The Immigration Deal
December 21st, 2024 Barry Posted in Economic cartoons | No Comments »
I don’t have a cartoon syndicate and I’m not in newspapers. But I get to do this for a living because lots of readers support my Patreon with mostly small pledges! I also have prints and books for sale.
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels. They depict three people – a mother, father and their small daughter – carrying luggage and standing on a dirt road. Their path is being blocked by a large man wearing a floral shirt and an Uncle Sam hat.
PANEL 1
The woman, smiling, has stepped forward to talk to Uncle Sam.
WOMAN: Hi, America. We’re immigrants. The situation in our home country is so awful we’re forced to come live and work in the U.S…. Nearly all economists agree this benefits you a lot.
UNCLE SAM: Okay, lemme tell you the deal…
PANEL 2
Panel shows Uncle Sam grinning a bit manically.
UNCLE SAM: You’re gonna be hated so much! Major politicians will lie and say you increase crime, spread disease, even eat housepets!
PANEL 3
Uncle Sam, still grinning, waves his hands in the air.
UNCLE SAM: Despite all the ways you benefit me, you’ll be blamed for all my problems. Great deal for you, right? Now go find low-wage jobs.
PANEL 4
The father and mother look a bit peeved, and their daughter hides behind her dad, as Uncle Sam, not even looking at them, folds his arms and looks smug.
WOMAN (thought): I can’t believe this maniac is our best option.
UNCLE SAM: I’m waiting for my “thank you…”
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is an obsolete cartoonists’ term for unimportant details stuck into cartoons.
PANEL 1 – On the ground, a worm is pointing a tiny gun at a bird; the bird looks frightened.
Also, on the ground is a newspaper entitled “Daily Leopard.” The top headline reads “Yum! Five new face recipes!” The lower headline reads “Op-ed: Our spots are perfect and require no change.”
PANEL 2 – Krazy and Ignatz, from the classic comic strip Krazy Kat, are standing on a wall in the background. Graffiti on the same wall says “take the moment present as a present for the moment,” a quote from the musical Into The Woods.
Uncle Sam has a tattoo with a caricature of Adam Smith in a heart.
PANEL 4 – An evil bunny, glaring and smoking a cigarette, is on the ground. A smiling man is peeking out through a hole in the wall behind Uncle Sam.
