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# Hop in the jacuzzi for some hot topics
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/hop-in-the-jacuzzi-for-some-hot-topics/
- Published: 2007-05-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:45:32.000Z
- Author: David Pisarra
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

THERE ARE SEVERAL HOT TOPICS IN THE news these days, and whether we are discussing the territoriality of the dog parks or the likelihood of global thermonuclear war, everyone has an opinion. Personally, I am in favor of an open door policy on the dog parks, so long as they are properly licensed in their respective home cities and ‘fixed’ properly, but I also think that might not be such a bad idea for the people parks too.

As for global thermonuclear war, I’m against it, but there is really very little I can do about it other than, when I come across a crazed whacko with a thermonuclear device, turn him (or her) in to the authorities.

I love chatting with people. It is one of the reasons that I love going to my gym. Well, really, it’s the Jacuzzi I go for, and occasionally I do some laps in the pool. The reason I go for the Jacuzzi is the communal atmosphere that takes over. People get into conversations and we share all the various opinions, and bits of real and imagined facts on why the world works the way it does.

I have a membership at one of the local beach hotels. It makes for a nice environment and one of the main reasons that I like it is the people I meet. Instead of always seeing the same people, there is a constant flow of new blood. Yes, there are the regulars such as me and my crew on Thursday nights, but you also have tourists and people who are here on business to pique your interest and keep things interesting.

This past weekend, I was in the Jacuzzi and chatting with a guy who works for a major airplane manufacturer. He was in town for the past month and was sharing stories on how the airline industry was affected by 9/11 and how it is now being affected by the low dollar. Everything in the airline industry is done in the U.S. dollar, so when our dollar gets devalued, it makes companies like Airbus lose profitability.

He was an interesting guy to me, because when you are a business junkie like I am, you love to hear stories of how things are built and work, and more importantly, what does-n’t work. Having access to another point of view allows me to see the world more clearly sometimes. Plus, he had great stories about the factory that makes airplanes, and how it’s a production line that has 11 sets of airplane wings being built simultaneously. Just amazing!

Other times we get into political discussions, and those can be very illuminating when you have people from different cultures bringing their world knowledge to the conversation. There are the old standby discussions of Arab/Israeli, North/South Korea, the Muslim conflicts and the latest on the wars and how to “win” them.

Sometimes I get people who want to share with me their ideas on how to fix a problem, and you can tell that they have spent considerable time thinking about the issues and how to resolve them. This past weekend, a guy I met at the gym, Anthony, told me of his idea on how to “solve” the immigration problem.

In typical capitalist form, he pitched me the idea on allowing illegal immigrants the right to buy their way to citizenship. For a meager $15,000 per person, payable over 30 years at a low interest rate, a person becomes a U.S. citizen. They would have to regularly file their income taxes and generally be a good citizen. There is a bonus program attached to his idea, so if you turn in other illegals, you get a $250 credit towards your citizenship purchase.

He wanted to use the monies provided by these newly minted citizens to be to fund the building of the wall that separates the U.S. from Mexico, and with added enforcement and stricter controls we could regulate the numbers of immigrants better. The $250 bounty would of course motivate others to turn in illegals who have overstayed their time.

There would also be a ‘buy-in’ provision for an employer who was willing to fund the whole citizenship fee in one payment. I thought that this was a nice thought, for all those computer companies that are having trouble getting H1B visas for their engineers.

I’m not particularly fond of his proposal. It smacks of indentured servitude, and second class citizenry to me, but hey, it’s just one more of those interesting ideas you hear about, chatting with people.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051507.pdf?ref=smdp.com)