George Will: Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants Necessary to 'Sustain the Welfare State'

Newsbusters ^ | April 14, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

[Bratch]

On ABC's This Week Sunday, George Will made a comment about the need for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that is likely to raise eyebrows on both sides of the aisle.

"As the baby boomers retire, and as the birthrate declines, we need something to replenish the workforce to sustain the welfare state" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

*NOTE: Video at link*

JONATHAN KARL, SUBSTITUTE HOST: George, right to you. You heard a debate among Republicans on immigration. Which side should the Republican Party come down on?

GEORGE WILL: Every conservative sympathizes with what Jeff Sessions was saying about not rewarding law breaking. However, conservatism begins with facing facts. The facts are that of the 11 million people who are here illegally, two-thirds have been here a decade or more, 30 percent, 15 years or more. They're woven into our society. They're not leaving. And the American people would not tolerate the police measures necessary to extract them from our community. Therefore, the great consensus has to be on the details of a path to citizenship.

The most important thing Rubio said in your interview was, even if the system weren't broken, if you had no illegal immigrants, we'd still need to do something about this because we need the workers. As the baby boomers retire, and as the birthrate declines, we need something to replenish the workforce to sustain the welfare state.

KARL: The framing from Rubio was interesting, saying we really already have amnesty. Nobody's prosecuting the undocumented immigrants here now.

RUTH MARCUS, WASHINGTON POST: Absolutely, I want to say I'm going to really enjoy saying this next sentence. I completely agree with every syllable that George Will just said. And I think that the stars are in alignment for many of the reasons that he said.

"As the baby boomers retire, and as the birthrate declines, we need something to replenish the workforce to sustain the welfare state."

Is this an inconvenient truth or a stretch?

We know that this is a problem that countries such as Japan are already facing. Most of Europe is projected to see a peak in population in the next few decades. When this happens, entitlement programs become impossible to fund if they aren't already.

The velocity of our population growth has been slowing for decades.

As such, does Will have a point or should our future budget woes be irrelevant to this debate?

[Bratch]

I've believe this is one of the main reasons behind the legalization push.

TPTB don't want secure borders because they want to continue to attract illegal aliens to shore up the population.

They're desperate for new sources of revenue.

[pepsionice]

No one really wants the secured borders.

That minor roof work that your neighbor wanted done...will be eventually done by Juan, who walked over the border last year, and is doing first-rate work for thirty-percent less than the professional roofer quoted.

The under-the-table deal that your local butcher arranged with a major grocery in Ohio....only accomplished because of the ten illegal butchers from Honduras that he recruited and brought in...working cash only...for thirty percent less than any of the regular employees would have accepted.

The $6k landscaping job that you finally got done this year....done by Juan the illegal....and you saved $500 over what the real landscaping service would have charged.

We all want the illegals to stay...mostly as the situation lays right now. No changes.

[SeminoleCounty]

The “we need more workers” is just another liberal canard

Workers do not pay Social Security or government revenue....it is the businesses that hire them that pay it. Whether you have 1 million or 1 billion working.....if businesses put so much money in an economy...that is all the potential revenue there is

Liberal GOP are as bad on economics as the DNC is

[rawcatslyentist]

Welcome to legalized nation wide SLAVERY.

Dog gotta be big enough to feed the tick or the inevitable starvation sets in.

More immigints = bigger dog.

[nathanbedford]

So flooding the country with uneducated, illiterate, linguistically challenged, illegal immigrants is held up as a positive good in order to support a Ponzi scheme welfare state system.

The current insustainability of the welfare state is at least partly due to the fact that these illegal immigrants long-term cost the system far more than they contribute. Nevertheless, we should welcome them because they provide a short-term solution even though they aggravate the long-term problem.

No better illustration is needed of Nathan Bedford's third Maxim of politics: failed socialism begets more socialism.

[9YearLurker]

With the majority of illegals and their offspring ill-educated and on some sort of welfare during their working years they are not the solution. Increased immigration for skilled immigrants ould help, but that’s not the vast majority of whom we’re looking to legalize.

[Lancey Howard]

Opening the gates to hordes of illegal aliens will GROW the welfare state and the COST of it, not “sustain” it.
The stupidity of George Will and his ilk is mind boggling.

[Bratch]

No better illustration is needed of Nathan Bedford's third Maxim of politics: failed socialism begets more socialism.

Yep.

We're about to see another example of it as the Establishment gears up to inflict Obamacare 2 on the country, to "fix" the problems in Obamacare 1.

[Truth29]

This problem will also be addressed by restricted access to second rate health care for the boomers and associated accelerated death rates that will not reported. Social mores will also be changed to encourage ending one’s life “for the children” and the government harvesting of retirement wealth such as IRAs for the greater good.

[Gaffer]

Both he and these sub-humans we call politicians are correct in one sense about sustaining the welfare state.

There is a problem with sustainment of the OASDI provisions of the FICA, Social Security. There simply aren't enough workers entering the ranks of the employed here to sustain it. It is because there are millions upon millions who are on one of 83 programs of government welfare not connected with Social Security. That, coupled with the ever increasing deluge of new SSDI applications (and approvals) has completed the gravestone - only the date of death is to be filled in.

While SS (the old age part) is something that is not likely to go away, the disability part of that can certainly be reduced - there are far to many specious claims and outright fraud; both SSDI and SSI comprise nearly 25% of the outlays.

However, the politicians will not touch either and have landed on another solution. Take 11 million (so they say) illegals and make them legal - take their $8/hour wages, take 6.2% of that over 2000 hours per year and add that to the "fund" lockbox or whatever you want to call it. $992 per year is what it works out to for each illegal. They contribute $82/month and they get $625/month when they claim retirement (and for their spouses)....smart business move.

The other benefit is Democrat votes. They will NEVER vote for a Republican because a Democrat will always promise more. The boon they offer to illegals, citizenship, opens them up for literally ALL of the 83 welfare programs mentioned above.

Notwithstanding the 'benefits' of illegals (name some), the disadvantages, the intangible costs of them are horrendous, and they are always glossed over or just plain overlooked when a liberal is talking about them. They just want more voters and to hell with the rest of us.

It is a no win situation both from an economic and ideology standpoint. Playing Whack-a-Mole at 10 times normal speed.

I wrote two checks yesterday, one for $9000+ and the other for $3000 + to pay for all this (in addition to what I had taken away from me before that). Next year, I won't be doing so; and they won't be able to take as much away either. I've checked out and given up. There is no point in working and amassing anything this government will eventually take away from you. Everything I have is paid for, and my monthly outlays are minimum. My income is managed now to just enough to get by and to minimize what they can take. Let the illegals pay for all this.

[djf]

Not true.

Outsourcing jobs, increased government regulation. and more single mothers is more than enough to keep the welfare state going.

Illegal immigration is just the icing on the cake!

[SoFloFreeper]

George Will is correct...the answer, however, must be twofold. Create a way to make these people contributors to the system while SIMULTANEOUSLY shrinking the system.

Without the second part, the entire exercise is pointless.

[JCBreckenridge]

Will’s hypothesis is a curious one. I’ve done the research, and even with Amnesty, it will only delay, not correct the problem.

The average age of immigrants to America is far older than it is for the families that are already here. Immigration makes sense in order to obtain skilled professionals willing to assimilate.

It makes zero sense on demographic grounds. It’s not going to stop the aging of America.

[Artie]

So if I understand this correctly, all current illegal immigrants/aliens will, at the stroke of a pen, become fully functional, working, tax paying Americans. What a relief.

[T-Bird45]

FTA: And the American people would not tolerate the police measures necessary to extract them from our community.

That's mere supposition without a scintilla of fact to support it. Currently, the meter is swung the other way, with Big Sis releasing known "undocumented Democrats" (H/T Leno) and blaming the sequester for it. The law exists to make it happen without the need to extract anybody.

Will does make a valid observation about the reason for any political action: Follow the money.

[PghBaldy]

The birthrate would change, possibly, if our leaders secured the borders and thereby helped citizen employment in the process.

[sodpoodle]

Your comments illustrate the conundrum - young men who break the immigration laws to work in the US at menial, low paying, back-breaking work that unemployed and welfare-recipient citizens refuse to do.

If they were invading China or Cuba we would applaud their audacity and work ethic.

Rubio described an excellent, practical solution for a 10 year application/waiting period for legal green card status (not citizenship, welfare benefits or voting eligibility) Proof of self support and background check. More hurdles than high tech, European and Asian immigrants.

[Zack Attack]

Every conservative sympathizes with what Jeff Sessions was saying about not rewarding law breaking. However, conservatism begins with facing facts.

I thought conservatism began with defending the Constitution and the laws of the land, not just deciding what meets our current convenience. The reason we are in this mess is because no one is defending the laws of the land, but rather pretending they don't exist in many cases.

[Yo-Yo]

They don’t need citizenship (and the voting rights that go along with it.) All they need is permanent residency.

[warchild9]

Edict of Caracalla. Check it out.

appr. 210 AD

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