HIDDEN COSTS OF IMMIGRATION

An adjunct fellow of the Manhattan Institute has compiled some of the most comprehensive research on how immigrants and illegal immigrants are really affecting America. Here are some of the lowlights.

American taxpayers are coughing up more than $9,000 a year in cash or benefits to each immigrant this country. One third (and I think this number is low) of those immigrants are illegal. So there are 37 million criminal immigrants in the United States. This means that the national cost of immigrants and illegal immigrants in this country last year was more than $346 billion – twice the fiscal deficit. The author of the research, Edwin S. Rubenstein, says this is because "Immigrants are poorer, pay less tax and are more likely to receive public benefits than natives." Wow. I'll alert the media.

When it comes to the financial burden on our government schools, 3.8 million immigrants – I'm guessing the majority are illegal -- are enrolled in the most expensive government classes – non-English speaking. They are the most expensive because they require schools to hire specialized teachers, to train those teachers, and absorb the administrative costs. It is estimated that $1,030 is spent on each immigrant or illegal in government schools ... that's about $3.9 billion.

Want more on that government education you are so in love with? Of the 48.4 million government school children in this country, 19% are immigrants or children of immigrants. But get this, in the next few years, immigration will account for virtually all increases in government school spending.

So how about all of those criminal aliens sitting in US jails? It costs US taxpayers $1.5 billion to incarcerate 267,000 criminal aliens in federal prison for a year. Even worse, since prisons are overcrowded, 80,000 to 100,000 criminal aliens have been prematurely released back onto the streets. These criminals impose heavy costs on their victims. The research estimates that the loss of income and property, hospital bills and emotion suffering at the hands of immigrants and illegal totals $1.6 million per victim.

Many people will try and tell you that immigrant households don't receive government benefits ... not so. Almost 25% of immigrant households receive Medicaid. Compare that number to the number of native-born Americans that receive Medicaid – 14.8%. Hispanics account for 19.2% of Medicaid enrollment, even though they are only 13.7% of the population.

And here's something that few people will talk about – immigrant workers actually depress the wages received by native-born Americans. This causes a $100 billion shortfall in federal tax revenue. If the labor force from immigration increases by 10%, this reduces the wages of native-born Americans by over 5%.

Lovely, don't you think? Yet we can't get the politicians in Washington to do anything really meaningful about the invasion.

I JUST WANT MY EQUAL PAY

This week in the Senate, Democrats (specifically Teddy Kennedy) are worried about "equal pay for equal work." The Senate is scheduled to take on a measure stemming from a case where an Alabama woman lost a wage discrimination suit at the Supreme Court. Ted Kennedy wants to overturn the court's ruling that the Alabama woman failed to file a timely challenge to pay practices at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber plan where she worked. The House has already passed a similar bill, but some Senators and the Bush administration say that the measure would spark a wave of lawsuits. No kidding ... you think? Apparently some Republicans in the Senate have reservations about the measure, but they are trying to be careful because they don't want to be painted as "backing pay discrimination."

And why do you think this is such a big deal for Democrats. Two words. Trial lawyers. Well, actually three words. Trial lawyer donations.

HAMAS 'ACCEPTS' ISRAEL AS A NEIGHBOR

Will Israel and the Palestinians ever live together in peace? No, the Palestinians won't be happy unless Israel is pushed out of the middle east Yes, I think they will eventually come to an agreement Maybe an agreement can be made with the Palestinian Authority, but Hamas will never allow Israel to remain in peace

Yeah, right ...when Muslim pigs fly. Jimmy Carter says that Hamas is prepared to accept the right of Israel to "live as a neighbor next door in peace." The real essence of the situation is that Hamas does not and will not recognize Israel's right to exist. What indication do we have that it will end its terrorism and violence? Because they told Jimmy Carter they would? Hamas won't honor any previous agreements with the Israeli government ... why does Jimmy Carter believe that Hamas will honor his agreement.

Carter claims that Hamas would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital ... but without recognizing Israel.

Well ... It turns out to be another senior moment for Carter. As soon as the words were out of his mouth Hamas leaders were denying it all. No, they are not prepared to recognize Israel's right to exist. They will only agree to a 10-year truce, and that only if Israel moves back to the 1967 borders.

Is there an assisted care living center anywhere that could establish a program where Carter could pretend to negotiate with other seniors ... but do no actual harm?

THINGS WE NEED TO "GET OVER"

The Democrat candidates are really taking some shots at each other as the voters go to the primary polls in Pennsylvania. In one exchange I heard one of the candidates (it really doesn't matter which one) say that the other candidates needed to "get over" something or other.

Well ... that got me to thinking. Just what do the Democrats want the rest of us to "get over?" Here's a short list:

• The concept of self-reliance
• The idea of limited government
• Parental responsibility for children
• The dream of quality education
• That clause in the Constitution which forbids the government from interfering with contracts
• Earning your pay
• Paying your own way
• Local control of pretty much anything
• Individuality ... we need to embrace our group identities you know
• Private property rights.
• The idea that our earnings belong to us.
• Freedom
• Economic liberty

I'm sure you can help me with some more things we all need to "get over" when Obama becomes president.

FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS

What can you say about a religion that will strap explosives to a woman and send her, along with their children, into a marketplace to kill as many people as possible? What can you say about a religion where the men would send their wives and children to die in this manner? Not much that's nice, that's for sure.

THE NEW CENTER OF THE WORLD

With every concession the Muslim world gets bolder. We start out with footbaths in airports ... and move on from there. Now Muslims want the way we measure time changed. Instead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) they want the world's clocks to be based on MMT .. that would be Mecca Mean Time. Mecca, you should know, is not the Center of the World ... at least that's what Muslim scientists are telling us. They want to do this because they believe that the Saudi city is the true center of the Earth ... and the sun revolves around the Earth ... 9/11 was an inside job of the US government ... and Hillary should wear more skirts.

Just last night I went outside, faced the Center of the World, and marked my territory. It's a man thing --- and don't pretend you haven't done the same thing.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

How do you make bacon even better? More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The UN has begun talks with Iranian officials to press them to explain why Iran has secretly studied how to design nuclear bombs. Golly ... let's see if we can figure that one out.

Dick Morris has some great insight into Hillary's ties with terrorists.

Apparently Ron Paul still thinks he is in the presidential race and aired ads attacking John McCain in Pennsylvania.

Perhaps the only way the Dems can win the presidency now is with a Clinton-Obama ticket, or so says the New York Times. Or not ......

The Supreme Court has lifted three death row reprieves. Get out the syringes. Three murderers are about to get justice. Let's all lift a toast!

Want to see how much our government has grown in a little over 100 years. The numbers will amaze you. Then again, maybe not. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

This is a World Bank Report that is sure to infuriate you: ``Almost all of the increase in global corn production from 2004 to 2007 (the period when grain prices rose sharply) went for biofuels production in the U.S.'' Heavily subsidized biofuels production, I might add. But whatever we do, let's not drill in ANWR.

Environmental activists in Canada had to move their Earth Day celebrations under cover ... because of a blizzard. Damn you global warming.

OwlGore will be very upset to hear that his fellow Americans aren't worrying any more about global warming in 2008 than they were 19 years ago.

Disney is launching a new film production unit to produce documentaries about the environment.

Patrick Moore explains why he left Greenpeace.

Here's a feel-good statistic for you ... 50% of workers in Los Angeles are immigrants (it doesn't say how many are illegal, but we'll leave that up to you to decide).

Colorado Representative Douglas Bruce: "I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado..."

Some researchers are now working on an Islam-Christian dictionary to make people aware of the importance of the relationship between the two religions. Let's see: "Terrorist" In Islam that means "gentle person."

Campuses across the nation, such as the University of Tennessee, are protesting state laws and campus policies that prohibit them from carrying concealed handguns on campus. Good for them. College students with an actual clue.

High-powered hand laser pointers have been banned in parts of Australia because the lasers are being used to blind aircraft pilots.

When German banks lose money ... the staff is told to stop visiting brothels on the company's dime.

What a wonderful group of people. A collection of recent mug shots from DeKalb County (Atlanta), Georgia. Note, please, the picture of the woman with the "I can get away with anything" t-shirt on. Sadly, she's missing from the list of top 10 t-shirts to get arrested in.

Every time I log on to the Naples Daily News website to see what is going on in my second home (a/k/a "Paradise") it seems that the lead story in the paper has to do with the local government schools. Come on, folks. Get over it. If you're going to decide to turn your children over to the government to be educated, just what do you really expect? And then there's the nimbys.

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