AK, perhaps you could enlighten us on what Social Security number are payments being made? The same question goes for what SSN are state & federal income taxes being paid? Illegals don't have one issued from the SS administration unless something has changed. Are they still using this "taxpayer ID" so as to collect taxes from illegals but the gov't isn't admitting to anything?
This is a "clipping" from the Capital Press - a weekly, AgriBusiness newspaper that I subscribe to. It is generally, a pro-Ag, pro-business newspaper and as such; very conservative, politically.
The following is from one of the columists - recently deceased; unfortunately - Bill Duncan. Please feel free to search the archives of the newspaper as well as the archives of the New York Times for further info.
I recently read a book by Presbyterian minister Ben Daniel, "Neighbor: Christian Encounters with 'Illegal' Immigration," in which he said he wanted to ease the fears of people who are afraid the American face in the future will look more like Mexico and Central America than that of northern Europe or New England.
"In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches his disciples that the neighbor is the Samaritan, an object of prejudice and scorn among Jesus' followers," he said. "I believe God calls us to think of undocumented migrants not with scorn, but with kindness, hospitality and even gratitude."
It is often claimed that the undocumented drain financial resources of states. Daniel disputes this, saying that undocumented immigrants contribute to our economy in several ways.
"Without undocumented labor, our food would be a lot more expensive because something like 70 percent of American agricultural workers are undocumented laborers, working at or below minimum wage," he said. "Americans pay less for food, per capita, than anyone else in the developed world. If those workers were deported, it would cause a food crisis in America, and the cost of eating would skyrocket."
He noted that many undocumented workers use false Social Security numbers to obtain jobs. Employers deduct payroll taxes from their paychecks, which means that the federal government garners income tax and Social Security withholdings from these workers. He said, according to the New York Times, undocumented workers paid something like $7 billion into the Social Security program that they will never collect.
I think since my day as a fieldworker, the short-handled hoe has been eliminated, but frankly not even a long-handled hoe fits well in my hand. The government should reconsider the Bracero program as a way of providing farm labor and, as Daniel said, provide a valuable resource that over the years has been the foundation for the development of the rich American agricultural industry.
Bill Duncan can be reached by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470.
In addition, undocumented laborers pay into F.I.C.A. and do not normally seek out payment for Worker Compensation when injured or sick on the job - nor do they seek out Unemployment Benefits when layed off or fired. They would likely get arrested!
Nonetheless, they pay and pay and pay... that's the REAL world - however, not the same as Billy O'Rielly would like you to see it!
Oh yeah, $4.80 here in Alaska for diesel - home to 20% of America's daily oil production! 80,000 barrel/day refinery that's 50 miles from my doorstep - go figure!
AKfish
