Obama seeking amnesty for illegals - local impact? (Scranton, Hazleton: health insurance, how much)

[scrantonluna]

Well I suppose we should have guessed it -

Obama: Legalize illegals to get them health care - Washington Times

How much of an impact do you think this will have
locally? With a growing immigrant population and
growing medical care facilities and now a new
medical school taking shape, I suppose you could
say that NEPA has various vested interests in this
ongoing topic. Could this be a GOOD thing for NEPA?

Thoughts?

[scrantonluna]

Don't forget, we also have a large number of local people employed
by health insurance companies.

[returningtonepa???]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Well I suppose we should have guessed it -

Obama: Legalize illegals to get them health care - Washington Times

How much of an impact do you think this will have
locally? With a growing immigrant population and
growing medical care facilities and now a new
medical school taking shape, I suppose you could
say that NEPA has various vested interests in this
ongoing topic. Could this be a GOOD thing for NEPA?

Thoughts?

do not worry nepa probably has the least amount of illegals! esp. compared to the southern and western U.S.

[Bo]

Some posts above were deleted. This is a good opportunity for a reminder of City-Data's TOS as it applies to local forums.

All posts unrelated to local matters will be deleted or moved.

The only way this topic can be on topic in this forum is if it focuses on the local effect. The posts that remain above are on topic.

[PeeAye Native]

Even though he's not currently running for any office, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta will certainly get some traction out of it.

[scrantonluna]

I think Lou's problem was two fold - he was running against a well liked incumbant
and he was from Luzerne Co.

Now, things may get interesting. Corey O'Brien has filed the necessary paperwork
to challenge Kanjo and will most likely run. In the wind though is the thought that
Kanjo will opt to retire and not seek re-election. This means that Lou might have
a shot in an incumbant-free race.

Carney has been doing well despite the fact he is in a overwhelmingly Republican
district, and has beaten challengers with hefty wallets and even heftier party support.
You may see Republican interest groups swing their cash and campaign workers over
to Lou instead.

Further clouding the subject are other issues; O'Brien has had only two years in office
with essentially no budget surplus to work magic off of. He has brought in some
supporters, but very few, fewer than I might imagine he will need to keep a ground swell
going. The country as a whole seems to be in a sharp divide politically, but things are
leaning more and more to the right. Should this trend continue, any Democrat will be
several points down before the first button or button sticker is handed out, with the
exception of flukes like Carney, one of the 'blue dog' Democrats, who can balance the
needs of his district enough to keep gaining votes on both sides of the fence.

O'Brien should be careful that his ambitions against Kanjo do not sour voters who have,
time and again, favored the long standing congressman. A lack of respect is going to
equal a lack of supporters. If Kanjo is indeed going to drop out in the 11th hour, O'Brien
needs to play the game and wait it out. Essentially, he needs another challenger in the
mix to bash to avoid taking lumps from being critical of Kanjo.

Lou, on the other hand, could potentially capitalize on the conservative surge occuring
and minimize his immigrant stance to seem more fairly balanced and compassionate.
He also needs to make Lackawanna County aware of what support he intends to devote
to his constituents should he be elected. I don't know if he has been attending these
tea parties and the like that have been going on for several months now, but if he has
any ambitions, he needs to get out there and gain supporters on more than one (divisive)
issue.

A head-to-head between Kanjo and O'Brien would seem to be wash, boiling down to how
dirty each campaign wasts to get, and the last message that the voter hears before walking
into the voting booth. O'Brien will have to work hard in Luzerne and try to pick up neglected
segments. Kanjo seems to have a lock with seniors but will have to maintain a relationship
with younger voters in order to seal the deal.

Just a voter's viewpoint.

[Trucker7]

I think this will cause a new wave of illegals to arrive and a lot of them will make their way to NEPA. More votes for Democrats since most criminals tend to vote Democrat.

[SteelCityRising]

Kanjorski is "well-liked?" What has he done to stop the "Brain Drain" lately?

[scrantonluna]

Paul, you're one of maybe five people who use that term, and one
of maybe three who care about it in terms of political candidates.

Have you walked around the downtown lately? Driven through any of
the Scranton neighborhoods? We're draining our own brains if you ask me.

While we do have several learning institutions locally, I just don't think
there are enough resident graduates, relocating after or otherwise, to
pull in big firms.

Sadly, the youth population today is more concerned with killing each other
and listenting to rap 'artists' than getting a degree. So yes, we have stopped
the 'brain drain,' but now there are no brains to send out or to return; it's a just
a sewage back up.

"Scranton Tomorrow ?"

[scrantonluna]

I should also mention, to be fair, the new medical college. Eventually,
this new venture will probably divide the city much like Temple
University - beautiful campus and a fine learning institution with the
ghetto less than 50 feet in all directions.

I don't care how many cops you put on the streets, society itself
is really taking a downturn, and we're all along for the ride.