Thread: Ruben Navarrette Jr., SS is about Math, not Mexicans

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/15/navarrette/index.html


Commentary: Social Security is about math, not Mexicans

POSTED: 9:37 a.m. EST, January 15, 2007
By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Special to CNN
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SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- For more than a decade, I've written about the need to reform Social Security. And I've blamed older generations of Americans for not fixing a program they know is unsustainable into the future.

My bad. It turns out, if I wanted to get everyone up in arms, all I needed to do was blame illegal immigrants.

Ah, yes. The folks who, we are told, wrecked our schools, ruined our environment and lowered our wages are now poised to steal our Social Security.

Oh, there's some stealing going on all right, but it doesn't have anything to do with illegal immigrants.

Here's the drill: Social Security is an intergenerational shakedown. Every generation pays for the preceding one. Sixty-nine million baby boomers have no problem paying for the World War II generation because, well, there are 69 million of them. But imagine the burden on younger workers of having to keep legions of aging flower children in a comfy retirement.

In 1946, the cost of supporting one retiree was split between 42 workers. Now, we're approaching the point where two workers will support each retiree. The trouble begins in 2016 when -- according to experts -- more will be going out in benefits than will be coming in as payroll taxes.

This is what I worry about -- the math. But, for others, the worry is about something altogether different -- the Mexicans.

Immigration restrictionists are apoplectic over the news that the United States has entered into a "totalization" agreement with Mexico. Under these agreements, which the United States has with 21 other countries, workers who work in two countries during their careers can combine what they earned in both places to qualify for retirement benefits under one or both systems. The restrictionists insist that the U.S. government has conspired with Mexico to let illegal immigrants loot the Social Security system.

That would be quite a charge, if true. But these pacts apply only to people who are working legally.

The worry is that, if Congress passes guest-worker legislation that gives some number of illegal immigrants a "work-authorized" Social Security number, the worker might be in a position, if he met eligibility requirements, to apply for Social Security benefits, including those earned while in the country illegally.

Supporters of totalization point out that current U.S. law bans illegal immigrants from collecting Social Security benefits.

They're right about that. But there is no law prohibiting illegal immigrants with bogus Social Security numbers from paying into the system, something they and their employers do to the tune of more than $7 billion per year in payroll taxes.

That's money the illegal immigrants will never see again, and it has for years helped to keep the entitlement program afloat. So Social Security lives off ill-gotten goods -- the stolen taxes of millions of people, and the assumption that they'll never be claimed.

How odd that the closed-border, closed-mind crowd isn't nearly as troubled by this part of the equation.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. Click here to read his column.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

Ah, yes. The folks who, we are told, wrecked our schools, ruined our environment and lowered our wages are now poised to steal our Social Security.

YES, YES AND YES TO ALL OF THE ABOVE!!

That's money the illegal immigrants will never see again, and it has for years helped to keep the entitlement program afloat.

Illegals had no right to it in the first place and in the second place...

So Social Security lives off ill-gotten goods -- the stolen taxes of millions of people, and the assumption that they'll never be claimed.

...'stolen taxes?' (this is one psycho here) Let the illegals pay taxes to Mexico, fine by us. They can solve the problem and KEEP OUT of The USA.

Ruben Navarrette Jrs' sole intent is to create as much hostility as he possibly can.
He thrives off of negativity and has gone from one media outlet to the next spreading as much bile as he can before getting shut down and having to move on.

What works great with this devils advocate is advising his current sponsors that his negativity has run you off from their media outlet and ignoring Navarrette altogether.
The more hostile comments he gets the happier he is and he can't stand being ignored.

Navarrette is a racist PUNK!

This moronic, traitorous, Mexican in American's clothing makes me sick everytime I have to hear his spewing of pro-illegal, pro-Mexico, anti-American lies. All he ever does is spout about how Americans are all lazy, racist morons and how Mexicans, and especially illegal alien Mexicans in the U.S. are the hope, destiny and saviors of America's future.

To him all Mexican illegals are hardworking, honest, law abiding angels who will save America from it's slovenly, lazy incompetence and failure as a nation. Yet he never mentions how Mexico is the third world country with half it's people in poverty, illiterate, uneducated, unskilled and totally corrupt. To hear him speak you would think America is the third world slum and Mexico was the fantastic nation that won two world wars, landed men on the moon, ended the cold war and created all the advances in medicine, science and technology.

To him Americans are the ones who beg for quarters, barefoot and homeless, who sell chicklets on street corners, who peddle tourist pictures of zebra painted donkeys, make crooked, out of tune plywood guitars and Osama Bin Laden pinatas.

If he loves Mexico so much, why doesn't he just move there?

I don't even post his articles anymore because, in my opinion, Navarette enjoys upsetting people, thrives on it and he's not worth the time. Use to email him too but realized he probably smiled ear-to-ear reading such comments. I suggest everyone ignore him.

They pay 7 billion in SS and the estimated annual costs of illegal aliens is in excess of 80 BILLION a year. I did the math and we are getting screwed.

So Social Security lives off ill-gotten goods -- the stolen taxes of millions of people, and the assumption that they'll never be claimed.

Is this racist imbecile actually intimating that our SS system would be dead without illegals who pay into SS via their illegal employers payroll deductions? What about all the illegals that are paid off the books, which probably out number those that do 2-1? In addition to being able to aquire readily available cheap, illegal labor, one of the biggest perks to these greedy employers, especially in the construction and contracting trades, is keeping them off the books!

I wonder is Navarette can argue with this, more realistic, math: If these stolen jobs were being done by American citizens, on the books and at a fair wage, the contributions flowing into the SS fund would make the current contributions of illegals negligable, at best.

Originally Posted by gofer

They pay 7 billion in SS and the estimated annual costs of illegal aliens is in excess of 80 BILLION a year. I did the math and we are getting screwed.

It's a trend!