Ellafrella's Blog

12 November 2008

Legally, U.S. Presidential Election Not Yet Complete

Electoral College votes must be cast and certified by Congress

  Barack Obama officially will not win the 2008 presidential election until electors cast their votes and Congress certifies the results.

By Michelle Austein
Staff Writer

Washington — Although President-elect Obama is preparing for his administration, most people know he will not take office as the 44th president of the United States until January 20, 2009, when he takes the oath of office on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

What many do not realize is that he will not be elected officially until January 6, 2009.

In the general election November 4, Barack Obama earned at least 365 Electoral College votes — well above the 270 needed to win the presidency. His victories came from all the states that supported the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004. But they also came from nine states that had supported the 2004 Republican presidential candidate — Colorado, New Mexico, North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Ohio, Nevada and Virginia.

Obama also picked up one Electoral College vote from a traditionally “red” (Republican) state, Nebraska. Most states award all of their votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote, but Maine and Nebraska award each of their votes by congressional district. For the first time in history, Nebraska split its votes — awarding four to John McCain and one from the 2nd Congressional District to Obama.

As prescribed in the U.S. Constitution, U.S. presidents are not elected directly by the people but by a group of designated citizens known as electors. This group of electors makes up the Electoral College.

Each state’s Electoral College delegation is equal to the state’s number of senators — two from each state — plus its number of delegates in the House of Representatives. The size of a House delegation varies by the population of the state, with more populous states having more representatives. The District of Columbia, which has no voting representation in Congress, has three Electoral College votes.

The process for selecting electors varies from state to state, but usually the political parties nominate electors at state party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee. On Election Day, the voters in each state, by casting votes for president and vice president, actually are voting for the electors who will vote for the voters' preferred candidate.

NEXT STEPS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

A presidential candidate has been projected a winner in all but one state — Missouri. Most media outlets refer to Missouri as “leaning toward McCain” because the Republican candidate seems likely to win by about 6,000 votes.

Typically, it takes several days for states to count all mail-in absentee ballots. Additionally, many states have not yet counted provisional ballots, which are cast by voters whose eligibility to vote is unclear on Election Day. Before these ballots can be counted, the voters must be deemed eligible.

Each state must certify the Election Day results to make the vote counts official, a process that can take several weeks. Each state sets its own guidelines for certifying results.

Over the next four weeks, states will complete their counts and certify the results. Each state’s governor then must sign a document, known as a “certification of ascertainment,” that must be sent to the National Archives by December 15.

On December 15, the Electoral College convenes to cast its votes. The 538 electors never all gather together — rather each state’s delegation meets at its own statehouse.

There, the electors officially cast their votes for president and vice president. The Constitution requires them to vote for a president and vice president from the same ticket.

Electors in each state are expected to cast their vote for the candidate their state’s voters preferred. About half the states have laws binding an elector to vote for the candidate selected by his or her state’s voters. Occasionally, an elector has voted against his or her state’s wishes, but that vote never has made a difference in the outcome of the election.

Once the votes are cast, “certificates of vote” are sent to the U.S. Senate, the state’s secretary of state, the judge of the district in which the electors have assembled, and the National Archives.

By January 3, 2009, the National Archives will send the certifications to Congress. In what will be one of the first duties of the 111th Congress on January 6, 2009, the House and Senate will count the electoral votes. Then, just two weeks before Obama takes the oath of office, he officially will be elected president.

Some Food for thought



Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read
"Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on an "Obama 08" tie, again I
laughed as he had given away his political preference.

Suddenly a thought came to my mind....

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him
that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He
stood there in disbelief as I told him that I was going to redistribute
his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside.
The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $5 and told him to thank the
server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless
guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I
realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn,
but the waiter was angry that I gave away the money he DID earn, even
though the actual recipient needed the money more.

The next time I went to the restaurant, two homeless guys were waiting
outside in hopes of a handout. When I went inside, the same server just
glared at me and refused to serve me lunch.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in
concept than in practical application.

LESSON LEARNED: REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH IS SOCIALISM. SOCIALISM TAKES
AWAY THE INCENTIVE TO WORK.

OBAMA STANDS FOR CHANGE; THAT CHANGE IS FROM CAPITALISM TO SOCIALISM.
UNDER AN OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WE WILL SEE MORE PEOPLE UNWILLING TO WORK
BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY WILL GET A HANDOUT FROM THE GOVERNMENT. SMALL
BUSINESSES WILL PULL BACK AND REDUCE HIRING NEW EMPLOYEES. BIG BUSINESS
WILL TAKE WORK OVERSEAS IN ORDER TO KEEP MORE OF THE MONEY THEY EARN.

IN THE END....EVERYONE LOSES.

IF YOU WANT "CHANGE"......VOTE OBAMA, BECAUSE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT
YOU'LL GET!!!

So what do you think???

Far From the Tree

Across the US it is reported coordinated voter fraud by a group called ACORN. In several states ACORN has registered dead people. people out of state, the same person multiple times, many people in the handwriting of one, and best of all, in a small town registration office, an entire professional football team was registered. The press went to the local office and found it to be an empty store front, then to the regional office and it was an empty store front. Finally when they found an official to speak, he said “this was the classic case of ACORN being railroaded by the Federal Govt.”

Interestingly or not, Obama was once their lawyer, he then worked with them, a year ago his political team gave them $800.000.00 and surprise, ACORN supports Obama.

The Attorney General for Washington State reported massive registration fraud, Washington’s governor went on TV to say he spoke to the Attorney General and they are now on track. He told the Attorney General to shut his mouth as Washington state is second only to Calif. in liberalism and uber pro obama.

Obama

20 years courtship with Rev Wright, a anti American Raciest who baptized Obama’s kids, Obama says, He never listened!?

In his book, Obama said he was ashamed his mother was white

In his book, a Friend “FRANK” who he met with weekly for political discussions, well he knew full well that Davis was a top operative of the American Communist Party, who spent most of his time in Hawaii taking photographs of the U.S. naval station there and spotting young recruits?

He made 160k, his wife 350K and together they could not afford the 750K mortgage (when anyone could get one) so their other friend and now convicted felon paid for the land next to their home and gave it to them, guess the price for a pardon.

Obama will not wear the American Flag, says it is no big deal, if it is no big deal, why does he not put one on, at least sometimes?

Obama camp criticized McCain for having several homes, well if McCane had a felon buying his land he have even more or if Obama was not a coke head he could have bought a house or two. Obama said he did not try Heron as he had a “personality clash” with his dealer!

PS: Ms. Obama’s work at a Chicago Hospital, when Obama was appointed Senator (he had no opponent, due to a tech violation) she was promoted to community affairs and double salary raise to 250. Eight months later the Hospital got a multimillion contract from the State that Obama pushed through. Her main accomplishment was to come up with a plan and implement it via an advertising blitz so people will use the local health clinics more. In other words the poor Chicago Blacks should go to the local nurse run local clinic, Mon –Fro, 9 to 5 vice the Hospital Emergency room (guess with no insurance poor blacks are not wanted on Michele’s shift).

Obama’s college thesis is still blocked but under her maiden name hers got out. What a studious piece of hard work, the title, “What it is like being black at Princeton” One observation was that she was surprised and hurt that out of 300 surveys, only 89 came back and some of the blacks reported that they felt more “American” then “African”. Remember her election quote was that this was the first time she was proud to be an American.

Vote for Obama, vote for Socialism, I should be glad as I would retire and while standing in line and waiting 18 months for cataract surgery, I will not be paying 50% tax. Also then the US of A will not longer be the world’s cop, the world’s feeder, or the world’s doctor. When Muslim Indonesia has their flood, hurricane, earthquake, aids, local terrorist and even a volcano tearing them apart, they can then go to Russia, or China or the Saudi Family for help….

As the last good news, the NAACP has a registration project for X-Felons to get them to vote, gee I know they are the voting block I want to be part of.

The nation is on hers knees, you can help her up or knock her down, the decision is yours.

LIBERALS FLEE TO CANADA

PANICKED BY FEAR OF McCAIN/PALIN WIN

From the MANITOBA HERALD, Canada (a very underground paper): The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration.

The possibility of a McCain/Palin election is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly.
 
Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night.
 
I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn,' said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota .
 
The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. 'He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken.
 
When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?'
 
In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. 'Not real effective,' he said. 'The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk.'

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves.
 
'A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions,' an Ontario border patrolman said. 'I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. 'They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though.'
 
When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the McCain administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to shoot wolves from airplanes, deny evolution, and act out drills preparing them for the Rapture.
 
In recent days, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers on Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney hits to prove they were alive in the '50s.
 
'If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get suspicious about their age,' an official said.
 
Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies.
 
'I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them,' an Ottawa resident said. 'How many art-history and English majors does one country need?'

THANKS TO ROB SANCHEZ

Paul Streitz

Director, CT Citizens for Immigration Control

http://www.ctimmigration.com/

amfirst@optonline.net

This is wonderful.... read and enjoy

Minorities

We need to show more sympathy for these people.
* They travel miles in the heat.
* They risk their lives crossing a border.
* They don't get paid enough wages.
* They do jobs that others won't do or are afraid to do .
* They live in crowded conditions among a people who speak a different language.
* They rarely see their families, and they face adversity all day ~ every day.


No, I'm not talking about illegal Mexicans ~ I'm talking about our troops! Doesn't it seem strange that many Democrats and Republicans are willing to lavish all kinds of social benefits on illegals, but don't support our troops, and are even threatening to defund them?

Please pass this on; this is worth the short time it takes to read.

---

'They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English.  I can't even talk the way these people talk:  
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...  
 
  And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.  

And then I heard the father talk.  

Everybody knows it's important to speak English
except  these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor   with  that kind of crap coming out of your  mouth.  
 
 In fact you wil l never get any kind of job making a decent living.  People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we've got these knuckleheads walking around.
 
  The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal  


These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids. $500 sneakers for what??

And  they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.  
I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.  

Where were you when he was 2??

Where were you when he was 12??

Where were you when he was 18 and how come you didn't know that he had a pistol??

And where is the father?? Or who is his father?  

People putting their clothes on backward:
Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?  

People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn't that a sign of something?

Or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up?  
Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles [piercing] going through her body?   What part of   Africa did this come from! ??

We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don't know a thing about Africa .

With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap,  and all of them are in jail.

Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white  person's problem.  

We have got to take the neighborhood back.  
 
People used to be ashamed. Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.  

We  have millionaire football players who cannot read.  
 
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job. Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.   < I>

We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.
 
We cannot blame the white people any longer.'  
 
 
                        Dr. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr.,  Ed.D.
 
   
 
 WAY TO GO, BILL !!  
 
  It's NOT about color...
  It's about behavior!! !
 
 
 PASS THIS ON   AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John McCain criticizes Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, claiming that they would create massive government and raise taxes to "painful" levels

What happened at the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination against women?
How does the Law of the sea affect us?
What is the GAT treaty? And is it good for America?
What is "Man & the Bio shere program?
Where in America are World Heritage sites?

The American Sovereignty protections Act?

Sunday, August 10, 2008

08/10 01:37 PM

JOHN EDWARDS

John Edwards Thinks We're Stupid

The confession of John Edwards was, to me, worthy of attention for a few reasons, but not worthy of endless analysis. The guy's chances at being Obama's running mate or attorney general are shot to hell.

Having said that... there are at least two glaring questions that suggest Edwards' explanation consists of additional lies. (Besides his claim that the affair started after she was hired by his PAC, and not before, which appears to be contradicted by the PAC billing records.)

If the affair ended in 2006, why were Edwards and Hunter meeting in the Beverly Hills Hilton from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. last month? Beyond that... if the child is not his, why did she bring the baby to their late-night meeting?

The official Edwards explanation is that he met, without telling Elizabeth, for a secret meeting at a luxury hotel room from 9:45 p.m to 2:40 p.m., in order to not have sex, while a friend took care of the child in a room several doors down (according to the Enquirer's account), and that after they had spent time together in the room not having sex, he told her, "hey, let's bring in your infant that I am not the father of, I would be happy to caress the adorable little child that I did not sire." Because philanderers are legendarily concerned about the offspring of their ex-mistresses.

Edwards, helpfully, says he has no idea if the Enquirer's picture of him holding the child is real or not:

Last week, the Enquirer published a blurry photo of a man who looks like Edwards holding a baby. The tabloid said the photo was taken at the hotel.

"I don't know if that picture is me," Edwards said. "It could well be. It looks like me. I don't know who that baby is. I have no idea what the picture is."

When pressed by Woodruff, Edwards continued: "I mean, do you know how many pictures have been taken of me holding children in the last three years? I mean, it happens all the time."

This man thinks we're stupid. And some people are indeed buying this.

What do you think?

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't

By Toni Mack
Forbes
July 7, 1997

Geologists believe that vast oil reserves lie beneath Alaska's 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Anwar for short,. Lobbying by environmentalist groups has prevented drilling there. But this may be changing as Congress discovers there are more votes to be had by cutting taxes and balancing the budget than by kowtowing to extreme environmentalist groups

In March, British Petroleum and Chevron announced that they had discovered 100 million barrels of oil at their Sourdough prospect, on state-controlled land just west of ANWAR. Some geologists think Sourdough could turn out to hold 300 million b barrels of oil.

The very day BP and Chevron made their announcement, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt blared his response: "Let me be perfectly clear. This Administration remains strongly opposed to oil and gas drilling within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."

Perfectly clear? Babbitt knows the Sourdough field probably extends eastward into Anwar territory, and Sourdough is only one Anwar-adjacent play. To say absolutely no to drilling would deprive the federal government of taxes and lease revenues that could amount to nearly $2 billion.

Looking for a way out, Babbitt is trying to tax Sourdough oil on the grounds that it is really Anwar oil seeping westward. "It is our responsibility," Babbitt solemnly announced, "to assure that American taxpayers are adequately compensated for any potential drainage of federal [i.e. Anwar] oil from the state lease [at Sourdough]."

Nice try. But in this respect the U.S. government is like any other landowner whose neighbor strikes oil. Under the "rule of capture" the landowner must prove his neighbor's oil extends beneath his own land in order to claim drainage of his oil. How does the landowner prove that? Replies David Johnston, Alaska's oil and gas conservation commissioner: "To determine recoverable oil, you need information about the rock itself, and that's only available if you drill wells."

That puts Babbitt in a tough spot. If he drills Anwar, he risks finding reserves too valuable to leave unexploited. If he doesn't drill, BP and Chevron might get some Sourdough oil without paying federal royalties.

Sourdough is merely the first skirmish, Exxon has a huge undeveloped discovery just to the west of the Arctic refuge at Point Thomson. Next winter Atlantic Richfield will drill an exploratory well at its Warthog prospect just north of the refuge, in the Beaufort Sea.

The Arctic refuge is only 654 miles east of 13 Billion-bbl-Prudhoe Bay field, North America's biggest oil field. Prudhoe Bay is depleting at a rate of around 310 million bbl. a a year. Alaska, since it lives off oil revenues, is less squeamish about drilling than the fed are. Hoping to find more, Alaska, has leased drilling rights to 209,000 acres bordering the refuge. It will probably offer 100,000 acres more if a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision transfers control from federal to state hands.

We're talking high stakes. Washington's own assessment of the Arctic refuge's 1.5 million acre coastal plain put mean estimates of recoverable oil at 3 billion to 4 billion bbl. A study sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists puts it at 7 billion bbl. By way of context, the U.S. consumes about 6.7 billion bbl. of oil a year. Of that, 52% was imported last year, at a cost of $68 billion.

No one denies that Anwr, like all Arctic areas, is a fragile environment. As naturalist Barry Lopez observes in Arctic Dreams, truck tracks in the tundra will last for decades.

But it is also fact that oil men have devised methods of drilling Arctic turf that leave scarcely a scratch. In winter they build ice roads that disappear in the spring. The latest technology allows oil men to sink wells that travel as far as 5 miles horizontally below the surface, so that far fewer wells are needed. Arco is developing its 400-million-barrel Alpine find to the west of Prudhoe bay using only 100 of its 40,000 acres.

Facts matter little in a debate that has quasi-religious overtones. Environmental groups stymied efforts to open the refuge to drilling in 1989, 1991, and 1995. In February Congressman Bruce Vento (D-Minn.) introduced a bill that would make Anwar off limits to oil men forever. The bill has 108 cosponsors.

What's changing, however, and what may derail Vento's bill, is money, increasingly scarce at a time when Congress is trying to cut taxes without really curbing spending. "Before [the Sourdough find}, the easiest thing for the federal government to do about Anwar was nothing," says Adam Sleminski, a NatWest Securities oil analyst. "Now, ignoring it is a lack of fiduciary responsibility."

It is also ignoring the fact that drilling can now be done with relatively small environmental impact. Says Tony Knowles, Alaska's Democratic governor: "We can do development right, and I'm asking people with strong environmental values to come look at the technology."

OK, This is from article written in 1997, look at us now in 2008 with gas prices at $$$$...

So what do we do now?


What do you think?

Is Illegal Immigration Making You Sick? Literally?

The unchecked flow of illegal border-hoppers from the south is washing over us like a Texas flash flood. It negatively impacts our bottom line, greatly compromises our security, and erodes our national identity… but what nobody's talking about is how serious a public health issue it is.

They're trying to cheat the system, but in the end, you're the one who pays. Maybe you don't know this, but all immigrants who want to qualify for their green cards have to go through a thorough testing process. Basically, they have to prove that they don't have any contagious diseases or drug addictions.

Do you have any idea how rampant diseases are in Third World countries that don't have the same sanitary conditions and health care available to them? Our screening process is in place to keep us all safe. Whether people choose to accept it or not, the truth is that too many of the illegals who "bypass" this testing process are coming into this country with more than just their "dream of a better life"-they're also bringing very contagious, and sometimes very deadly, diseases.

If you're not worried, you should be. Think about where these illegals work, like chicken factories, fast-food restaurants, and other places where they handle YOUR food. Or where their children go to school-that's right, they're sitting right next to your children and grandchildren, sneezing all over them in class. Now do you see why I'm so concerned?

The immigration crisis is finally front and center on our national stage-so much so that politicians from both sides of the aisle are being forced to reckon with it (or at least talk about reckoning with it). But this is no cause for celebration. I still say they're overlooking the most critical threat. Consider the scope of the problem:

The high price of illegal immigration

Even conservative estimates peg the number of illegal Hispanics in America at around 10 million. Altogether, just the Mexican nationals among the illegals send more than $15 billion home to their native country every year. This represents Mexico's second largest income stream-second only to oil exports.

Around 25% of Mexico's GDP (or gross domestic product, which is around 250 billion) comes from CRIME. A huge percentage of that crime (narcotics trafficking, human trafficking) takes place in the U.S. An estimated 75% of the illicit drugs in this country come in through our southern border. The gang-murder numbers prove it, too. In L.A. alone, more than 90% of outstanding homicide warrants are for illegals.

Despite the bleeding hearts' claims that illegal immigrants are good for the U.S. economy, the National Academy of Sciences calculates the lifetime fiscal impact of the average adult Mexican immigrant (the amount of taxes paid vs. the value of government services used-like emergency medical and surgical healthcare) to be a NEGATIVE $55,200. That's over half a trillion dollars when multiplied by just the 10 million or so illegals already here.

But those statistics pale in comparison to the health epidemic we face from the infections and viruses that cross our borders unchecked every single day.

Are Illegal Immigrants Making You Sick?

Do you know the bone-chilling details of the kinds of diseases illegal immigrants are bringing into this country…like HIV, polio, and malaria, just to name a few...

How can you can protect yourself and your family?

So do we need to curb illegal immigration or not?

It's my mission to reveal the real threats to your health that the politicos would rather ignore.

Trust me-I know how confusing it can be to sift through all the baloney you're inundated with by greedy drug companies and dirty politicians.

What do you think?

Do illegal immigrants receive more government benefits than they pay in taxes?




Posted April 3rd, 2008 by Joel The Associated Press

Day laborers, who identified themselves as illegal immigrants looking for work, gather around a potential employer that stopped to hire workers at a street corner where illegal immigrants gather in Dallas.

One of the most common criticisms of illegal immigration is that immigrants pay little or no taxes, yet still receive government services paid for by tax-paying U.S. citizens. This criticism was repeated again recently by Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman as she opened her campaign for governor of that state:

The Republican presented a report to a Senate committee, expounding on the burden that illegal workers place on the state and federal government. Such workers and their employers avoided paying between $242 million and $449 million a year in income and payroll taxes for Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance, she said.

“So the problem is quite evident,” Steelman said. “It also creates an unfair advantage for employers who are not paying those taxes over companies that do pay the required taxes.”

Steelman, it turned out, misread a study on the topic and overestimated the amount of unpaid taxes. But she asserted that her general claim -- that the hiring of illegal immigrants robs government of taxes. Is it true?

It may depend on whether you take a long-term or short-term view of the topic. In the short term, experts seem to agree, illegal immigrants tend to receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. The disparity has given rise to a Web site created by the conservative Heritage Foundation: No Free Mustang.

Why is it called that? Robert Rector explains:

"The average illegal immigrant family receives an average of $30,000 in governmental benefits! Yet they pay only about $9,000 in taxes per year. That creates a $21,000 shortfall that the American taxpayer has to make up. That's like buying each of the illegal immigrant families a brand new Mustang convertible -- each and every year!"

The Center for Immigration Studies, a vocal opponent of illegal immigration, looked at "The High Cost of Cheap Labor"

in 2004 and found that illegal immigrant families tended to receive fewer welfare and Medicaid benefits than other households -- but even then, didn't pay enough in taxes to cover the cost.

Based on Census Bureau data, this study finds that, when all taxes paid (direct and indirect) and all costs are considered, illegal households created a net fiscal deficit at the federal level of more than $10 billion in 2002. We also estimate that, if there was an amnesty for illegal aliens, the net fiscal deficit would grow to nearly $29 billion.

In terms of welfare use, receipt of cash assistance programs tends to be very low, while Medicaid use, though significant, is still less than for other households. Only use of food assistance programs is significantly higher than that of the rest of the population. Also, contrary to the perceptions that illegal aliens don't pay payroll taxes, we estimate that more than half of illegals work "on the books." On average, illegal households pay more than $4,200 a year in all forms of federal taxes. Unfortunately, they impose costs of $6,950 per household.

The disparity might be higher, but the Reason Foundation's Shikha Dalmia noted in 2006

that the federal government had long since cracked down on benefits to illegal immigrants.

The 1996 welfare reform bill disqualified illegal immigrants from nearly all means-tested government programs including food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare-funded hospitalization. The only services that illegals can still get are emergency medical care and K-12 education.

According to a study by the Urban Institute, the 1996 welfare reform effort dramatically reduced the use of welfare by undocumented immigrant households, exactly as intended.

The exception for K-12 education, though, is a pretty big one -- and it's borne, generally, by state and local governments. Wisconsin is an example, as shown in this report

on a study in March by that state's Policy Research Institute:

The data show Brown County loses an average of about $9 million a year on immigrants. In other words, immigrants consume more in state and local services than they pay into the system through state and local taxes. The biggest cost burden is education for children, which is the most expensive public service.

On the other hand, the presence of illegal immigrants in the United States has apparently bolstered the finances of Social Security. Many undocumented workers pay into the system, but never retire or receive a dime from the program, as the New York Times reported in 2005:

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.

That continues to be true, according to an April 2 editorial in the Times:

In the fine print of the 2008 annual report on Social Security, released last week, the program’s trustees noted that growing numbers of “other than legal” workers are expected to bolster the program over the coming decades.

We’re not talking chump change. According to the report, the taxes paid by other-than-legal immigrants will close 15 percent of the system’s projected long-term deficit. That’s equivalent to raising the payroll tax by 0.3 percentage points, starting today.

And in a 2007 report, the White House Council of Economic Advisers asserted that, over the long haul, immigrants end up paying off:

The long-run impact of immigration on public budgets is likely to be positive. Projections of future taxes and government spending are subject to uncertainty, but a careful study published by the National Research Council estimated that immigrants and their descendants would contribute about $80,000 more in taxes (in 1996 dollars) than they would receive in public services.

The overall effect, the council said, is a bit of a wash -- and a minor one at that:

The long-term fiscal approach imparts four main lessons: 1) although subject to uncertainty, it appears that immigration has a slightly positive long-run fiscal impact; 2) skilled immigrants have a more positive impact than others; 3) the positive fiscal impact tends to accrue at the federal level, but net costs tend to be concentrated at the state and local level; and 4) the overall fiscal effect of immigration is not large relative to the volume of total tax revenues – immigration is unlikely to cure or cause significant fiscal imbalances.

As Congress in 2007 debated a bill that would create a "pathway to citizenship" for immigrants already in the United States, the Congressional Budget Office weighed in with a mixed fiscal review of the proposal:

The immigration bill before Congress would cost the federal government roughly $18 billion over the next decade, largely because of the huge costs of additional border control and law enforcement measures, according to an analysis released yesterday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The analysis found that over the next decade, newly legalized immigrants and guest workers would generate $48 billion in additional tax and Social Security revenues, while using about $23 billion worth of tax credits and social services. Thus, the newly legal immigrant population would contribute a net of about $26 billion over the decade, the report said.

Over the long haul, the bill would be a virtual fiscal wash, costing after 20 years a few billion dollars a year more in enforcement and government assistance than the Treasury would get back in tax revenues from the foreign-born workers, the study said.

So: Immigrants consume far more in government benefits than they pay in taxes. Truth or not?

May Day marchers will shout for amnesty --

From: Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA Date: Thursday 1MAY08 12:15 a.m. EDT

you can make a short phone call for SAVE DEAR FRIENDS, Today, we need to concentrate all of our energies into a 30-second phone message to our Members of Congress.

We need a massive outpouring of tens of thousands of these little messages to counteract the pro-amnesty May Day marches that are scheduled all across our nation today.

By the time Members of Congress see the marches on TV news this evening, they will know from your phone calls that most voters not only oppose an amnesty but want to start driving the 12 million illegal aliens home by passing the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088).

Most of Congress still would prefer to just sidestep the illegal immigration issue this year
.
Your phone calls will remind them that the voters expect them to act. Call your 2 Senators and 1 U.S. Representative at: 202-224-3121 Or call them at their local numbers.

You can see those by clicking on http://numbersusa.com/myMembers No need to argue or debate. Just say something like this: My name is xxx xmxmx. I'm calling in support of the SAVE Act. The best thing you could do for American workers on this May Day is to pass the SAVE Act -- H.R. 4088. or You may want to comment about the pro-amnesty May Day marches and note that their goal of amnesty works against the interests of American workers whose wages are depressed because of the presence of 12-20 million illegal aliens.

I've asked for very little activism lately (except for those of you in a few localities where a lot is going on).
So, I hope you will join this mobilization to move the SAVE Act forward. We got the nearly miraculous 185 signers on the Discharge Petition (that would force a floor vote) rather quickly.

But we still have only 186. We need 32 more to get the necessary majority. You may never have made a phone call to Congress before. You may have thought you never would.But you can do this.

Please prove to yourself that you can do it. Make the phone call now.

THANKS, This may be a good time for you to make sure that you've let us know all of the areas you are interested in. In order to further customize the type of alerts you receive click here http://www.numbersusa.com/survey?action=longlist

http://www.numbersusa.com/user NumbersUSA - relies upon individuals like you to reach its goal of an environmentally sustainable and economically just America.

Numbers USA 1601 N. Kent Street Suite 1100

May 1, 2008
• War on the Middle Class: Representation?

  For years we’ve been reporting that there’s, strangely, one group with virtually no representation in Washington DC: our nation’s middle class.

  

  Now two congressmen have created a caucus for the least represented segment of this country’s population. Congressman Anthony Weiner and Congressman Steven LaTourette are founders of the Caucus on the Middle Class. Not a bad idea, and we’re thankful — but isn’t that what Congress is for?

What do you think?

L.A. mayor chides ICE for workplace immigration raids template_bas template_bas Villaraigosa tells Homeland Security chief that agents should target criminal gang members and not legitimate businesses. Agency spokeswoman says the priorities are proper. By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 10, 2008 Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has asked the federal government to review its immigration enforcement priorities, warning that work-site raids on "non-exploitative" businesses could have "severe and lasting effects" on the local economy.

"I am concerned that ICE enforcement actions are creating an impression that this region is somehow less hospitable to these critical businesses than other regions," Villaraigosa wrote in a March 27 letter to Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has cracked down on businesses that hire undocumented workers in California and around the nation in recent years, arresting scores of workers and their employers. In fiscal 2007, ICE made more than 4,900 work-site arrests, a 45-fold increase over the number in 2001, authorities said.

In February, more than 130 undocumented workers were arrested at a Van Nuys manufacturing company during an ongoing investigation. Last week, more than 60 workers were arrested on immigration violations during routine federal inspections at South Bay area import warehouses. Other Los Angeles companies, including giant clothing manufacturer American Apparel, have reported that ICE recently inquired about its hiring procedures.

In his letter, Villaraigosa said ICE has targeted "established, responsible employers" in industries that have a "significant reliance on workforces that include undocumented immigrants."

"In these industries, including most areas of manufacturing, even the most scrupulous and responsible employers have no choice but to rely on workers whose documentation, while facially valid, may raise questions about their lawful presence," he wrote. He said ICE should spend its limited resources targeting employers who exploit wage and hour laws.

"At a time when we are facing an economic downturn and gang violence at epidemic levels, the federal government should focus its resources on deporting criminal gang members rather than targeting legitimate businesses," said Matt Szabo, the mayor's spokesman.

Chertoff has not responded to the mayor's letter.

But Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said the department believes its priorities are correct. In its work-site investigations, she said, ICE's focus is on national security and public safety. The agency also investigates companies it believes may have committed visa fraud, money laundering, tax evasion or egregious violations of hiring laws.

"We believe that we are prioritizing appropriately," Keehner said. "This is not random. The types of arrests that are made are well thought out."

Szabo said the mayor and Los Angeles business leaders hope to discuss their concerns with Chertoff in person next week during an annual business trip to Washington, D.C.

Last year, Chertoff warned in an interview with The Times that a crackdown on employers would cause "unhappy consequences for the economy." But employers who knowingly hire illegal workers are breaking the law, he said.

Anti-illegal immigrant advocates praised ICE's actions in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

"Cutting off the magnet of jobs has to be the No. 1 priority if you want to get a handle on illegal immigration," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports stricter border controls.

Years of lax enforcement is what led to so many illegal workers in Southern California in the first place, Mehlman said. ICE should keep the pressure on undocumented workers and should focus even more attention on their employers, he said.

In Los Angeles, he said, "you take away 100 illegal aliens from these guys and they could have 100 more before lunch. But you take the head of personnel, that's another matter."

Immigrant rights proponents said raids at businesses break up families, make workers more vulnerable and give unscrupulous employers a competitive advantage. Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the situation only underscores the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

"All of the Los Angeles economy [is paying] for the incompetence of our congressional representatives," she said. "They haven't done what they are supposed to do."

Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce President Gary L. Toebben agreed on the need for reform legislation.

Toebben also sent a letter to Chertoff saying that workplace raids are "devastating" to businesses that are trying to follow the law.

Even when employers ask for proof that new employees are eligible to work in the U.S., there is no guarantee that the documents are valid, he said. Businesses can use the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system to match employee's names and Social Security numbers with federal databases, but critics have said that it often inaccurately flags foreign-born U.S. citizens.

Toebben said workplace raids can slow production or bring it to a standstill. He said future enforcement could also discourage some companies from hiring people who appear to be foreign-born for fear of hiring undocumented workers and being targeted by ICE.

Toebben said he worries that if the arrests continue, Los Angeles companies could have "a very difficult challenge in meeting their workforce needs."

anna.gorman@latimes.com


What do you think?