The Rise and Fall of Stockton, CA.

[Balog]

How does lawlessness and destruction of the republic translate to lower crime rates, which is what you have???

The worst things about California have nothing to do with illegals - the roads are crap, and the economy is in the tank.  Neither of those is controlled by illegal immigrants.

There's this fantasy that illegals are out there grabbing all the resources with government help.  There is not a shred of evidence to support it. 

Listening to Spanish on the street and looking at signs in Spanish doesn't violate anyone's rights.  Yet that seems to be what most of these gripes boil down to.

Your arguments are demonstrably, provably false.

[longeyes]

How does lawlessness and destruction of the republic translate to lower crime rates, which is what you have???

The worst things about California have nothing to do with illegals - the roads are crap, and the economy is in the tank.  Neither of those is controlled by illegal immigrants.

There's this fantasy that illegals are out there grabbing all the resources with government help.  There is not a shred of evidence to support it. 

Listening to Spanish on the street and looking at signs in Spanish doesn't violate anyone's rights.  Yet that seems to be what most of these gripes boil down to.

I have never argued that illegal immigrants are the sole source of what's going wrong with California, but to deny that they contribute, hugely, to the current state of affairs is odd indeed and grossly misinformed.  When we talk about illegal immigration we are also talking about anchor babies and family reunification, not just the first generation of what SPLC has called "latino travelers" [pick your favorite provenance if you don't like latino].  It is indisputable that the costs of the the children of illegal aliens in California are considerable, not just welfare but health and education.  One estimate was $10 billion a year, probably half or more of the current annual deficits we're running up.  The majority of children in LAUSD's K-12 program are now either illegal aliens or the offspring of illegal aliens.  Do you know what the annual budget of LAUSD is?  Seven billion dollars.  Monies are diverted to the needs of illegals and their children that might well have gone to better roads or to business incentives; meanwhile, there's the issue--by no means trivial--of law-breaking, vote tampering, and cultural displacement.  It's not just "listening to Spanish on the street" it's the profusion of Spanish-speaking radio stations--I believe there are now more in L.A. than English-speaking ones--that impairs the homogeneity of the society and reduces its economic viability.  Half this city is now marginal in English language fluency; now while that means some businesses may thrive--albeit with illegal labor with all that implies--it also means that the kind of business that can be done here is being changed--and not for the better.  You can only have so many car washes and restaurant kitchens and gardener auxiliaries if you want anything resembling a middle-class economy.

Public sector unions are the other major factor in California's slide.  They comprise a tiny percentage of the population yet run this state with an iron grip.  Our current governor, who was responsible over three decades ago for empowering public sector unionization, has one solution for all our problems: higher taxes.  It seems not to have occurred to him that more and more productive Californians are heading elsewhere, or, perhaps, Mr Brown doesn't care and is merely implementing his vision of "mission" economics. 

[TommyGunn]

How does lawlessness and destruction of the republic translate to lower crime rates, which is what you have???

The worst things about California have nothing to do with illegals - the roads are crap, and the economy is in the tank.  Neither of those is controlled by illegal immigrants.

There's this fantasy that illegals are out there grabbing all the resources with government help.  There is not a shred of evidence to support it. 

Listening to Spanish on the street and looking at signs in Spanish doesn't violate anyone's rights.  Yet that seems to be what most of these gripes boil down to.

Illegals may not be the only problem we have, but the expense they have imposed on some cities have definantly contributed to ther economic failure of some hospitals, and that's just plain history. 
No one is complaining about listening to Spanish on the street.  I actually will be complaining about Spanish street signs if they start displacing English signs because I ought not have to speak a foreign language to navigate in my own country.

[De Selby]

Ah, health care costs - the illegals don't pay bills in some cases, but then again, they're not responsible for making the costs so extraordinarily high.

That reminds me, my private cover bill just went up - I'm now paying a whopping $73 a month for full cover on sports and any accident injuries, joint surgeries including replacements, and substantial coverage (50 to 75 percent plus freebies) on eyes, dental, and alternative medicine.  I also get a tax break for buying it.

Nope, can't see how the illegals explain that.

[TommyGunn]

Ah, health care costs - the illegals don't pay bills in some cases, but then again, they're not responsible for making the costs so extraordinarily high.

That reminds me, my private cover bill just went up - I'm now paying a whopping $73 a month for full cover on sports and any accident injuries, joint surgeries including replacements, and substantial coverage (50 to 75 percent plus freebies) on eyes, dental, and alternative medicine.  I also get a tax break for buying it.

Nope, can't see how the illegals explain that.

When they DON'T pay, those charges have to be covered by those who DO pay.   I'm not saying that illegals are the only force that's driving up the cost of health care (a lot can be found in the halls of government as well) but in the southwest, yes, they are one of the more significant causes of the problem.
Sorry your bill just went up.  Mine does that on a regular basis. And I am not thinking it's going to stop going up ....let alone go down.