Our State Department Just Keeps Stumbling Along...

Each year, millions across the globe hope for a chance to win permanent residency in the U.S. by entering their names into the U.S. State Department’s Diversity Visa program, the official name of the so-called lottery.

The program is designed to bring immigrants into the U.S. from countries that have been historically underrepresented in terms of U.S. immigration, so nationals from countries with high immigration are not eligible to enter.

Among the countries not eligible this year are Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Haiti, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The 2014 lottery, which began Tuesday, allows natives of Guatemala to enter the lottery for the first time. Nearly eight million people applied to the Green Card lottery last year and just as many could enter this time.

Lottery entrants are vying for only 50,000 slots chosen randomly by a computer, as well as 5,000 more visas allocated by Congress to Nicaraguan nationals.
 

Common sense time...why in God's name are we going through with this "lottery" at this time?  We have way too many Americans on the public dole.  We have record numbers of unemployed, and our Goverment entitlement programs are stretched beyond their limit.  Adding 50,000 more people into the pot makes no sense, and it is unlikely that more than a handlful have any sort of gainful employment lined up upon receiving a green card. 

This makes no sense.   Then again, I don't understand the whole philosophy of diversity in the first place.  The lottery is called "The US State Department's Diversity Visa Program."  So, essentially, the State Department is categorizing people by the amount of melanin in their skin, the shape of their eyes, place of origin, or whatever.    I rather have a "lottery" program that only allows the applicant to qualify when sufficient verified documentation shows that they will be self-sufficient, and an added benefit to the United States, not a drag on its economy and lawfulness.