Thread: LATimes comment: Is illegal immigration worsening CA budget?

Is illegal immigration worsening California's budget woes?

7:44 PM | July 9, 2009

Many readers who have offered comments about California's budget crisis have urged officials to look at the effect of illegal immigration on the deficit.

The Times' Teresa Watanabe and Anna Gorman decided to look into the question. Here are some findings:

--State welfare officials estimate that cutting off welfare payments to illegal immigrants for their U.S.-born children could save about $640 million annually if it survives legal challenges.

--California has roughly 2.7 million illegal residents, about 7% of the state’s population. State officials estimate that they add between $4 billion and $6 billion in costs, primarily for prisons and jails, schools and emergency rooms.

--Beyond those services, the illegal population adds to the overall cost of other parts of local government, including police and fire protection, highway maintenance and libraries.

--On the other side of the ledger, illegal residents pay taxes -- sales taxes on what they buy, gasoline taxes when they fuel their cars, property taxes if they own homes. How much those taxes come to is hotly debated, although most researchers agree that the short-term costs to state and local government are bigger than the revenues.

Read their full report here. What do you think? Share your comments below.

see 75 comments added mostly against illegal aliens. Here's one example:

With 12% unemployment and another 20% under employment,
one third of Californians can't find enough work. Since 1990, Los Angeles has added 1 million people and subtracted 400,000 jobs. 1 million is the estimated number of illegal immigrants living in LA. We have a projected poverty rate of 37% which is exactly the dropout rate at LAUSD. We cannot afford any more people, we can't even afford to care for the people who are here. Legally. If you are here illegally, please go home. The economy that brought you here was a big lie.
It never existed.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... woes-.html

This is great! This feeling is so deep in CA and NO ONE IS ADRESSING IT!

The comments are worth a read.

I read some of the comments they are good!!

i only saw a couple of posts that say to make the legal

i dont think thats going to happen.

Encouraging to see so many common sense comments on a LATimes blog. Probably not pleasing their editors much.

The vast majority of Californians want illegals out! Of course, we are being held hostage by our politicians, the illegals themselves, and those ethno-centric, racists groups who represent said illegals!

property taxes if they own homes

It still blows me away that they are even allowed to own homes! They aren't supposed to have DL's, but they can own a home...

So, if Californians are so fed up, why are they continuing to vote in the same idiots year after year. Boxer, Pelosi. Great examples of politicians that are not worth the make-up and face lifts they wear. If it's illegals voting in these "affronts to the female gender" then you need to deal with that problem.

We need to vote these idiots out. That goes for Rangle, Reid, Franks. There are so many of them. Fortunately, some of the idiot Republicans have been leaving on their own from scandals.

Just tuned in and found this.

Posted by: Andrews | July 11, 2009 at 01:16 PM

You guys just don't get it. This situation is already loss. We cannot recover from the immigration mess. All I can say is try to live out your lives with as much peace and happiness as you can. Try not to let this propel you into hatred. Try to be a good spouse, parent, sibling, offspring, employee, friend, or neighbor. I'm 43, and I've lived long enough to know better. To quote that American Indian; I will fight no more forever.

I give up, guys. Life's too short. If someone else wants to take on this fruitless fight, go for it. I'm going to just accept what I cannot change, and find happiness however I may. I'm done.

At the advanced age of 43, which may really be old in his/her world, giving up a "fruitless" challenge is not what this country was founded on or should such wimpy treasonous BS be written.