Boycott Watch  
                             
April 29, 2010
 
Boycott Watch: Arizona Boycott is bad for America
 
Summary: Boycott sets dangerous precedent - violates sovereignty, Sets up war between states.
 
   Arizona made headlines this week with a new law giving police officers in the state the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. There had been lots of hype about what the law allows and does not allow, which is not our primary concern. Boycott Watch is analyzing the boycott calls.

   The first boycott calls came from Arizona residents who claimed they would boycott their own state. That is impossible since you cannot boycott the state you live in. Boycotts mean refusal to do business with, so purchasing food, going to work, paying taxes including sales tax, gasoline tax and income tax makes that boycott technically impossible for a resident of a state.

   The second boycott was from a state representative who wanted people to boycott his own state. That is rather silly since the elected official was acting contrary to the needs of his own state, and for that matter his own job since he should be promoting his own state. While that boycott is technically possible since he asked people outside of Arizona not to do business with Arizona, he was essentially telling people to harm him personally. Boycott Watch believes this is the first masochist boycott.

   The third boycott is interesting. Los Angeles city council member Tony Cardenas (D) is seeking an official boycott of Arizona products in his city government. Before we can analyze this, we have to get past some of the hype and dispel some rumors. First, there is no roundup of anyone. Second, the law does not allow police officers to just ask anyone for identification as there needs to be a preceding legal event. Third, possession of a valid driver license is enough to establish legal residency according to the law, therefore ending further action under the law.

   Boycott Watch believes this boycott is dangerous from a national standpoint. This boycott call means one government entity is telling another government entity what to do despite the voters and legislators say.

   Council member Tony Cardenas feels that is he does not like what the people of another state want, and will force the will of his states electorate on another state. Such a boycott can result in vicious state to state warfare, a concept which can potentially destabilize the fabric which holds this great nation together. It sets a very dangerous precedent of which nobody can predict the outcome of. Boycott Watch strongly urges governmental agencies not to engage in such activities.

   From a consumer standpoint, people may choose to not continue to conduct business with companies in Arizona, but since American consumers do not think of which state to specifically buy from. American consumers do not think of American products as being state issues. Political boycotts, which this falls into the category of, always have counter campaign to purchase goods, usually equalizing the boycott campaign. In this case, Boycott Watch believes the Arizona boycott will have some affect on the states economy related to goods and services. Tourism, however, will be different. Some people will visit Arizona in support of their law therefore negating the affect of any tourism boycott.

   On the social level, Boycott Watch sees three different issues. First, we believe that Mexicans will not be the only target of the law. There are many Israelis, for example, who have overstayed their visas and they too will face deportation under the new law. Second, many of the people who will face deportation have real property and will therefore have a difficult time disposing of if they are not able to tend to their own property in person, be it a business or household goods. Third and most importantly, many of the illegal aliens will flee to other states, competing for the same day work as other illegal aliens.

   Boycott Watch believes about half of the illegal aliens will head to Los Angeles which will further exasperate the California debt with has already pushed that state past the breaking point because of illegal aliens. Other border states are concerned that they will end up with the overflow. Arizona's issues with illegal aliens are therefore a national issue.

   All politics aside, the real problem is that the Mexican economy has failed and the U.S. government, across several administrations, both Republican and Democrat, has failed to deal with the issues at hand. We have come to the point where Arizona feels it has been forced to react to protect itself from a federal problem and now Washington is blaming Arizona. Federal laws exist to handle the issue, but they are not being enforced. The result is Americans are starting to boycott each other and that is what has Boycott Watch worried. The real solution is for the federal government to step in and crack down on the illegal immigration which is hurting Arizona and other states.

   This is not the first time California has initiated boycotts because they do not like what the voters say. Boycott Watch reported the San Francisco boycotts against businesses which supported a law stating marriage was between one man and one woman, which we called a boycott to intimidate voters. We see the same thing here, only across state lines which makes it worse.

   Boycott Watch sees this boycott call as the second stage of a dangerous slippery slope where boycotts are used to intimidate voters and we are concerned about the damage it can cause to this great nation. America does not need state to state boycotts, which would be state to state economic warfare. The last time that happened, Abraham Lincoln was President. .
 
 
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