Amazingly, the New York Times seems to be taking a stance that illegal immigration is the way to solve the Social Security issue.
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 – the difference between what the system currently receives in payroll taxes and what it doles out in pension benefits. Moreover, the money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all the Social Security Administration’s projections.
Illegal immigration, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, co-director of immigration studies at New York University, noted sardonically, could provide "the fastest way to shore up the long-term finances of Social Security." (emphasis mine)
While it is certainly true that illegal immigration puts quite a bit of money in the governments coffers, which the Times explains how, this is not the fix for Social Security. These people are here in our country illegally. I do not personally care if they are never going to see those payroll taxes again, as the Times points out several times, they are in the United States, gasp, illegally. I do not have a problem with allowing them here on temporary visa’s to perform jobs that no one else is taking. But not to sneak across the border.
Furthermore, the Times interviews, or at least says they did, several folks who are here illegally. Isn’t it illegal to fail to report a crime?
Yes, but you see, anything that gives government more money is good — no matter the source. Breaking laws is fine, if it gives the government more money. I think the Dems in Raleigh either read this paper a lot or wrote that article.
You don’t actually think our NC Legislature critters would actual do anything like that, do you? 😉
I’m a bit confused. I wasn’t aware that illegal immigrants contributed so much to Social Security, but don’t they also suck American resources from just about everywhere else? I agree with you. The key word here is ILLEGAL!
Of course, what our buddy Eduaro goes out of his way to avoid mentioning in this article is that his information comes in the form of estimates and guesses, and that illegal COST millions ($200 million last year in NJ alone) in socoal services, negating any SS gains.