California's Reckoning—and Ours

Newsweek ^ | Aug 3, 2009 | Robert J. Samuelson

[happygrl]

Here's the national lesson. There's a collision between high and rising demands for government services and the capacity of the economy to produce the income and tax revenue to pay for those demands. That's true of California, where poor immigrants and their children have increased pressures for more government services. It's also true of the nation, where an aging population raises Social Security and Medicare spending.

Young and old alike.

We're doomed.

[staytrue]

California taxes companies and the working stiff and gives it away to the immigrants and those that won’t work.

I'm assuming you meant to say illegal immigrants, because immigrants Schwartzenegger, Sergei Brin and Jerry Yang have personally paid billions in taxes.

But more to the point. Illegals probably do not cost any more than the avg. white person. If you control for age the illegals cost more, but govt. spending is mostly going to the caucasian elderly who don't work and get a lot if social security and medicare.

Illegals are a bargain as long as you kick them and their children out of the country before they retire.

[staytrue]

The author is a long time left leaning columnist for the Washington post.

Despite that, if you bothered to read the article, he concludes, “But California’s experience also suggests we’ll remain in denial, prisoners of wishful thinking, until the fateful reckoning arrives in the unimagined future. “

Give him credit for waking up and try reading the articles before reflexively spouting anti illegal dogma. The author at least took the time to not spout off liberal dogma, maybe you could do the same.

[bd476]

LOL! Thank you for the Ping, Ernest. Well done, Kartographer! :)

[RC2]

I was talking about the state. Social Security and Midicare are payed by the Feds and the people have payed into those two programs most of their lives. As for the illegals, they drain the state by over $1 Billion a year.