Guess I'll Have To Settle For A Gardener From Romania

While the economic "experts" and the talking heads on cable toss the merits (or lack thereof) of Obama's stimulus package around like a three-bean salad at a swingers mixer, one interesting fact has surfaced: illegal immigration is plummeting. Things are so bad, that the people who risked everything to get here are going back, or opting to not make the trip at all. While the economic benefits of illegal immigration have long been the pink elephant in the room, its downturn is one of the more startling indicators of tough times here. When the corrupt government and bullet-riddled streets of Mexico City look more promising than Corpus Christi, things are a tad askew. It also means even less demand here for housing, cars, Jesus candles, Gipsy Kings CDs, and just about everything else. It's a lot easier to decry the "scourge" of illegal immigration in flush times than when we need warm bodies spending money.

(Ironic footnote: among global currencies, the peso is up.)