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Princeton University sociologist Douglas S. Massey reports that 62 percent of illegal immigrants pay income taxes (via withholding) and 66 percent contribute to Social Security. Forbes magazine notes that Mexican illegals aren't clogging up the social-services system: only 5 percent receive food stamps or unemployment assistance; 10 percent send kids to public schools.

Tony is generally a upfront guy. His use of statistics here is mistaken or disingenuous. How can anyone know, first, how many illegals are here? Statistical method requires that you know. You need a denominator. We hear 5 million, 10 million, 11 million, 20 million, 25 million. They're all guesses; Massey's number is a WAG (wild @ssed guess).

Massey, by definition, doesn't know the size of the underground economy, so he can't know what portion of illegals pay into SS. Another WAG. Again, if you don't know how many illegals are here, and agencies as a rule are not allowed to inquire about status, there's no way you can know how many recipients are illegal (the numerator) or how many illegals are here (the denominator.) Another WAG.

Forbes' numbers on unemployment and food stamps again require that one 1) know the status of applicants and 2) know how many illegals are here. Another WAG.

Is the study this poor, or is Massey/Forbes being misquoted? Tony is an ex-school teacher and I believe has some math in his background. He may not have studied statistics, so maybe Massey's numbers are being used to say something they don't say. I suspect some of it is on Tony, because of the statistics about unemployment and school attendence...not. Again...where is the underground economy factored in? Finally, I don't want to know how many illegal families send kids to public school. If these families are larger than the typical American's, then that 10% number is meaningless at best and misleading at worst..

This reminds me of the first time I threw the BS flag in Econ 101. The Prof said that a study had identified certain factors that led to success. Statistically, these factors only accounted for ~60% of the results. The study concluded, therefore, that success was at least 40% luck. If they didn't understand how something worked, they defined it as "luck." Massey has defined away too much meaning.

I know you can do better, Tony!