Patterico's Pontifications

8/25/2009

Can’t We Just Deduct the Cost of Illegal Immigration from Mexico’s Foreign Aid?

Filed under: Immigration — Patterico @ 7:14 am



The answer is: yes and no. Yes, because it’s eminently logical. No, because a) politicians will never do it, and b) there isn’t enough foreign aid to Mexico to come even close.

I thought about the question recently when I saw a comment somewhere suggesting that we address the cost of treating illegal immigrants at emergency rooms by sending Mexico a bill. Well, obviously we can’t do that, I thought, but why not deduct it from their foreign aid?

After all, I think someone mentioned recently that California might have a small budget problem. Running in the tens of billions of dollars. So why not determine how much money California spends on illegal immigrants, deduct that from Mexico’s foreign aid, and send the money to California instead? (And of course we could do the same for other border states like Arizona, whose budgets are also weighed down with spending for illegals.) So I ran some numbers this morning.

How much are we giving Mexico? We’re proposing around a billion:

The Obama administration is freeing up $85.4 million to help Mexico fight drug cartels, settling a debate over whether to withhold the money because of allegations the Mexican military is carrying out murders and other crimes.

. . . .

Calling Mexico’s military justice system “manifestly ineffective,” Leahy said that neither Mexico nor the State Department “has treated human rights abuses by the military, which is engaging in an internal police function it is ill- suited for, as a priority.”

Still, Leahy said he has backed more than $1 billion in aid for Mexico since June 2008 and will support more in the future to help solve its “complex” challenges.

What do illegal immigrants cost California? FAIR had a study estimating about $10 billion a year.

That’s ten times what we’re talking about giving Mexico. And that’s just the cost to California alone.

Guess we can’t deduct all our costs.

Still, even though it is politically impossible, and would make only a dent in the cost of illegals to this country, it would perfect sense to cut off all aid to Mexico while our states are running deficits in part to care for Mexican citizens.

Maybe that would give Mexico an incentive to do something about the problem.

Nah, that makes too much sense.

30 Responses to “Can’t We Just Deduct the Cost of Illegal Immigration from Mexico’s Foreign Aid?”

  1. “Nah, that makes too much sense.”

    + about a Billion $$$

    How about sending Germany and Japan and South Korea bills for the trillions in defense dollars we spent there over the last 50 years defending them from Commie aggression so they could in turn spend that money instead on domestic social programs?

    How about pulling all of our troops out of Germany and Japan and South Korea and placing them on our borders with Mexico and Canada to stop the flood of illegal aliens?

    Nah, makes too much sense, the politicians will never go for it.

    J. Raymond Wright (d83ab3)

  2. It’s a major source of income for Mexico. All those people who come north to work, most of them end up sending a lot of the money they make back home again. It turns out to be one of Mexico’s biggest sources of foreign currency.

    Steven Den Beste (99cfa1)

  3. How about withholding foreign aid from all the other countries that have people living here on the dole. Somalias in WI, Kenyans in NYC, Muslims from various countries in MI, etc, etc. But that would be politically incorrect, I suppose.

    PatAZ (9d1bb3)

  4. I wonder if FAIR is still assumming that the 1,000,000 families est here in California illegally are still living here tax free and dont generate and spend income, their housing and food, cars and clothing, electricity are all waved in by the magic fairy wand of wishful reporting.

    The Federal State and local tax burden is about 25% of GDP lets say its less for illegals about 15%
    If 40,000 is the avg household amt for an illegal family suffice it to say they contribute 40 billion to Californias economy.

    Say they spend 80% and save 20% then the illegal California community spends about 32 billion lets round down to 30 billion

    30 billion times 15% is 4.5 billion in generated taxes as a low and 7.5 billion as a high

    Now those are not split between the Feds as the Feds cant collect from an illegal most of the time

    Additionally about 10% (which is th avg profit margin of most retailers) of that 30 billion in disposable income are to be paid by owners at a much higher income tax bracket – lets say 35% of 10% of 30 Billion so about another billion is generated in Taxes due to the spening power of the illegal Hispanic Community.

    So its all in how you tell the story

    Remember everything that moves or produces shade gets taxed in Calfornia

    EricPWJohnson (9208b2)

  5. Remember when Bill Clinton went to North Korea to retrieve two Americans who entered there illegally?

    When will Vicente Fox come to America to retrieve all the Mexicans who entered illegally?

    Michael Ejercito (833607)

  6. I believe that AZ and NM have already told Mexican officials that they’re not going to continue to allow porous border controls and unlimited emergency care and schooling for illegals. Why can’t CA do the same, I wonder?

    /sarc/

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  7. I could be mistaken – perhaps Texas instead of NM?

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  8. Not making sense is precisely what the TEA party folk are protesting. Even if the illegal tab is 50 billion total, that would only be a drop in the bucket of what the Obamatrons are proposing/actually spending at this time.

    So, don’t count on anyone in the federal government (and most of the state governments) making sense. Just ain’t going to happen!

    GM Roper (85dcd7)

  9. Since Patterico admits that his plan will never happen, why even bring it up? If anyone wants to actually do something about the underlying problem, get a group together and find a smart trial lawyer to “interrograte” a politician over this.

    24AheadDotCom (e10679)

  10. Considering what America’s appetite for drugs has done to Mexico, I’d say it’s a wash.

    Plus, they sell us 500 million barrels of oil a year.

    Sunburn (5d93e3)

  11. We should all do what 24Ahead says. Also we should all disdain anything what 24Ahead does not say.

    If you could see my face now you would think oh wow that is a very disdainful look what happyfeet has on his face and I would notice you noticing and I would be even more disdainful and tell you if you really wanted to make a difference you should click here.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  12. 10.Considering what America’s appetite for drugs has done to Mexico, I’d say it’s a wash.

    Plus, they sell us 500 million barrels of oil a year.

    The 500 million barrels are paid for, so don’t know what the point of that is.

    And, every country has an appetite for drugs, but that is a different argument all-together (but typical fake morality – its all america’s fault). Look at the fact that Mexico has MORE natural resources than the U.S., yet is a mess. America certainly did not do that to Mexico. Socialism did.

    As to the accounting of amounts:

    If 40,000 is the avg household amt for an illegal family suffice it to say they contribute 40 billion to Californias economy

    Ummm, I somehow doubt that $40,000 is the average illegal family income. I would guess closer to $15k – but let’s say $20k. That’s $20 billion.

    I would also point out that most mexican illegals send a large percentage of their money back to mexico, so the 80/20% is way off. It is probably closer to 50% spent in the U.S. and 50% sent to Mexico. To be conservative though (and who doesn’t want to be conservative) let’s say they spend 65% in CA. Which is $13 billiion.

    So, at the 9.75% sales tax rate in L.A., that is roughly $1.27 billion. I’ll even throw in the billion you claimed as other taxes generated by their spending. That is $2.27 billion generated in taxes for CA.

    So, even being generous, we have a deficit of over $7 billion a year.

    So even if FAIR did not take illegal immigrants’ tax contributions to CA into account, there is still a major deficit.

    Monkeytoe (e66874)

  13. 24ahead us a ginormous douchenozzle, but not nearly as bad as that lting liar sunburst. Just sayin’

    JD (243ec7)

  14. Why can’t we just deduct the bill for Mexico from the ACORN Stimulus funding?

    PCD (02f8c1)

  15. Is this a serious suggestion? What do you think would happen to the number of Mexican’s wanting to come here if we suspended aid to Mexico? Why do you think we send them aid to begin with? You are ignorant if you think US foreign policy is altruistic.

    Jesse (7bf67c)

  16. Since Patterico admits that his plan will never happen, why even bring it up?

    “Since I’m only posting to talk in inanities and pimp my assinine blogwart, why do I even come here?”

    Considering what America’s appetite for drugs has done to Mexico

    You left out Canada, which has been supplying more drugs to the US and other markets exponentially over the last decade. Try to keep up, your Talking Points are stale and haggard.

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  17. I say offer a billion dollars, split up to bribe all Mexico’s politicians, if they can cut the flow of illegals in half. Win win.

    Juan (bd4b30)

  18. Since Patterico admits that his plan will never happen, why even bring it up?

    I think it makes a simple point about the effect illegal immigration has on us, and a point about how Mexico is a bad neighbor. It’s rhetoric.

    Mexico’s liberal policies are rarely discussed in US Schools because they prove something. Short term thinking got them where they are. It’s a shame the people there are more likely to have a good life from fleeing than they are by demanding reforms.

    Juan (bd4b30)

  19. How about using all the social security money we’re withholding from their paychecks that they’ll never see because they’re using fake SS numbers?

    tim maguire (4a98f0)

  20. As has been alluded to above, the question is less how much they are costing us, but how much more it would cost us if they didn’t send them aid.

    I personally think we should annex Mexico and get them paying taxes to us. Then we can enforce the rule of law. I’m sick of trying to do socialism right. Let’s try doing imperialism right.

    luagha (5cbe06)

  21. “Why do you think we send them aid to begin with? You are ignorant if you think US foreign policy is altruistic.”

    Jesse – What do you libturds expect us to get out of Darfur? Is that more evil empire building on your part?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  22. “Why do you think we send them aid to begin with? You are ignorant if you think US foreign policy is altruistic.”

    Jesse – Maybe Clinton not figuring out an angle to score some treasure held him back from intervening in Rwanda, but it was pretty embarrassing afterwards.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  23. “The answer is: yes and no. Yes, because it’s eminently logical. No, because a) politicians will never do it, and b) there isn’t enough foreign aid to Mexico to come even close.”

    If we cut off the aid, would mexico change in a direction such that we got more or less immigration from there?

    Why not just tax the immigrants as they work?

    imdw (e1eeed)

  24. I would guess that the foreign aid is really payoffs for the warlords, like LA’s infamous gang intervention funds.

    Plus, deducting the cost of their citizens would defeat the Obama excuse-me-for-living foreign aid posture that will soon bring peace and unicorns to the earth.

    Patricia (29a01d)

  25. “Why not just tax the immigrants as they work?”

    imdw – Why not enforce immigration laws and finish the fence?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  26. because its better to have more taxpayers and workers.

    imdw (34f1ae)

  27. My grandson was the only child in his kindergarten class who was not in the English as a Second Language program. That kind of change forced on a community has hidden costs that cannot be tabulated, even if the Culture of Corruption cared, which they don’t.

    And another thing, how do we get jobs as “community organizers” when we don’t have any community to organize?

    tyree (b7243f)

  28. tyree,
    A friend of mine was told by an LA school when she went to sign up her first-grader that she would be put in an English or Spanish-speaking class chosen by lottery! Putting each kid into a class based on their language would be discriminatory!

    Immediately, to private school.

    Patricia (29a01d)

  29. An ominous pattern is slowly emerging towards an inevitable power play on pushing another amnesty through Congress. We need to take the many consequences into consideration:
    1 We already had an enforceable 1986 law to stop the illegal immigrant invasion of our country, but it has been intentionally ignored? So–WHY–are they adamant in passing another immigration law?
    2. Most enforcement legislation has been crushed or weakened by many of the politicians we voted into office.
    3. That many of our own government members have pandered to the special interest lobbyists and not voters.
    4 For decades American taxpayers have been supporting, business welfare, who have never contributed to foreign national workers. That emergency hospitals, must attend any foreign person who enters its doors, illegal or legal? ICE should be on standby and demand who that individual is working for and subsequently make the employer pay instead of the taxpayers.
    5. That Democrats are downplaying that the 20 plus illegal immigrant families living here, will not have access to the health care reform package? But are not saying that if a new path to citizenship is enacted, they can automatically get health care?
    6. Should a new immigration reform package is passed, what’s stopping millions more poor, uneducated people storming the border.
    7. Why did Sen. Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the party try to dismantle E-Verify and under fund the border fence, so it was only a single layer instead of two tiers?
    8 That E-Verification is working and working well, so no wonder the US Chamber of Commerce, ACLU, Cato Institute and a large majority of anti-sovereignty groups have been involved in lawsuits, and questionable appeasement by politicians to kill the any enforcement laws.

    9. Why are we still inviting around a million new immigrants a year, when their are about 15 million jobless Americans? My health care experience was mainly in England, Germany and 15 months in Australia and prior to the mass European immigration invasion was positively first class. FIRST CLASS AND EXEMPLARY! THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS RATIONING?

    Of all the states that–SHOULD–be using E-Verify, is the illegal immigrant sanctuary state of California. Illegal immigration attributed to the near bankruptcy of California and is a prime example of intentionally ignoring immigration laws.

    GET RAW ANSWERS AT NUMBERSUSA Contact those in WASHINGTON! NO MORE AMNESTIES. USE ATTRITION TO DEPORT ILLEGAL WORKERS THROUGH E-VERIFY, 287 G, NO MATCH SOCIAL SECURITY LETTERS AND LIGHTENING ICE RAIDS. CONTACT YOUR POLITICIAN 202-224-3121 AND DEMAND NO WEAKENING OF CURRENT 1986 (IRCA) OTHER SITES FOR INFORMATION IS HERITAGE FOUNDATION, JUDICIAL WATCH.

    Brittancus (e708cf)


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