).

You can say whatever you want about the United States’ economic woes, but we still have the number one economy in the world, clocking in at about 14 TRILLION dollars in Gross Domestic Product – over triple that of the number two country, Japan. Not too shabby.

To put it differently, you may not be getting yourself a BMW for Christmas but you can go out, right now, and buy yourself a burger and a Coke at McDonald’s for about two bucks, have access to 7 zillion books, movies, and music albums for free at your public library, and get treated for a broken skull at your local hospital whether you have insurance or not.

People all over the world know this and want to come to this country but can’t get in because the "line" to get into this country is – for all intents and purposes – fiction.

So while politicians and the community activists gnash their teeth about border patrols, "letting poverty in," and the "stealing" of U.S. jobs by both low-wage farm workers and high-tech computer experts, why don’t we create a special visa to let people pay their way in?

Never mind the $2,000 bucks or so that U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services charges the hardy souls who live long enough to make it through their maze of red tape, let’s talk about some real cold, hard, cash.

For example, in late June, the Associated Press put a story out of Arizona on its wire about Tucson Medical Center which markets posh medical packages to wealthy pregnant Mexican women who arrive in the U.S. shortly before their due dates to deliver healthy, bouncing U.S. Citizens.

The cost? Ridiculously paltry: "$2,300 for a vaginal birth with a two-day stay and $4,600 for a Caesarean section and a four-day stay, assuming no complications. That includes exams for the newborn and a massage for the new mother. There is a $500 surcharge per additional child," the Sierra Vista Herald story says.

C’mon, we can do better than that, right?

How much do you think Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu would put out for U.S. Citizenship? What about Swedish billionaire Ingvar Kamprad or the Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud? I bet they’d each waive the Customs hassle at JFK or O’Hare Airports for life for a cool million.

Alright, how about for a "regular" person - the cost of the average U.S. home? The cost of a Harvard education? Could our fine financial institutions give out mortgage-like loans to the horde of idealistic, English-fluent, hardworking foreigners who’d be willing to pay off a Citizenship debt for the rest of their American lives?

So how about it? How much is U.S. Citizenship worth – or better yet, for you true patriots out there – how much would YOU pay for your American birthright?

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Comments

Babies are beautiful, are very happy people are nice.
why people give the babies up for adoption if they are not to blame for the mistakes of older people.