JOE vs. JOSE
You have two families: "Joe Legal" and "Jose Illegal". Both families have two parents, two children, and live in California.
Joe Legal works in construction, has a Social Security Number and makes $25.00 per hour with taxes deducted.
Jose Illegal also works in construction, has NO Social Security Number, and gets paid $15.00 cash "under the table".
Ready? Now pay attention....
Joe Legal: $25.00 per hour x 40 hours = $1000.00 per week, or $52,000.00 per year. Now take 30% away for state and federal tax; Joe Legal now has $31,231.00.
Jose Illegal: $15.00 per hour under the table x 40 hours = $600.00 per week, or $31,200.0 0 per year. Jose Illegal pays no taxes. Jose Illegal now has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays medical and dental insurance with limited coverage for his family at $600.00 per month, or $7,200.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $24,031.00.
Jose Illegal has full medical and dental coverage through the state and local clinics and emergency hospitals at a cost of $0.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal makes too much money and is not eligible for food stamps or welfare. Joe Legal pays $500.00 per month for food, or $6,000.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $18,031.00.
Jose Illegal has no documented income and is eligible for food stamps, WIC and welfare. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays rent of $1,200.00 per month, or $14,400.00 per year. Joe Legal now has $9,631.00.
Jose Illegal receives a $500.00 per month Federal Rent Subsidy. Jose Illegal pays out that $500.00 per month, or $6,000.00 per year. Jose Illegal still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal pays $200.00 per month, or $2,400.00 for car insurance. Some of that is uninsured motorist insurance. Joe Legal now has $7,231.00.
Jose Illegal says, "We don't need no stinkin' insurance!" and still has $31,200.00.
Joe Legal has to make his $7,231.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, etc.
Jose Illegal has to make his $31,200.00 stretch to pay utilities, gasoline, and what he sends out of the country every month.
Joe Legal now works overtime on Saturdays or gets a part time job after work.
Jose Illegal has nights and weekends off to enjoy with his family.
Joe Legal's and Jose Illegal's children both attend the same elementary school. Joe Legal pays for his children's lunches, while Jose Illegal's children get a government sponsored lunch. Jose Illegal's children have an after school ESL program. Joe Legal's children go home.
Now, when they reach college age, Joe Legal's kids may not get into a State School and may not qualify for scholarships, grants or other tuition help, even though Joe Legal has been paying for State Schools through his taxes, while Jose Illegal's kids "go to the head of the class" because they are a minority.
Joe Legal and Jose Illegal both enjoy the same police and fire services, but Joe Legal paid for them and Jose Illegal did not pay.
New Mexico is one of only three states that allow illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses and our governor, Susana Martinez, wants that law repealed. I say "yes!"
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9 comments:
I agree! We have our share of illegals up here too! More and more it seems.
Careful, Val. You're resorting to common sense. That's not PC in our world today.
Well said.
Dan
*nodding head*
~Lisa
I have to ask HOW is it that actual citizens don't get free health care and illegals do? Why are they (illegals) getting all that stuff free instead of deported?
That is such a tough pill to swallow and it makes my blood boil. My state is one of the three if I'm not mistaken (Washington). Of course, even if they couldn't get one legally they'd just steal someones social and get it anyway, and continue to work under the table it actually happened to me (ex husbands girlfriend, long story). It just really p*isses me off. (sorry) It's hard to see it broken down like that yet it is completely true. What a shame. Pardon my rant...
So Joe illegal now doesn't have a license. This is the guy that faces arrest every day. How does this help? He is likely to drive and most times to get a license you need to show proof of insurance. Is the thinking more will have insurance?
Joe illegal likely pays taxes, including property taxes (he pays rent), sales taxes (he buys groceries), sin taxes (beer and cigs), and, in many cases will pay payroll taxes (because he has a fake social).
Here's a little quoted fact. IRS estimates that about 6 million unauthorized immigrants file individual income tax returns each year. Research reviewed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that between 50 percent and 75 percent of unauthorized immigrants pay federal, state, and local taxes.Illegal immigrants are estimated to pay in about $7 billion per year into Social Security.
Basically they subsidize social security: From Tax Years (TY) 1937 through 2003 the ESF had accumulated about 255 million mismatched wage reports, representing $520 billion in wages and about $75 billion in employment taxes paid into the over $1.5 trillion in the Social Security Trust funds. As of October 2005, approximately 8.8 million wage reports, representing $57.8 billion in wages remained unresolved in the suspense file for TY 2003.
I'm not saying there aren't problems with illegals. I'm saying the problems are more gray than black and white when you run the numbers. Numbers provided by the IRS and CBO who don't have a dog in the fight.
Breathe, you make a very good argument. However, the numbers for Joe Legal are realistic, unfortunately. And I think that Jose Illegal sounds accurate too. When someone has no income or assets, programs provide free lunches, medical, and subsidized housing.
I had a very good friend who was European. She married an American and came over to the US. She became a citizen. Her parents, however, retired on a pension of that country, and came over to the US. They did not become citizens and still received all kinds of social security benefits from the US along with their pension, and paid no US taxes! There are lots of loopholes in our government giving. Those in need rarely get what they actually require whereas the savvy get the perks.
We are one of those states that allow driver's licenses to illegals. They often leave the state, with their license as identification, and start a new life in another state. Also, the intent was to require insurance but it hasn't helped. We have a tremendous uninsured motorist problem here.
I recently watched a movie, A Better Life, about an illegal immigrant and his natural born son. I highly recommend it. It shows life from the illegal's point of view. It is an eye opener and very sad.
I will definitely watch it.
Sometimes I think the illegal issue is a distraction from real unfairness in our system, where millionaires and corporations pay a fraction of what working people do. It didn't used to be this way.
Now anyone with a savvy lobbyist has all the loopholes, and we at the bottom fight over the scraps.
If I moved to Mexico I wonder if I could live on their governments handouts, oh yeah thats right, thats why they sneak up here, it really makes me nausious to see where my tax dollars go..
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