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Hi folks.... There is one very important reason the metro area is a magnet for refugees...Volags or voluntary agencies. Volags like Lutheran Social Services bid on the number of refugees they can resettle in an area. The various volags will then be sent the refugees and work with them to find housing, health care and income. The federal government provides federal dollars for the initial resettlement costs for the refugees. It used to be 36 months of support, now, I think it is 18 months. This refers to REFUGEES not immigrants. Minnesota had the largest number of immigrants come into the state last year since the mid-1970's. Most of these were for family reunification. These immigrants, unlike refugees, do not have the federal support. The sponsor for the immigrant has those responsibilities for housing, health care, and income. The Hmong who will be coming here this summer will be coming as refugees and will have the support of the volags and the federal government. Now why Minnesota? We have a rich history of welcoming refugees to our community. The very first international refugees were some French who had to abandon a settlement in Canada and came to Fort Snelling for refuge. Wave after wave of our ancestors came to this area and we have become well-known for our ability to accept each wave of these now citizens. The richness of our heritage far outweighs the cold and snow of our climate! Rob Fulton Highland Park -----Original Message----- From: Paul Kuettel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 12:13 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [StPaul] Back to St Paul St. Paul E-Democracy Links http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/links.html _____________________________________________ Hi All! I have been overwhelmed at how the Walmart thread has re-energized this list....or is it just that everyone is on Christmas Vacation with time on their hands? The various rational and irrational takes on economics have been very interesting,, but we have strayed far from the scope of the list. I suggest that we have beaten the general topic of capitalism to death. Let us return to the original thread of the pros and cons of Walmart locating in Midway Marketplace, specifically, and in St Paul, generally. My position is that jobs is jobs. Take 'em or leave 'em. We have experienced a great influx of immigrants over the past decade, which had grown exponentially as more come and reproduce. Betty McCollum promises to put an upword spike on those stats next year. I wondered back in a political debate in '94 why disparate cultures from the mountains of Laos to the deserts of Somalia would be attracted to such a radically different climate (weather, political, social, religious, you name it). The glass-half full people responded that it is for education, jobs, opportunity in general. The half-empties used terms like "welfare magnet." I think both groups are correct to some extent. In '94 I was more in tune with the half-empties, but seeing the success of many of our new neighbors has softened my stance. To be sure, we ARE a welfare magnet, but kudos to those who have quickly worked their way out of it. Should an EVILLLL corporation like Walmart be allowed to fill a vacant retail space and compete with nearby Target, providing value for the dollar and entry-level jobs for hundreds of St Paulites, or should we simply pay more property tax to Ramsey County for social services in order to keep the Midway Center/Marketplace/Target complex so very upscale and pristine? ;-) Builder's Square, Ikea, Walmart, Menards, etc. I say, Bring 'em ON! As Nahm used to say, "Gud fuh Saint Pawhl." Cheers and Happy New Year! PK St Paul born and bred, now keeping an eye on "my" city from my aerie in Falcon Heights, home of the Raptor Center. _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
