Racists seem obsessed by the idea that illegal workers - the hardest-working, poorest people in America - are somehow getting away with something, sneaking goodies that should be for Americans. You can always avoid this problem by having no social services. This is the refreshing Texas model, and it works a treat.
Interpretation
The quote critiques the perception that undocumented workers exploit social services, emphasizing their hard work and contribution.
Molly Ivins highlights a common misconception that illegal workers are taking advantage of social systems in America. She argues that these workers are some of the most industrious and impoverished individuals, and suggests that a society without social services would alleviate the perceived issues surrounding illegal immigration, pointing to Texas as an example of a model that functions effectively without them.
In practice
In a discussion about immigration policies at a community meeting.
Populism is the simple premise that markets need to be restrained by society and by a democratic political system. We are not socialists or communists, we are proponents of regulated capitalism and, I might add, people who have read American history.
We should all laugh more at our elected officials - it's good for us and good for them.
Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts.
Imagine wasting all that perfectly good anger on paranoid fantasies. Not since Emily Litella got upset about "Soviet jewelry" has there been such a waste of anger. You will notice a certain theme to these Emily Litella Moments. Behind them all is a touching faith that someone, somewhere is actually in charge of what's happening - a proposition I beg leave to doubt.
All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. As long as you don't think about what that peculiar body should be doing and what it actually is doing to the quality of life in Texas, then it's all marvelous fun.
I really do think we're going through a period of concentration of ownership of media, and we're starting to see the effects at the editorial level, and it's all bad. This increased pressure for profits every quarter, smaller news hole, less coverage of important stuff - the extent that it's become one giant infotainment industry.
Feminists must denounce the use of white insecurity - whether in relation to white womanhood, white neighborhoods, white politics, or white wealth - to justify the brutal assaults against black people of all genders.
The people who serve your fast food lunch or your after-work drinks deserve dignity - and if big companies don't start paying them enough for a decent standard of living, they have the power to close these businesses. But no one goes on strike lightly.
I'm sick and tired of black and white people of good intent giving aspirin to a society that is dying of a cancerous disease.
When you look at the wealth gap - the racial wealth gap - all of that is very much connected to housing.
I've always been bothered by systems that don't work for everybody. It doesn't mean we're all equal. I am not naive about that. But we should have a more inclusive society.
If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not for a lack of resources. It will be a lack of something else.
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