You know which states are in trouble.... The ones that are extremely liberal... New York and California... And I'm not really saying politics. It's the social stances that are taken. We throw so much money at Illegal's and welfare... and over regulate and over tax businesses, to chase them out of the state.

There has to be a balance for an economy to have staying power.

Instead we get illegal citizens, who end up with more rights and get more benefits than a lot of our legal citizens who are struggling.

Dateline: December, 2004
In hosting America's largest population of illegal immigrants, California bears a huge cost to provide basic human services for this fast growing, low-income segment of its population. A new study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) examines the costs of education, health care and incarceration of illegal aliens, and concludes that the costs to Californians is $10.5 billion per year.

Among the key finding of the report are that the state's already struggling K-12 education system spends approximately $7.7 billion a year to school the children of illegal aliens who now constitute 15 percent of the student body. Another $1.4 billion of the taxpayers' money goes toward providing health care to illegal aliens and their families, the same amount that is spent incarcerating illegal aliens criminals.

"California's addiction to 'cheap' illegal alien labor is bankrupting the state and posing enormous burdens on the state's shrinking middle class tax base," stated Dan Stein, President of FAIR. "Most Californians, who have seen their taxes increase while public services deteriorate, already know the impact that mass illegal immigration is having on their communities, but even they may be shocked when they learn just how much of a drain illegal immigration has become."

The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Californians focuses on three specific program areas because those were the costs examined by researchers from the Urban Institute in 1994. Looking at the costs of education, health care and incarceration for illegal aliens in 1994, the Urban Institute estimated that California was subsidizing illegal immigrants to the tune of about $1.1 billion. The enormous rise in the costs of illegal immigrants over the intervening ten years is due to the rapid growth in illegal residents. It is reasonable to expect those costs to continue to soar if action is not taken to turn the tide.

"Nineteen ninety-four was the same year that California voters rebelled and overwhelmingly passed Proposition 187, which sought to limit liability for mass illegal immigration. Since then, state and local governments have blatantly ignored the wishes of the voters and continued to shell out publicly financed benefits on illegal aliens," said Stein. "Predictably, the costs of illegal immigration have grown geometrically, while the state has spiraled into a fiscal crisis that has brought it near bankruptcy.

"Nothing could more starkly illustrate the very high costs of ‘cheap labor' than California's current situation," continued Stein. "A small number of powerful interests in the state reap the benefits, while the average native-born family in California gets handed a nearly $1,200 a year bill."

And Ace.... I'm not trying to slam illegals or immigrants... just how stupid some of our politicians are. And a mess this creates. PLUS... "Illegal"! doesn't that mean anything?

Why is the Conservative position that it has to be one over the other when both are ruinous?

As far as "illegal" goes, I believe that necessity is a common law defense.

I love the Simpsons analogy

Yes--sad, but true. Just look at what that ruinous free market capitalism did to this country, by allowing it to become the richest and most powerful the world has ever seen, in not much more than 150 years. Now, Mozambique, Turkmenistan, Albania, Cuba, North Korea, on the other hand--THAT's what a country ought to be!

I'll trust our planners, any day, to do studies and decide what our economy needs, rather than let some "unseen hand" determine everything. I mean, letting supply and demand set prices for goods and services--what a STUPID idea! Adam Cartwright, or Smith, or whatever his name was--he should have studied more before pretending to know about the "wealth of nations." Only too bad our Founding Fathers were dumb enough to buy his hype.

Right church, wrong pew. Private necessity's a defense to a tort, not a crime.

and the vast sense of entitlement among Americans who think that honest work is beneath their dignity. I'd rather pay illegals with a work ethic than some of these citizens who believe it is their God-given right to wasted as much fuel as possible for as long as they can. Wouldn't you?

I know it's a hard thing to put a big fence up to keep the border secure.

Obama is like taking a rookie who has great expectations.... putting him in the game.... having him mess up big time.... but instead of pulling him from the game.... you all want to give him the MVP and stick him in the Hall of Fame.

Is there a POF CALIFORUM PAC hiding in here somewhere?