Cali is the 7th largest economy on Earth, it's not going anywhere.
Ya, but all those guys being paid under the table, means you get to pay more in taxes to educate their kids, build infrastructure and pay higher rents. May be good for the local economy, but the taxpayers are being screwed.
That is a fallacy, WOW, about California being the seventh largest economy in the world. Where do these things get started.
We have been the sixth largest economy for about three years now.
As for supporting illegals, this is a key polical point that gets kicked around by the politico types every year. The problem is, the impact of illegals on the state's services may be much less then certain reactionary groups make it out to be.
The reasons are simple. The majority of workers who come to California are just that - workers. Bringing their families along would be counterproductive. Most send their wages back home and sleep wherever they can, and eat moderately and mostly cheap stuff - just enough to sustain them. The whole idea of their existance in this country is to fly under the radar. If they were flooding the schools and care services as much as people make out, they would be visible to the INS as well and their work days in "El Norte" would quickly dissipate. The point is, little of my tax dollars are going to their education or other services.
That said, it is not that uncommon for pregnant women to strain to cross the San Diego border just before giving birth so their child can get U.S. papers on their birth certificate. This could mean the difference between a short and miserable existence in Mexico or hope that at least her child may get a better life as an American. The INS has been known to pick these women up and literally toss them back over the border as the kid is popping out.
By far the more common "leeches" on the economy are the Asian and Eastern European immigrants. The Asians come and join very tight-knit groups where they pool their money and work in very closed societies, where gangs flourish that exploit them and they fear reprisals, but fear the authorities even more. These groups use the welfare system to the fullest, but often only till they can establish themselves and then leave it. The Europeans tend to stay in the system longer then the Asians do.
