Cities across the U.S. have been voicing concern over Arizona’s controversial immigrant policy, and several have even begun flexing some muscle. Boston, San Francisco and Oakland have all passed resolutions cutting contracts with Arizona and preventing future ones from being conducted until the law is repealed.
Los Angeles is the largest and most recent.
The proposal passed in the City of Angels will most likely affect about $8 million worth of current contracts with Arizona, mainly within the airport, harbor, and trucking industries. That being said, Los Angeles conducts about $58 million of business in contracts with Arizona, so that number could rise.
It isn’t the right move.
Though I agree with the notion that Arizona’s immigration law is unconstitutional and un-American, I do not believe boycotting states during an economic crisis is the most beneficial means to fight the law. Consider that though the boycott will definitely affect Arizona and may apply pressure to repeal the law, it will also negatively affect the cities implementing the boycotts, reducing trade and possible business ventures. The business of both states will be harmed by the boycotts, and the targets of the embargoes have nothing to do with the passed law.
First of all, it wasn’t businesses in Arizona that passed the bill. Arizona’s governor and state legislature passed it. So why punish people who had no real say in the matter anyway? In fact, I would venture that businesses in Arizona are probably inherently against the law because it will most likely cut down on the labor pool and is obviously negatively affecting business relations with other states and cities. Not only that, but it will hurt local businesses within the boycotting cities, who definitely had no say in the controversial law. In a sense, the boycotts have the potential to hurt local industries just as much as it will hurt Arizona.
The fact that the boycotts are coming just as we appear to slowly be crawling out of a recession makes it even worse timing. The businesses and corporations of our country need all the help they can get in order to promote growth and expansion, instead of large cities effectively banning interstate commerce with an entire state. While it might not plunge us into another recession, it will definitely have an impact on recovery and might stall or lessen the positive growth our economy has been showing over the past few months.
It is also important to ask, especially with the potential cost to local industries, how effective such a boycott would be. Eight million dollars in lost contracts is certainly a lot for a business (not to mention with the second largest city in our country), but to a state it is a relatively small amount. Granted, if many cities or entire states began boycotting Arizona, the effect would be much greater, but again, that is probably not the best course of action given the state of our fragile economy. Of course, businesses might lobby the Arizona state government to overturn the law if they are really struggling, but Arizona’s government appears fairly resolute.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said, “I find it really interesting that we have people out there that are attempting a boycott in favor of illegal actions in Arizona. That to me is just unbelievable.”
I honestly believe if she would have targeted the harmful effect the boycott will have on the economy, she would have garnered more of an audience, particularly because many top legal experts do not believe Arizona’s law is legal, making her statement somewhat unbelievable.
The Arizona law is without a doubt a mess. Something like it should never have been passed, and any state official who voted for it should not be in office. That includes Brewer. We should never elect officials who clearly seek to use fear as a rationale for stereotyping and oppression. That being said, cities around the country should not jump to irrational measures. Boycotts will hurt the economy, most likely will not have a large effect on the Arizona State government, and will impact individuals who had nothing to do with the law being passed. Do not punish citizens for the failures of their government.
Let’s wait and see how all of this plays out. Let’s give Arizonans a chance to redeem their state. We should see changes in the government. We should see lawsuits coming from within the state aimed at the law. There is no doubt it would be ruled unconstitutional. We should see protests and action taken by the people of Arizona to repeal this law. Only if none of these things happen should cities begin discussing boycotts. And honestly, if none of that happens, we will have a much larger problem on our hands.
If Arizona does not respond in the way it should, it will signal a terrible shift in the factors that make our country great. It will signal the end of freedom and the end of opening arms to people looking to achieve a dream.
Boycott the votes of the incumbent Arizona government come election time.
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