Our Republican Comptroller (She became an independant to run for governor vs Perry) revealed the results of the most comprehensive study on the cost of illegal immigrants ever done in the State of Texas.

Results.
They contribute $17.7 Billion to our economy
They cost $989 Million.
The vast majority of them pay far more in taxes than they ever get back in the form of social services.

Have a nice Day.

Ixtellor

P.S. This is the front page story of the Express News in San Antonio, I will look for a web link

I think this probably is an honest evaluation..if you count illegal immigrants only, not the full group of Hispanic immigrants (legal and illegal). But that aside, my personal experience with Latinos who work in the US, both legal and illegal, is they fill a niche in the work force by doing jobs that other Americans will not do...and they do it well. The tremendous number of illegal immigrants coupled with our low national unemployment rate proves that the US needs this group of people in our work force.

My only problem with this issue is that Latinos should be coming to the country legally...and at the same time, the Immigration Service should have some program to allow them to come here, work and be accounted for. This idea of 10 million illegal aliens floating around the country is absurd. My preference is for an easily initiated, contract worker program coupled with a parallel naturalization program for workers who are willing to wait the required length of time, and meet the standards to become citizens.

Just because they are not a financial burden does not mean that they can break the law by entering illegally.

__________________
Hobo
Charter member of 'Republicans Who Hate Bush" Club

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1.3e670c1.html

Found an article in about ten seconds.

Not such a boon for the locals.
So the state says they make money on them, the locals are losing big money. Schools, and health care costs take it in the shorts. Not to mention the infrastructure of this nation.

I have heard estimates that this influx is adding a major city to this nations population every year. What provisions are being made for the power grid, roads, sewage, law enforcement, and schools? Are these things factored into the Texas figures? Are these things even a consideration? It does not appear so. How much will my taxes go up to pay for these things?

What other laws can we break because it may or may not make economic sense?

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/s...4/daily43.html

The big problem with counting immigrant wages as part of the gross state product is that a huge portion of their pay is sent to Mexico.

__________________
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

The economic impact of tremendous inflation that result if Americans had to do the jobs of illegal immigrants and demanded fair wages and benefits would be tremendous. How would you like to pay $5 for a head of lettuce or $7/lb for tomatoes just to be happy that illegal immigrants were removed from the US.

And the impact would be felt up most of the entire food market -- any product made from vegetables or fruits that illegal immigrants harvest would increase proportionally.

It would be an economic disaster.

You know, I bet if that one tough Grand Ma did a study on slave labor, she'd find it profited the State also. Unfortunately, slave labor is illegal. So is hiring illegals. That's why they're called illegals.

I don't doubt the State numbers. But the State doesn't pay for County Hospitals, nor much of Public Schools, nor County Jails, nor local Law Enforcement.

In short, figures lie, and liars figure.

__________________
"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill

While I agree with part of this, I have two observations:

1. The actual price paid to farmers is usually only a small part of the retail cost of food. This is even more true when you talk about processed foods where the vegetables are merely one ingredient. Costs would go up, but not nearly as dramatically as you suggest.

2. The fact that paying fair wages to farm laborers would make our food cost more isn't the most ethical argument to stand on. We should be paying fair wages, period.

Now, the reality is (as always) more complicated than that. Many migrant labor jobs would simply pack up and move to Mexico if they had to pay market wages, taking their jobs and economic benefits with them. And that reality should be part of the discussion. But nothing really excuses exploiting workers, illegal or not.

__________________
Man up.

I hear talk from down here in Florida that as soon as amnesty is given that the migrant workers will unionize for higher pay. Does anyone really think that will not happen? I figure that veggies and everything else is going to go up in price. Everything but wages.

Hell, I'll grow my own tomatoes.

I am not in the habit of explaining myself but I will, because I have taken a hard stance on this issue.

I am a Tool and Die maker by trade.
In the early 1990's my company sent our top tool makers all over the world to train others to take our jobs. They went to India, Singapore, China, and Monterrey Mexico. Our guy's went to schools that were built in these countries and trained them to make Thermoplastic injection molds, and high speed progressive dies.

In 1999 I was one of the last in my facility to be employed there.
Only as long as it took to load 1/3 of our equipment into trucks painted with the banner "NAFTA Mexico".

So it is going to take more than a 15 second sound bite of Bush with that "deer in the headlights" look to convince me that that this is a good thing.

I've been hearing it since the 1990's.
I know about impact.

Those are great points Raytri.

There are levels of middlemen that basically make farming barely profitable for the little guy's.

It is not my intention to be overly combative on this issue.
But I feel another royal screwin coming our way,
and it ticks me off.

Since they show that they have no respect for our laws when they come here, it is no surprise that our prisons are overflowing with these illegals. Illegals make up about 3 percent of our population and about 17 percent of our prison population. In California it is closer to 50 percent.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2...7/114208.shtml


Send 'em all packing.