Proposed Law Lets Some Buy Citizenship. Should Citizenship Only Be For The Rich?

By: Don Caldwell


How much should US citizenship cost?


Excerpts italicized:


The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S.


The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S.


Foreigners have accounted for a growing share of home purchases in South Florida, Southern California, Arizona and other hard-hit markets. Chinese and Canadian buyers, among others, are taking advantage not only of big declines in U.S. home prices and reduced competition from Americans but also of favorable foreign exchange rates.


To fuel this demand, the proposed measure would offer visas to any foreigner making cash investment of at least $500,000 on residential real-estate
The measure would complement existing visa programs that allow foreigners to enter the U.S. if they invest in new businesses that create jobs

This bill (with support from both parties) highlights (perhaps) how cheap we have turned the process of citizenship into.


Should citizenship be made available with those who have more money ahead of those who do not? An ordinary foreigner must go thought a long and perhaps expensive lottery process of trying to become a citizen of the United States. What does it say about a government who hands out visas to the highest bidder? Is it any worse if an immigration official helps someone get citizenship if they get an “under the table” bribe? Is such a practice less immoral if it becomes the policy of a nation?


Granted, the intent of this program is to spur the American economy, but isn’t it always? Are there not similarities between this and “grease payments” (aka bribes)?


Would it be okay for the United States to accept bribes?


Can we really call this the land of opportunity or the land of the connected?

(ORIGINAL LINK) Bill Would Give U.S. Visas to Foreign Home Buyers - WSJ.com