Among all the ridiculous measures our politicians are proposing to deal with the economic crisis, the following really stood out to me because of its sheer ridiculousness:

Two Senators have come up with a plan to boost the moribund U.S. housing market: Give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy a home in the U.S.

A report in The Wall Street Journal says Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) are preparing to introduce the idea as part of a larger package of immigration measures. The idea is to help make up for the lack of American buyers in the housing market, according to the report.

I can just imagine the joy that the Russian bandits will experience when they hear about this helpful policy. Until now, they’ve been hiding from the retribution for their crimes in London and Greece. How cool is it for them that now the US wants to open its doors hospitably to them? And how about all those drug overlords, mafia bosses, and corrupt politicians terrified that the justice system in their countries will catch up with them? This legislation will be a godsend for them because now they will be able to effectively buy themselves papers that will allow them to escape from justice in their countries. The influx of these criminals will do wonders for the United States.

A healthy alternative to this exercise in idiocy would be to distribute green cards to all people who completed their graduate degrees at US universities instead of kicking them out the second they graduate. Who needs all those smart high-earners, though? We can have criminals, mail order brides, lottery winners, and folks who managed to buy paperwork about how they have been religiously persecuted. Oh, this is so going to save the economy.

Do you think these senators are plain stupid, or are they being paid off by foreign criminals to promote this piece of legislation?

P.S. I just found a really wacky objection to this policy:

There’s an important caveat highlighted by Matt Yglesias: the housing visa doesn’t include a work visa. These new immigrants wouldn’t have the right to work here. Without jobs, what’s holding them here?

Yes, people who found a way to make half a million dollars in third world countries are really in a huge need of jobs. I can just imagine those criminals organizing their CVs and prepping for job interviews.

This is what happens when you project your own cultural hangups onto completely different cultures.