Posted on 04/04/2005 9:27:22 PM PDT by Crackingham
Since illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States six years ago, Ángel Martínez has done backbreaking work, harvesting asparagus, pruning grapevines and picking the ripe fruit. More recently, he has also washed trucks, often working as much as 70 hours a week, earning $8.50 to $12.75 an hour.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Martínez, 28, has not given much thought to Social Security's long-term financial problems. But Mr. Martínez - who comes from the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico and hiked for two days through the desert to enter the United States near Tecate, some 20 miles east of Tijuana - contributes more than most Americans to the solvency of the nation's public retirement system.
Last year, Mr. Martínez paid about $2,000 toward Social Security and $450 for Medicare through payroll taxes withheld from his wages. Yet unlike most Americans, who will receive some form of a public pension in retirement and will be eligible for Medicare as soon as they turn 65, Mr. Martínez is not entitled to benefits.
He belongs to a big club. As the debate over Social Security heats up, the estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the system with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year.
While it has been evident for years that illegal immigrants pay a variety of taxes, the extent of their contributions to Social Security is striking: the money added up to about 10 percent of last year's surplus - the difference between what the system currently receives in payroll taxes and what it doles out in pension benefits. Moreover, the money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all the Social Security Administration's projections.
Illegal immigration, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, co-director of immigration studies at New York University, noted sardonically, could provide "the fastest way to shore up the long-term finances of Social Security."
It is impossible to know exactly how many illegal immigrant workers pay taxes. But according to specialists, most of them do. Since 1986, when the Immigration Reform and Control Act set penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, most such workers have been forced to buy fake ID's to get a job.
Currently available for about $150 on street corners in just about any immigrant neighborhood in California, a typical fake ID package includes a green card and a Social Security card. It provides cover for employers, who, if asked, can plausibly assert that they believe all their workers are legal. It also means that workers must be paid by the book - with payroll tax deductions.
IRCA, as the immigration act is known, did little to deter employers from hiring illegal immigrants or to discourage them from working. But for Social Security's finances, it was a great piece of legislation.
Starting in the late 1980's, the Social Security Administration received a flood of W-2 earnings reports with incorrect - sometimes simply fictitious - Social Security numbers. It stashed them in what it calls the "earnings suspense file" in the hope that someday it would figure out whom they belonged to.
The file has been mushrooming ever since: $189 billion worth of wages ended up recorded in the suspense file over the 1990's, two and a half times the amount of the 1980's.
In the current decade, the file is growing, on average, by more than $50 billion a year, generating $6 billion to $7 billion in Social Security tax revenue and about $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes.
In 2002 alone, the last year with figures released by the Social Security Administration, nine million W-2's with incorrect Social Security numbers landed in the suspense file, accounting for $56 billion in earnings, or about 1.5 percent of total reported wages.
Social Security officials do not know what fraction of the suspense file corresponds to the earnings of illegal immigrants. But they suspect that the portion is significant.
"Our assumption is that about three-quarters of other-than-legal immigrants pay payroll taxes," said Stephen C. Goss, Social Security's chief actuary, using the agency's term for illegal immigration.
So, what is your take on this article?
How does this balance out with education, health care and public assistance though?
Great system we got going here, ain't it?
In Los Angeles, the money they contribute to Social Security is more than spent in free medical care, free education for their children, and the destruction of the environment. They have clogged our freeways, crowded our hospitals, schools, and prisons. They have been a blight on our culture and way of life.
Why is there no mention of the almost daily $20,000 medical-helicopter flights every time one of these idiots trys to outrun lawenforcement?
Completely wrong, false! IF they pay any S.S. taxes, the $ go into the US Treasury. As do all "revenue$".
Do you know what that means, boys and girls?
I knew you did.
not to mention the vast sums of money taken OUT of our economy and sent SOUTH .....why don't we ever hear about that ?
Please provide figures please.
Also, currently the federal govt. on a cash accounting basis is providing 1000 dollars per person more in services than taxes collected (300 billion deficit for 300 million people)
I think the same thing could be accomplished using legal immigration, if it were deemed necessary.
So how did the SSA get that? They got it when his employer sent W-2 earnings data to Washington. HINT: Washington knows who hires (as W-2 employees) ILLEGAL aliens.
And, YES Mr. Martínez will get credit for his SS contributions -- if he becomes legal and gets a valid SSN. His contributions are in the Earnings Suspense File. It is not unusual for the SSA to transfer the earning data to a valid SSN once an ILLEGAL becomes legal. Imagine the work load when the millions become "guest workers."
Left out of the NYT's employee's article is the fact that SSA sends out app. 130,000 employer "no match" letters to employers who submit earnings data on ten or more employees. HINT: Washington knows who hires (as W-2 employees) ILLEGAL aliens.
Hint: we don't need another shiny new law for government and business to ignore.
Here's a quick thought without reading the entire article and just off the cuff. If those jobs were filled by legal workers then the worker would earn the same or more (market dictates) and would therefore pay the same or more into SS than illegals. I got no problem with illegals paying into SS and being unable to receive benefits. Such are the drawbacks to living as a law breaker. Legal immigrants have no o such worries. Now I beetter finish reading the article. Hope I don't turn out looking too foolish.
And then gets sent right back to Mexico.
They don't want to become citizens because then their earnings will be taxed just like us.
There is no way you are going to seriously argue that illegals don't cost the taxpayers money.
I was wrong about the 6 billion dollar figure by the way. It's more like 10.5 billion.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/immigrationnaturalizatio/a/caillegals.htm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.