Posted on 12/30/2002 5:37:04 AM PST by SJackson
The coming session of the Texas Legislature has been billed as "the perfect storm" because of the looming $5 to $12 billion-dollar budget shortfall. Although the evidence suggests that immigration, both legal and illegal, is fueling the rapid growth in state spending on social services, this issue is almost entirely absent from the debate.
It is well established that recent immigrants use more in services than they pay in taxes, particularly to state and local governments. The National Research Council, a branch of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, estimates the net fiscal cost of immigration ranges from $11 billion to $22 billion per year, with most government expenditures on immigrants coming from state and local coffers, while most taxes paid by immigrants go to the federal treasury. This is the result of the relatively low level of tax payments by immigrants, because they are disproportionately low-skilled and thus earn low wages, and a higher rate of consumption of government services, both because of their relative poverty and their higher fertility.
According to 2000 U.S. Census data, some 13.2 percent of immigrants enroll in welfare programs compared with 2.1 percent of native-born Americans. In Medicaid, 18.6 percent of immigrants participate, as opposite 12.1 percent of native-born. Mexican immigrants, who comprise the vast majority of immigrants to Texas, use food stamps at nearly twice the rate of native-born Americans and collect an average welfare payment that is 20 percent higher than those recipients.
The National Research Council found that in California, which has endured a similar flood of Mexican immigration as Texas, each native household is paying about $1,178 a year in state and local taxes to cover the gap between the services used by immigrant households and their tax receipts. Although Texas was not included in this study, there is no reason to think the reality is any different here.
Indeed, during the last three years, the Harris County Hospital District alone spent $330 million to treat and immunize illegal immigrants, estimated to be at least 20 percent of their indigent caseload. The District covers this expense through its escalating tax burden on local taxpayers and through cost-shifting to Medicaid and insured patients. The District provides not only emergency care to illegal immigrants, but also a full range of elective services, even access to its fertility clinic that is not included in the health plan for District employees. While the 700,000 illegal immigrants in Texas are only eligible for welfare if they have worked for at least ten years or received asylum, they receive free health care, food stamps, education, and nearly all other government services.
In 2002, Medicaid represented 22.6% of Texas' budget. That number is expected to increase to 23.7% in 2003 in the wake of an August 19 report by the Health and Human Services Commission concluding that, because of higher-than-planned growth in caseloads, the state's Medicaid and children's health insurance programs will cost $2.4 billion more in the next budget cycle than in the current one. Since 1987, the Texas Medicaid budget has grown 500 percent, due in large part to increased enrollment, much of it undoubtedly the result of immigration.
The growth in state health care spending is just one example of how immigration is contributing to the budget shortfall. All of the school districts in South Texas receive Robin Hood recapture payments. Although these districts would likely be poor regardless of current levels of immigration, they would not be experiencing such large growth in their enrollments. It is this growth that is responsible for the budget crises in both urban and suburban districts that are being forced to send more and more of their local tax revenues to the state, leaving them unable to meet the needs of their own students.
Immigration is also a major factor in the population growth that is responsible for growing traffic congestion and pollution in Texas' major cities.
Ultimately, the Legislature's sensitivity to public opinion is likely to forestall a general tax increase this session, but that may come at the expense of vital funding for transportation and higher education, as well as Robin Hood relief. Unfortunately, even though the state bears most of the cost of immigration, it is virtually powerless to control it because it is the constitutional responsibility of the federal government.
Until Washington fortifies border enforcement to stop illegal immigration and reduces the number of unskilled legal immigrants, Texans will pay for the consequences, whether in higher taxes or the crowding out of important government services. While immigrants continue to contribute much to Texas and the nation, if we attempt to absorb all of the many millions of indigent people throughout the world, we will sacrifice the very quality of life that has led so many people to come here.
Chris Allen is State Chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas (www.yct.org) and a graduate student at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
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He lived just across the border in Brownsville, went to college in Houston and couldn't care less what I think of him. He just doesn't like supporting parasites.
The Feds is you.
The Feds is you and me, right now it's only me taken care of the bill.
Then can I have my money back?
Right after I get mine.
Bravo! Exactly!
Not just them ---have you ever seen ANY of the immigrants' kids willing to do this work? You won't, they're less likely to take these jobs than Americans' kids, a life on welfare and government handouts has them expecting free tuitions and the rest.
That's pretty racist of you because where I live there's plenty of Hispanics who aren't immigrants and technically never were immigrants since they were here when this region became the US ---hint ---few of them want open borders either ---Silvestre Reyes was actually elected to Congress from an overwhelmingly Hispanic region after he became popular from his Operation Blockade and Operation Hold-the-Line. It's really only people financially benefitting from what is cheap labor to themselves because the costs of the labor are passed on the taxpayers who believe in open borders.
I know it's a serious problem in Texas ---possibly worse because along the border, the property taxes are much higher than $1,178 a year on an average home ---the wages are low but the property taxes match NY's. I wonder how much total tax the average taxpayer in Texas at least in a border county pays compared with the average in California. I read that to pay just this year's budget deficit in California, each resident would have to pay $1000, I wonder how much of the Texas $12 billion deficit translates to each TAXPAYING resident since fewer and fewer residents pay much taxes.
Are you guessing at that? Well then, I'm guessing that immigrants are more than likely a net MINUS for the Texas economy.
That's if you don't count the money they send home to Mexico that they receive from welfare, from the food stamps that they sell for cash, and from the money that they save by living 10 to an apartment, a violation of most city's zoning laws. And do you think that maybe at least a few Mexicans may engage in criminal activity such as selling drugs to bring in some money?
If you paid a decent wage and it was year-round work, you should have no problem finding American workers to do that type of work. So, would you care to tell us how much you pay your workers, and is it year-round work?
No one has objective stats on the cost/benefit of immigrants, particularly illegal immigrants. So yes, I am guessing.
But my guess is based upon a core belief/trust in capitalism. You see I love the wonderful phenomenon of politically dispassionate markets.
It is real simple: if the market/economy (which is the ultimate cost/benefit analyzer) does not want immigrants, it would not attract immigrants. But the market/economy does attracts immigrants, because the market/economy needs immigrants.
Maybe you are a communist or something, I dunno why you can't understand this, but if you insist on banishing people from our land, please begin with the homeless, disabled, retarded, retired, unemployed, democrats:)-- not hard working Hispanic immigrants.
May the New Year bring courage and principle to those who this year have shown little or none--not only in Texas, but all over America.
For my fellow Conservatives, who have fought the good fight, I wish all a very Happy New Year!
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
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