Hello all! I am posting here for the very first time because I am frustrated with our elected officials and their need to be all things to all people. I live in the Northern Virginia area and suspect that what I am observing is occuring all over the country. Recently, a lot of press has been giving to different localities using "Tax Payer" funds to build "labor centers" for those who are illegally in this country. Their reason is to give those looking for day labor jobs a place to keep warm and to receive free counselling...as well as keep them from "urinating in public" (give me a break!).

Herndon County was a latest in the over 320 labor centers to come under fire. As I understand, the Minuteman organization has taken up a mission to photograph business owners who use day laborers and turn them over to the IRS. While I usually don't support such extreme groups from doing these things, I actually think they are onto something here. My main point about all of this is, I don't care what the alien's status is, if they were made to pay the same tax as you and I, I wouldn't be so angry with the system. Maybe the illegal alien can make up for some of the cost I pay for (medical, food, etc) which I will talk about later in this post.

I used to volunteer as an EMT for a local County, and have picked up many 17-20 year old "hispanic" females that present paperwork from places such as Equador, Mexico, etc and don't have an American register green card or any other indications they are here legally. Well, as everyone knows, giving birth here makes the offspring a U.S. citizen. Because of that, the government and INS officials look the other way when it comes to accountability. Believe me, you and I pay for every birth, or every medical procedure done to an illegal alien.

OK, as I promised, I have a partial solution to this mess...about the "Labor Centers". Here is my take on fixing what appears to be a free ride: Make each and every potential day laborer register who and what they are (since INS obvously doesn't care), as well as the employers. Employers contact the labor center for workers and certifies the hourly wage. They either pay the taxes up front, or the day labors does, either way, someone pays the tax liability up front. After the labor center is paid for, then the rest is turned over as a consolidated tax payment to state and the Feds. Further, we make the illegals report their families and take out a basic medical plan (It could be as low as $50 per month). Wow, that might make them responsible for their own actions? Otherwise, stop using tax payers funds to have "compassion" on those who know a good thing when they see it...

You know folks, it is very hard for me to feel sorry for a people that their wives drop them off at the labor gathering site (be it a 7-11, etc) in a brand new SUV, Cadillac, or similar upscale car...when I know they are taking advantage of law abiding citizens.

Oh yeah, I had an occassion once to travel through a town in Virginia called "Culpeper". I was approached in a parking lot by a hispanic who at least could speak broken english. He showed me a laminated map of where the day laborers stood in a local industrial entrance for jobs. It had the spanish and english equivilant of the three lines labor classes. Can you imagine my surprise at this person showing me this? I hate to say this folks, but the illegals are well organized and know exactly what they are doing....