New Jersey's Costly Immigrant Burden

City Journal ^ | Aug. 29, '07 | Steven Malanga

[T.L.Sink]

The day before the killing of three Newark students by several illegal immigrants, Gov. Corzine formed a commission to study ways of providing immigrants with GREATER access to public services. The panel included no experts on law enforcement or national security. Immigration is already a costly burden to New Jerseyans. In the 90's Congress commissioned a project under the National Academy of Science to examine immigration's bottom line. Two groundbreaking studies - one on NJ and one on california - found that immigrants used government services at greater rates than native-born residents and at the same time paid far less in taxes. For example, Latin American immigrants in New Jersey consumed 26% more in government expenditures than the average native-born, but paid 38% less in taxes. At the time foreign-born residents accounted for about 15% of the population. Now they constitute 20% and the percentage coming to the state from Latin America - those immigrants who, according to the NAS study, consume the most in government resources - is increasing. Harvard economist George Borjas estimates that 63% of Mexican male immigrants lack a high school education and that the economic gains of such low-skill, low-wage immigrants is surpassed by their reliance on government services - and that is increasing. New Jersey has probably the highest state and local tax burden in the country. It makes little sense for Gov. Corzine to spend even more of the state's money on services it can't afford.

[T.L.Sink]

"It's just obvious that you can't have free immigration and a welfare state." - Milton Friedman

One would like to think that after a long history of taxes for prison incarceration, social welfare costs, bankrupt school districts, insolvent hospitals, and drug related crimes - all culminating in the recent Newark massacre - that the Democratic machine running New Jersey would learn something. But I suppose people get what they deserve when they think and vote in such manner.

[Joann37]

Excellent study. We can only hope that SOMEONE decides to take these facts seriously and act accordingly.

[tennteacher]

Wonder if this would be considered racist, too.

Will this article make it to the frong page of the NYT? I seriously doublt it.

[vetsvette]

But, New jersey voters must like it, they keep voting for leftists — and the leftists don’t lie to them about what they will do once in office.

[PGR88]

The United States has the largest refugee population in the world - we have accepted 20 million economic refugees from Mexico.

[T.L.Sink]

I don’t agree with some of Pat Buchanan’s views, but on the illegal invasion issue he’s absolutely right on. In his recent best selling book he has one sentence that says volumes: “In public life, the charge of ‘racism’ has become modernity’s equivalent to the charge of heresy in the Inquisition.” This is so true. “Racism” is being used to defame and slander people in a new McCarthyism - substitute “communist” for racist. It’s the old story - when you can’t adduce facts and rational arguments - you can always rely on character assassination and ad hominem attacks.

[VOA]

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