Posted on 02/03/2007 9:57:53 PM PST by batter
Immigrant economics: Give or get? - Senator asks how much revenue they contribute compared to costs - Senator wants to study economic effect of undocumented workers
Sen. Scott McCoy wants Utah lawmakers to have a better idea of the effect of undocumented immigrants in Utah - especially now as the Legislature debates putting immigration policy into state law.
The Senate supported McCoy's request Friday to introduce a bill that would call for a study of how much money undocumented immigrants use in services and how much they contribute in revenue to the state. The bill first needs to be drafted before lawmakers can consider it.
Such a report would allow lawmakers to make more informed decisions when voting on immigration-related measures, said McCoy, a Salt Lake City Democrat. He doesn't understand why some people ask only what kind of a financial drain undocumented families are to Utah.
"Right now, everybody's talking about half of the picture, instead of the whole picture," McCoy said. "If we're going to be making these decisions, we need to have a full and complete view of their economic activity and services used."
At the request of Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, the state's Auditor General Office is conducting an audit on how much undocumented students cost Utah schools.
Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble was hesitant to talk about McCoy's proposal without knowing more about it but said: "Gathering credible evidence - that could do nothing but help us in our decision-making process." Bramble successfully sponsored a bill that restricts access to driver licenses for undocumented immigrants and frequently complains about the strain they have on the state.
There are a handful of bills that deal with immigration in the 2007 Legislature. The bills vary from repealing the law that allows undocumented residents to obtain driving privilege cards to making sure the state seeks federal reimbursement for costs that result from illegal immigration.
A bill to repeal a law that allows eligible undocumented students to pay resident college tuition was killed in the House this week.
It is estimated that there are roughly 90,000 undocumented immigrants in Utah.
Utah immigrant advocates and anti-illegal immigration activists support McCoy's proposal.
"It's a great idea," said Robert Wren, chairman of Utahns For Immigration Reform and Enforcement. "Then, people will know the facts."
Wren said he also hopes the study looks at whether undocumented workers are bringing wages down and how much they cost the education and health care systems.
McCoy's proposal comes a few days after a group of Latino leaders from across the state sent Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. a letter asking him to call for a study of the economic impact of undocumented immigrants to Utah's budget and economy.
The letter refers to a report conducted by the state of Texas that found that undocumented immigrants actually pay more into the system than they use in state services. A spokeswoman in Huntsman's office said the letter was forwarded to the Legislature because that's where such an audit would be "more suited."
Jesse Garcia, a veteran Ogden city councilman, said he helped initiate the letter after hearing about the education audit because it looked one-sided. He said the undocumented community is always blamed for the "ills in America," but he hopes a Utah study shows the opposite.
"We know they must have some sort of impact on the state because they all work and they all buy groceries," he said.
Lorena Riffo-Jensen said she's glad to hear about McCoy's proposal because often the undocumented families are afraid to speak out even though they are at the center of a national debate.
"They haven't had a political voice," she said. "It's easy for them to be targeted."
To read the "Special Report on Undocumented Immigrants in Texas," go to www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/undocumented.
You will note that the article states that the Texas report "...found that undocumented immigrants actually pay more into the system than they use in state services." [emphasis added]
The article fails to mention that the report also looked at local costs (rather than just the state). Once that was added in, the report found a net loss of $1.02 billion. Here it is from the report's homepage:
The absence of the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in Texas in fiscal 2005 would have been a loss to our gross state product of $17.7 billion. Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state.
Care to wager that the Sen. McCoy will attempt to limit his 'study' to strictly defined costs (such as only those the state pays)?
FWIW, I don't know much about the Texas report. My initial opinion is that the report was limited (only covered Education, Health Care, and Incarceration costs). I get the impression the report was pushing an agenda to show a benefit.
So, if my crime benefits somebody else over somebody else, this would be OK?
What really grates on me with this sort of thinking, is that the corruption of it all is completely glossed over. How's about a whole bunch of us actual citizens elect to go cash only, essentially going underground, stop paying taxes, apply for every single form of public assistance available and use hospitals emergency rooms for primary care? Does anyone want to speculate that this would "benefit" our respective states? We could work cheaper. We'd still have as much or more disposable income, too. But, I have no doubt that the lackadaisical attitudes of various governmental agencies would change markedly, if enough of us cash cows actually did such a thing.
They weren't sure about the ER's operations as they didn't oversee their budget/billing but believe they are still running in the black. One can only hope.
Try skipping out on an ER bill as a citizen with a permanent address. They'll threaten to sue. The corrupting influence of all this fraud is going to end up eating away at the honest behavior of everyday people, who would never have even thought about being less than aboveboard, before all this. It's pernicious.
The hospitals around here are supposed to be quite aggressive (they've always been cordial to me, but I pay). That may be why no ERs have closed so far.
The point, to me, is that the "uninsured" are not the cause of additional cost, the cause is an assumption of indigence, based upon a false ID. Hospital billing departments quite clearly do pursue payment from uninsured patients.
I guess that's it for tonight. I'll check back in tomorrow.
Ping!
My guess is that illegal immigrants cost us 10 to 20 times what they are worth.
Shame on this country and the administration to let this travesty continue.
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