I have been watching the news about the “immigration problem.” If you chose to look at statistics, we have a falling population growth over the last couple of generations. People are not having children at the rate they used to for many reasons, which I will not go into here, today. I want to go a different direction, so stay with me.

The television news had a piece about more women entering the field of trucking than in the past, when it was male dominated. And why not, as the pay averages $100,000 a year. But even with this influx of female operators, the demand remains high. We need about 100,000 truck drivers right now to fill available positions currently. Let me insert that every major trucking firm, every technical school and some four-year colleges offer truck driving courses that will end with the person having the CDL certificate they need to take these jobs.

What we do not have is enough people. We seem to need immigration, like every other developed country right now. Lucky for us, we have lots of prospective applicants at our borders. Unluckily they are just there, waiting for something to happen.

This seems to me a bit shortsighted. Why are we not doing what is necessary to bring some of those folks in and putting them on the road to citizenship and, in this case, on the road in a truck as well?

I know why many members of Congress are dragging their feet or in some cases plain planting their feet in opposition to this idea: The people waiting at the “gate” might not vote for their party. So, nothing has been done since 1986 to correct this. Amazing.

I believe the members of Congress have been cashing their paychecks since 1986. Could it be time to earn their pay? Time to fulfill the promises they made when running about making this country work?

Most of us come from people who immigrated. Many groups faced adversity when they came in but over time we all blended together. This group will blend as well.

But let’s get down to dollars and cents. If these immigrants are “legal,” they will be paying taxes and putting money in their Social Security accounts. They will be moving things that needs to be moved and doing a job that needs to be done.

I really don’t have to keep beating this drum to gain your understanding, do I?

I will close with one more thought. I only mentioned truck driving. How many “Now Hiring” signs have you seen lately? I hope the light is starting to shine at least for some of you. Have a nice summer. I hope you don’t have to wait too long for the package you are looking for.