[Tuscany]

I am not sure what my position is on this yet. But, I thought I would post it to spark a discussion and maybe help me formulate my opinion


>From a California school teacher - - -


"As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration, there are some things that you should be aware of:

I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic �
and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens,�Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools.

Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. �When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a�Marriott�proud. �The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight. About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the unwed � �teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. �I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America. (OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)

I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them "Putas" whores and throwing things that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc, etc. �Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?

To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs.

Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc., etc, etc. For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes.

We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. �Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return?

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and legal way.

It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses �
to assimilate, and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about "politically correctness" that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

If this makes your blood boil, as it did mine, forward this to everyone you know.

CHEAP LABOR? �Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about?

Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage.

Consumers don't want expensive produce.

Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs.

But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase "cheap labor" is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as "cheap labor."

Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. �He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. �At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, �yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax �Return, �he gets an "earned income credit" of up to $3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.

He qualifies for food stamps.

He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.

His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school.

He requires bilingual teachers and books.

He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.

If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI. �Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare. �All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense.

He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.

Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.

He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.

Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00/hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.

Cheap labor? �YEAH RIGHT! � �Wake up people!�

[CaptainRich]

I believe you may have touched a nerve with this. I've read some of this before and I am in complete agreement that the actual cost of having "cheap labor" has been overlooked, or worse, hidden.

And because is a financial fact (meaning it will cost OUR tax dollars), we are going to spend unnecessary time and money to make at least mildly palatable. I don't think the problem will ever go away. I hope I'm wrong.

[ETWolverine]

Tuscany, I'm not sure about the voracity of the article. Is the writer really a Title I school teacher/administrator? We have no way of knowing for sure.

However, the article does make several very good points.

According to a study done by the Heritage Foundation in early 2007, the average cost of providing various government programs and benefits to a low-wage illegal immigrant family is roughly $22,000 per year. The average illegal immigrant family, if they pay taxes, pays approximately $10,000 in taxes, but uses $32,000 of government programs. This includes welfare, foodstamps, free education, free health care in hospital emergency rooms, government sponsored housing, etc. The estimated cost of illegals in the form of government programs over the next 10 years is extimated at $2.64 Trillion. So when the article scoffs at the idea of "cheap labor", the author definitely has a point.

Interesting that this article is called "Cheap Tomamtoes". The Center for Immigration Studies did a report called "How Much For That Tomato: The Cost of Legal Labor in Agricultural Production" (or something like that) back in the 90s that showed that labor is only about 3% of the total cost of produce. Even if we DOUBLED the labor costs by only hiring legal workers, the cost of produce would only go up by 3 cents for every dollar. Your $2 worth of tomatoes would now cost $2.06 if no illegal labor was used. Is that worth getting worried about? Contrast that with the cost of illegal immigrants, at roughly $264 billion per year, and then see which is cheaper for America.

So there are definitely large parts of this article that I agree with.

Elliot