The Other Side

It is a well known fact that I am a Democrat. It is also pretty well known that I am passionate about things I believe in.


Stating that, let me make it clear I do not agree with all that the "democratic party" stands for. However, nor do I agree with even 10% of what the republican party stands for, and for heavens sake let's not even get into the whole christian conservative movement.

But I do need to voice my opinion on something that has been bugging the shit out of me lately.

My grandparent immigrated to this country from Canada in the early 1900's. Taj is an immigrant. I believe in the "American Dream" and have no problem with people from all walks of life coming into the United States trying to better their lives and the lives of their familes.

Where I have a problem is when you don't bother to follow the law when immigrating. There is a reason it is called Illegal Immigration. There is a reason you are referred to as an Illegal Immigrant. Do not carry a sign marching against the government stating you are not a criminal - because YOU ARE! Which part of ILLEGAL don't you understand?

The state of California is about to declare bankruptcy. State workers are being furloughed for two days per month without pay, because we are flat broke. Our state pays the highest income tax in the country, we pay the highest sales tax per capita in the country and yet we are flat fucking broke. It has gotten so bad that even our Republican representatives are thinking to raise taxes even higher than they already are. Republican representatives that SIGNED a pledge during their election to NOT raise taxes during their terms.

This has been a hot topic on a local radio show lately and they have even gone so far as to put said representatives heads on sticks.

Our teachers are paid generously (as they should be) and yet per student we are 25th in the country for spending. (Not 46th as the CTA would have you believe, but still 29th is not good either) Back about 12 years ago the state passed a proposition stating we would pay for education of illegal immigrant children on a don't ask don't tell basis. So if you as a legal citizen were to try to enroll your child in school but were missing a birth certificate you could not do so, you would have to jump through hoops and pay to have a new certificate and then enroll your child. But if an illiegal immigrant came to my window to enroll and didn't have ANY paperwork, I couldn't ask for anything and would have to just enroll anyways (I spent 10 years as an Elementary school secretary).

How much of our tax dollars are being used to support Illegal Immigrants? Via education, health care, welfare and other forms of government assistance?

According to George Skelton of the Capitol Journal in the LA TImes:

There were 2.8 million illegal immigrants living in California in 2006, the last year for which there are relatively good figures, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. That represented about 8% of the state's population and roughly a quarter of the nation's illegal immigrants. About 90% of California's illegal immigrants were from Latin America; 65% from Mexico.

* There are roughly 19,000 illegal immigrants in state prisons, representing 11% of all inmates. That's costing $970 million during the current fiscal year. The feds kick in a measly $111 million, leaving the state with an $859 million tab.

* Schools are the toughest to calculate. Administrators don't ask kids about citizenship status.

If you figure that the children of illegal immigrants attending K-12 schools approximates the proportion of illegal immigrants in the population, the bill currently comes to roughly $4 billion. Most is state money; some local property taxes.

* Illegal immigrants aren't entitled to welfare, called CalWORKs. But their citizen children are. Roughly 190,000 kids are receiving welfare checks that pass through their parents. The cost: about $500 million, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

Schwarzenegger has proposed removing these children from the welfare rolls after five years. It's part of a broader proposal to also boot off, after five years, the children of U.S. citizens who aren't meeting federal work requirements. There'd be a combined savings of $522 million.

* The state is spending $775 million on Medi-Cal healthcare for illegal immigrants, according to the legislative analyst. Of that, $642 million goes into direct benefits. Practically all the rest is paid to counties to administer the program. The feds generally match the state dollar-for-dollar on mandatory programs.

So-called emergency services are the biggest state cost: $536 million. Prenatal care is $59 million. Not counted in the overall total is the cost of baby delivery -- $108 million -- because the newborns aren't illegal immigrants.

The state also pays $47 million for programs that Washington does not require: Non-emergency care (breast and cervical cancer treatment), $25 million; long-term nursing home care, $19 million.

There also are other taxpayer costs -- especially through local governments -- but those are the biggies for the state. Add them all up and the state spends well over $5 billion a year on illegal immigrants and their families.

And don't tell me, "The Illegal Immigrants are willing to do the work the Americans are not." That is a crock of shit. Yes, they may be willing to do the work for an illegal sum of money. Yes they may be willing to work illegally under the table for cash. BUT WHY ARE WE LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH THAT! How many tax dollars is our government getting screwed out of because of companies paying illegal immigrants illegally?!

I am not proposing that we round up all the Illegal Immigrants and truck them down to the border. But I am proposing that we be more diligent in our spending on such. We need to crack down on employers that are circumventing the government and paying illegal immigrants under the table. Yes that includes the farms and the vineyards. Hire United States Citizens and pay them a fair wage and pay taxes and FICA and all those lovely little bits like everyone else is supposed to.

This is just one of the more bothersome pieces to my disagreement with the Democratic party. I havevented enough for today.