March 18, 2018
CA town wants to be exempt from state's sanctuary city policies
Not everyone in California is a liberal extremist or radical, open borders fanatic. In fact, there has been a movement around for years in Northern California to create a 51st state called "Jefferson." The area is far more conservative with traditional values and its economic interests - mining, timber, and fishing - is heavily regulated by the state. But the idea of a new state carved out of Northern California is probably a pipe dream at this point.
So perhaps it's not surprising that there is pushback against the extremist tide of government elsewhere in the state. Once city in Southern California recently passed an ordnance exempting it from the state's sanctuary laws.
So perhaps it's not surprising that there is pushback against the extremist tide of government elsewhere in the state. Once city in Southern California recently passed an ordnance exempting it from the state's sanctuary laws.
Fox News:
But the action by the city council is revealing. There is a growing divide between the radical state government and ordinary people who resent much of what Sacramento is foisting on California residents. A real backlash is growing and it's unclear how it will manifest itself. The GOP in the state is a dead letter, riven by factions and in disarray. They can offer only token resistance to the liberal tide.
But the state has been changed most often through the referendum process. One such referendum to repeal the state's sanctuary city law failed to gather enough signatures for the November, 2018 ballot. But organizers will try again and if the backlash builds, it will almost certainly succeed.
The City of Los Alamitos will vote on an ordinance that would exempt it from the sanctuary city law that council members say conflicts with federal law.If the state chose to challenge the ordnance, Los Alamitos would surely lose. There would be chaos if local governments around the state chose which state laws to obey and which not to.
Members say that the state law “may be in direct conflict with federal laws and the Constitution,” not to mention going against the oath they took in taking office, The Orange County register reports.
The council “finds that it is impossible to honor our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” according to the ordinance.
The proposed legislation comes after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department was filing a lawsuit against California over three pieces of legislation that interfere with the federal immigration policy.
Like Los Alamitos council members, Sessions argued that the laws are not only unconstitutional, but also a “plain violation of federal statute and common sense.”
But the action by the city council is revealing. There is a growing divide between the radical state government and ordinary people who resent much of what Sacramento is foisting on California residents. A real backlash is growing and it's unclear how it will manifest itself. The GOP in the state is a dead letter, riven by factions and in disarray. They can offer only token resistance to the liberal tide.
But the state has been changed most often through the referendum process. One such referendum to repeal the state's sanctuary city law failed to gather enough signatures for the November, 2018 ballot. But organizers will try again and if the backlash builds, it will almost certainly succeed.
Not everyone in California is a liberal extremist or radical, open borders fanatic. In fact, there has been a movement around for years in Northern California to create a 51st state called "Jefferson." The area is far more conservative with traditional values and its economic interests - mining, timber, and fishing - is heavily regulated by the state. But the idea of a new state carved out of Northern California is probably a pipe dream at this point.
So perhaps it's not surprising that there is pushback against the extremist tide of government elsewhere in the state. Once city in Southern California recently passed an ordnance exempting it from the state's sanctuary laws.
Fox News:
But the action by the city council is revealing. There is a growing divide between the radical state government and ordinary people who resent much of what Sacramento is foisting on California residents. A real backlash is growing and it's unclear how it will manifest itself. The GOP in the state is a dead letter, riven by factions and in disarray. They can offer only token resistance to the liberal tide.
But the state has been changed most often through the referendum process. One such referendum to repeal the state's sanctuary city law failed to gather enough signatures for the November, 2018 ballot. But organizers will try again and if the backlash builds, it will almost certainly succeed.
So perhaps it's not surprising that there is pushback against the extremist tide of government elsewhere in the state. Once city in Southern California recently passed an ordnance exempting it from the state's sanctuary laws.
Fox News:
The City of Los Alamitos will vote on an ordinance that would exempt it from the sanctuary city law that council members say conflicts with federal law.If the state chose to challenge the ordnance, Los Alamitos would surely lose. There would be chaos if local governments around the state chose which state laws to obey and which not to.
Members say that the state law “may be in direct conflict with federal laws and the Constitution,” not to mention going against the oath they took in taking office, The Orange County register reports.
The council “finds that it is impossible to honor our oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” according to the ordinance.
The proposed legislation comes after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department was filing a lawsuit against California over three pieces of legislation that interfere with the federal immigration policy.
Like Los Alamitos council members, Sessions argued that the laws are not only unconstitutional, but also a “plain violation of federal statute and common sense.”
But the action by the city council is revealing. There is a growing divide between the radical state government and ordinary people who resent much of what Sacramento is foisting on California residents. A real backlash is growing and it's unclear how it will manifest itself. The GOP in the state is a dead letter, riven by factions and in disarray. They can offer only token resistance to the liberal tide.
But the state has been changed most often through the referendum process. One such referendum to repeal the state's sanctuary city law failed to gather enough signatures for the November, 2018 ballot. But organizers will try again and if the backlash builds, it will almost certainly succeed.
Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/03/ca_town_wants_to_be_exempt_from_states_sanctuary_city_policies.html#ixzz5A76PPDAj
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IRS
Documented 1.3M Identity Thefts by Illegal Aliens; Can’t Say It Referred Any
for Prosecution
(Screen Capture
from IRS instructional video)
(CNSNews.com) - The Internal
Revenue Service in 2011 through 2016 documented more than 1.3 million cases of
identity theft perpetrated by illegal aliens whom the IRS had given Individual
Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), which are only given to people who are
ineligible to work in the United States or receive Social Security Numbers,
according to information published by the
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration(TIGTA).
However, in response to inquiries
from CNSNews.com, the IRS could not say if it had referred even one of these
cases for criminal prosecution.
TIGTA, which is the inspector
general responsible for overseeing the IRS, discovered another approximately
1.2 million cases in 2017 in which an illegal alien working in the United
States had filed a tax return reporting wages that had been earned using a
Social Security Number that belonged to someone else or was fabricated.
Yet the IRS also could not say
whether it referred any of these cases for criminal prosecution.
(To see the questions CNSNews.com
asked the IRS, TIGTA and the Justice Department about these cases and the
agencies’ responses to those questions click here.)
'Shall
Be Guilty of a Felony'
Using a stolen or fake Social
Security Number is a felony.
“The Social Security Act,” TIGTA has noted,
“provides that whoever, with the intent to deceive, falsely represents a number
to be his or her SSN when, in fact, that number was not assigned to that
person, shall be guilty of a felony and subject to a fine, imprisonment, or
both. This includes using a false SSN to obtain employment.”
When
processing individual tax returns, according to reports filed by TIGTA, the IRS
ordinarily encounters two types of identity theft. One involves what TIGTA
calls “refund fraud” and the other involves “employment-related fraud.”
In an
August 10, 2016 report ("Processes Are Not Sufficient to Assist Victims of
Employment-Related Identity Theft"), TIGTA published this graphic
explaining the difference between "refund fraud" and
"employment-related fraud:"
In cases of refund fraud, the
“identity thief” uses another person’s Social Security Number and personal
identification information “to file a fraudulent tax return, reporting
fictitious wages and withholdings and obtains a tax refund.”
“Cases of employment identity
theft identified by the Internal Revenue Service usually involve an Individual
Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) filer who used the Social Security Number
of another individual, i.e. victim, to gain employment,” TIGTA said in a report released
in February.
“Employment identity theft can cause a
significant burden to innocent taxpayers, including the incorrect computation
of taxes based on income that does not belong to them,” said the report.
The approximately 1.3 million
cases of employment-related identity theft documented and recorded by the IRS
in 2011 through 2016, involved foreign nationals whom the IRS had given
Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs).
So, too, did the approximately
1.2 million cases of illegal aliens using Social Security Numbers that belonged
to someone else or had been fabricated that TIGTA discovered in 2017.
The numbers of these cases were
cited in the TIGTA report
released last month. It was entitled, “Most Employment Identity
Theft Victims Have Not Been Notified That Their Identities Are Being Used by
Others for Employment.”
In the approximately 1.3 million
cases, TIGTA said the IRS had placed a “marker” on the accounts of taxpayers
whose identities the IRS believed had been stolen. In the approximately 1.2
million cases, TIGTA itself discovered the misuse of Social Security Numbers by
ITIN holders by reviewing IRS records.
“The IRS placed the employment
identity theft marker on 1,346,485 taxpayer accounts between PY [processing
years] 2011 and 2016 through the e-file ITIN/SSN mismatch process,” said the
TIGTA report.
The IRS’s ITIN/SSN mismatch
process showed which electronically filed tax returns had been filed by ITIN
holders but had a W-2 showing wages earned with a Social Security Number.
TIGTA further reported that in
analyzing IRS data for processing year (PY) 2017 it had “[i]dentified 1,227,579
tax returns…in which the ITIN does not match the SSN on the Form W-2.”
In response to questions from
CNSNews.com, TIGTA said that in these 1,227,579 cases “over 1
million valid” SSNs issued by the Social Security Administration were used by
ITIN holders. In the remainder of the cases, the ITIN holders used fabricated
SSNs.
The IRS first began issuing ITINs
in 1996. The purported purpose was to give foreign nationals who have a tax
liability inside the United States an identification number to use when filing
tax returns. To qualify for an ITIN, an individual must be a foreign national
and must not be eligible to receive a Social Security Number.
So, who gets an ITIN? The chief
counsel of the IRS determined that the foreign nationals living inside the
United States who qualify for an ITIN—because they are not eligible for a
Social Security Number—are in fact illegal aliens.
A
Policy to "'Legalize' Illegal Aliens"
A January 2004 TIGTA report said:
“The IRS Office of Chief Counsel determined that, ‘the group of persons with
United States federal tax obligations who are not eligible to obtain an SSN is
limited to non-citizens who either do not reside in the United States or reside
here illegally.”
In 1999, TIGTA released a
report warning that with its ITIN program the IRS had
embraced a policy to “‘legalize’ illegal aliens” that “increases the potential
for fraud.”
Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officers (Photo/ICE)
In a follow-up report
in 2004, TIGTA concluded that ITIN holders who filed tax returns
using a Social Security Number were in fact illegal aliens.
“Our conclusion is that,
generally, the individuals who file a United States (U.S.) Individual Income
Tax Return (Form 1040) with an ITIN as the identification number and receive
wages that are identified with a Social Security Number (SSN) on the attached
Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2) are unauthorized resident aliens,” said
TIGTA.
Then-Deputy IRS Commissioner Mark
Matthews responded to this TIGTA report by
conceding that ITIN holders who filed tax returns reporting wages earned in the
United States were likely to be illegal aliens and that if they used a SSN it
was “stolen or fabricated.”
“The Service has concluded that
most resident aliens who hold ITINs and who report and pay tax from wage income
are not legally employed in the United States,” he told TIGTA in a memo. “This
is because such a taxpayer would have a valid SSN if the holder were legally
employed in the United States, making procurement of an ITIN unnecessary and
duplicative.”
“In addition,” said the deputy
IRS commissioner’s memo, “the Service believes that most ITIN holders whose
wages are reflected on valid Forms W-2 furnished to the Service are using
stolen or fabricated SSNs, because employers are prohibited from employing individuals
who lack an SSN and employers use the SSN provided by such employees in
reporting Form W-2 information.”
In 2011, as reported by
TIGTA, the IRS started systematically placing “a code on the tax
account of the innocent taxpayer whose SSN was used to commit
employment-related identity theft” by ITIN holders who filed electronic—but not
paper—returns.
At the urging of the inspector
general, the IRS also began notifying these taxpayers when the IRS used this
code to mark them as having been the victim of this type of identity theft.
In 2014, the IRS ran a small
pilot program to make these notifications. Then, in 2017, it attempted to
notify all victims who were discovered through its tracking of electronic tax
returns. This year, it intends to inform all victims, including those whose
SSNs were used by an ITIN holder filing a paper return.
The inspector general’s report released
last month noted some problems in the IRS’s process of
notifying victims. For example, the IRS “did not notify 458,658 repeat victims
of employment identity theft that it identified in PY 2017” and it “erroneously”
notified 15,168 taxpayers, who in “most cases…were spouses of ITIN owners who
filed returns listing their ITIN and their spouse’s SSN on the return.”
But the two largest numbers in
the report were 1,346,485 and 1,227,579. The 1,346,485 were taxpayers the IRS
had “marked” as victims of employment identity theft because their SSNs had
been used by ITIN holders on tax returns that the IRS processed in 2011 through
2016. The 1,227,579 were tax returns filed by ITIN holders in 2017 that TIGTA
discovered had used an SSN that did not belong to the ITIN holder or was
fabricated.
When it notifies victims of
employment identity theft, the IRS does not tell the victim the name of the
person who stole their identity. The notification form it used in its pilot program
told the victim: “Federal law prevents us from providing specific details
regarding the identity of the individual who used your SSN for employment
purposes.”
However, the IRS can refer
identity theft cases to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.
So, how many of the 1,346,485
cases of employment-related identity theft the IRS documented in 2011 through
2016 did it refer to DOJ? How many of the 1,227,579 cases in 2017 where an ITIN
holder used an SSN that was fabricated or had not been issued to them did the
IRS refer to DOJ?
The IRS’s Criminal Investigation
division publishes an
annual report stating how many “prosecution recommendations”
it makes each fiscal year and the crimes for which it makes them. In the six
fiscal years from 2011 through 2016, according to these
reports, IRS CI made 20,986 prosecution recommendations and
4,329 of them were for identity theft cases.
If everyone one of these identity
theft prosecution recommendations had been for a case of employment identity
theft—rather than refund-fraud identity theft—that would have equaled 0.3
percent of the 1,346,485 ITIN-holder cases the IRS documented in those years.
Similarly, in fiscal year
2017, when TIGTA discovered 1,227,579 tax returns filed by ITIN
holders that included W-2s with “over 1 million valid” SSNs on them, IRS CI
made only 403 prosecution recommendations in identity theft cases.
On its website, the IRS has
posted 369 examples of successful identity theft investigations that IRS CI
conducted and recommended for prosecution in fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017.
But only five of the 369 examples mention the ITIN and each of these five
describe a scheme to engage in refund fraud not employment-related fraud. (To
see the five examples of successful prosecution recommendations in identity
theft cases click here.)
CNSNews.com asked the IRS a
series of questions about the employment-related identity theft cases cited in
the TIGTA reports. These included: How many of the 1.3 million ITIN identity
theft cases and 1.2 million misused SSN cases were referred to DOJ? Was it the
policy of the IRS not to make prosecution recommendations in cases where ITIN
holders stole someone’s SSN to engage in employment identity theft as opposed
to refund fraud? Could the IRS provide specific examples in the years from 2010
to 2017 where it made a successful prosecution recommendation in a case
involving an ITIN holder who had committee employment identity theft but not
refund fraud? (The full text of CNSNews.com’s questions to the IRS can be seen by clicking here.)
The IRS responded with a
statement. It said:
“Over
the last few years, IRS-Criminal Investigation prioritized its limited
resources pursuing identity thieves who stole millions of identities from
innocent taxpayers and applied for, and received, tax refunds based on those
identities.
“Additionally,
based on how IRS-CI captures case-related information and how prosecutions are
based (the federal violation utilized), it is not possible to ascertain the
exact information for the question regarding how many cases IRS pursued
criminally where ITIN holders utilized another individuals’ SSN.
“To
put it another way, in investigating the type of criminal activity that you
inquired [about], IRS-CI, in addition to its traditional criminal tax statutes,
would also likely utilize other statutes, such as 18 USC 661, 18 USC 1028 or 18
USC 1028(A), which carry a more significant impact than the law cited in the
2004 TIGTA report regarding the fraudulent misuse of a social security number.”
The three sections of federal law
cited by the IRS include provisions that prohibit taking property “of a value
exceeding $1,000” (661);
and “fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents” [1028 and 1028(A)].”
CNSNews.com also asked the
Department of Justice how many of the cases cited in the TIGTA report were
referred by the IRS to the DOJ, and, if the IRS did not refer some or any of
these cases, why not. (To see the text of the questions CNSNews.com asked the
Justice Department click here.)
“We don’t confirm or deny
investigations or comment on referrals,” said a Justice Department
spokesperson.
ILLEGAL IN CA LAW SCHOOL, AND HER ILLEGAL FAMILY SHOVE THEIR
MEX FLAG and the LAWS OF THIS STATE and COUNTRY UP AMERICA’S NOSES!
How much welfare, “free” education, “free” healthcare and tax
free mex underground economy have these Mexicans sucked in and yet they wave
their mex flags in our faces.
In a Facebook post in
2016, apparently celebrating her graduation from Santa Clara University School
of Law, Mateo declared, in Spanish: “[E]verything is dedicated to Oaxaca,
Mexico!! to that land that I miss so much.”
CUT
LA RAZA’S WELFARE AND FIND THE FUNDS TO BUILD THE WALL AGAINST THE LA RAZA
HEROIN CARTELS! http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2018/03/monica-showalter-cut-billions-in.html
Adios, Sanctuary La Raza
Welfare State of California
A fifth-generation Californian laments his
state’s ongoing economic collapse.
By Steve Baldwin
American Spectator, October 19, 2017
What’s clear is that the producers are leaving the state and the takers are
coming in. Many of the takers are illegal aliens, now estimated to number over
2.6 million. The Federation for American
Immigration Reform estimates that California spends $22 billion on government
services for illegal aliens, including welfare, education, Medicaid, and
criminal justice system costs.
THE LA RAZA SUPREMACY DEMOCRAT PARTY'S VISION OF AMERICA:
DEATH OF THE GOP AND 49 MEXIFORNIAS!
Adios, Sanctuary
La Raza Welfare State of California
A fifth-generation Californian laments his state’s ongoing economic collapse.
By Steve Baldwin
American Spectator, October 19, 2017
What’s clear is that the producers are leaving the state and the takers are coming in. Many of the takers are illegal aliens, now estimated to number over 2.6 million. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that California spends $22 billion on government services for illegal aliens, including welfare, education, Medicaid, and criminal justice system costs.
A fifth-generation Californian laments his state’s ongoing economic collapse.
By Steve Baldwin
American Spectator, October 19, 2017
What’s clear is that the producers are leaving the state and the takers are coming in. Many of the takers are illegal aliens, now estimated to number over 2.6 million. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that California spends $22 billion on government services for illegal aliens, including welfare, education, Medicaid, and criminal justice system costs.
BLOG:
MANY DISPUTE CALIFORNIA’S EXPENDITURES FOR THE LA RAZA WELFARE STATE IN
MEXIFORNIA JUST AS THEY DISPUTE THE NUMBER OF ILLEGALS. APPROXIMATELY HALF THE
POPULATION OF CA IS NOW MEXICAN AND BREEDING ANCHOR BABIES FOR WELFARE LIKE
BUNNIES. THE $22 BILLION IS STATE EXPENDITURE ONLY. COUNTIES PAY OUT MORE WITH
LOS ANGELES COUNTY LEADING AT OVER A BILLION DOLLARS PAID OUT YEARLY TO
MEXICO’S ANCHOR BABY BREEDERS. NOW MULTIPLY THAT BY THE NUMBER OF COUNTIES IN
CA AND YOU START TO GET AN IDEA OF THE STAGGERING WELFARE STATE MEXICO AND THE
DEMOCRAT PARTY HAVE ERECTED SANS ANY LEGALS VOTES. ADD TO THIS THE FREE
ENTERPRISE HOSPITAL AND CLINIC COST FOR LA RAZA’S “FREE” MEDICAL WHICH IS
ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT $1.5 BILLION PER YEAR.
Liberals
claim they more than make that up with taxes paid, but that’s simply not true.
It’s not even close. FAIR estimates illegal aliens in California contribute
only $1.21 billion in tax revenue, which means they cost California $20.6
billion, or at least $1,800 per household.
Nonetheless, open border advocates, such as Facebook Chairman Mark Zuckerberg, claim illegal aliens are a net benefit to California with little evidence to support such an assertion. As the Center for Immigration Studies has documented, the vast majority of illegals are poor, uneducated, and with few skills. How does accepting millions of illegal aliens and then granting them access to dozens of welfare programs benefit California’s economy? If illegal aliens were contributing to the economy in any meaningful way, California, with its 2.6 million illegal aliens, would be booming.
Furthermore, the complexion of illegal aliens has changed with far more on welfare and committing crimes than those who entered the country in the 1980s. Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeles’s largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens. Granted, those statistics are old, but if you talk to any California law enforcement officer, they will tell you it’s much worse today. The problem is that the Brown administration will not release any statewide data on illegal alien crimes. That would be insensitive. And now that California has declared itself a “sanctuary state,” there is little doubt this sends a message south of the border that will further escalate illegal immigration into the state.
Nonetheless, open border advocates, such as Facebook Chairman Mark Zuckerberg, claim illegal aliens are a net benefit to California with little evidence to support such an assertion. As the Center for Immigration Studies has documented, the vast majority of illegals are poor, uneducated, and with few skills. How does accepting millions of illegal aliens and then granting them access to dozens of welfare programs benefit California’s economy? If illegal aliens were contributing to the economy in any meaningful way, California, with its 2.6 million illegal aliens, would be booming.
Furthermore, the complexion of illegal aliens has changed with far more on welfare and committing crimes than those who entered the country in the 1980s. Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has testified before a Congressional committee that in 2004, 95% of all outstanding warrants for murder in Los Angeles were for illegal aliens; in 2000, 23% of all Los Angeles County jail inmates were illegal aliens and that in 1995, 60% of Los Angeles’s largest street gang, the 18th Street gang, were illegal aliens. Granted, those statistics are old, but if you talk to any California law enforcement officer, they will tell you it’s much worse today. The problem is that the Brown administration will not release any statewide data on illegal alien crimes. That would be insensitive. And now that California has declared itself a “sanctuary state,” there is little doubt this sends a message south of the border that will further escalate illegal immigration into the state.
"If the racist "Sensenbrenner
Legislation" passes the US Senate, there is no doubt that a massive civil
disobedience movement will emerge. Eventually labor union power can merge with
the immigrant civil rights and "Immigrant
Sanctuary" movements to enable us to either form a new political
party or to do heavy duty reforming of the existing Democratic Party. The next
and final steps would follow and that is to elect our own governors of all the
states within Aztlan."
Indeed, California goes out of its way to attract illegal aliens. The state has even created government programs that cater exclusively to illegal aliens. For example, the State Department of Motor Vehicles has offices that only process driver licenses for illegal aliens. With over a million illegal aliens now driving in California, the state felt compelled to help them avoid the long lines the rest of us must endure at the DMV. And just recently, the state-funded University of California system announced it will spend $27 million on financial aid for illegal aliens. They’ve even taken out radio spots on stations all along the border, just to make sure other potential illegal border crossers hear about this program. I can’t afford college education for all my four sons, but my taxes will pay for illegals to get a college education.
Indeed, California goes out of its way to attract illegal aliens. The state has even created government programs that cater exclusively to illegal aliens. For example, the State Department of Motor Vehicles has offices that only process driver licenses for illegal aliens. With over a million illegal aliens now driving in California, the state felt compelled to help them avoid the long lines the rest of us must endure at the DMV. And just recently, the state-funded University of California system announced it will spend $27 million on financial aid for illegal aliens. They’ve even taken out radio spots on stations all along the border, just to make sure other potential illegal border crossers hear about this program. I can’t afford college education for all my four sons, but my taxes will pay for illegals to get a college education.
If Immigration Creates
Wealth, Why Is California America's Poverty Capital?
California used to be home to America's
largest and most affluent middle class. Today, it is
America's poverty capital. What went
wrong? In a word: immigration. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau'...: The
Golden State is peddling fool's gold lately.
California used to be
home to America's largest and most affluent middle class. Today, it
is America's poverty capital. What went wrong? In a
word: immigration.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau's Official Poverty Measure, California's poverty rate hovers
around 15 percent. But this figure is misleading: the Census Bureau
measures poverty relative to a uniform national standard, which doesn't account
for differences in living costs between states – the cost of taxes, housing,
and health care are higher in California than in Oklahoma, for
example. Accounting for these differences reveals that California's real poverty rate is
20.6 percent –
the highest in America, and nearly twice the national average of 12.7
percent.
Likewise, income inequality in California is
the second-highest in America, behind only New York. In fact, if California
were an independent country, it would be the 17th most unequal country on
Earth, nestled comfortably between Honduras and Guatemala. Mexico is
slightly more egalitarian. California is far more unequal than the
"social democracies" it emulates: Canada is the 111th most
unequal nation, while Norway is far down the list at number 153 (out of 176
countries). In terms of income inequality, California has more in
common with banana republics than other "social democracies."
More Government, More Poverty
High taxes, excessive regulations,
and a lavish welfare state – these are the standard explanations for
California's poverty epidemic. They have some merit. For
example, California has both the highest personal income tax rate and the
highest sales tax in America, according to Politifact.
Not only are California's taxes high,
but successive "progressive" governments have swamped the state in a
sea of red tape. Onerous regulations cripple small businesses and
retard economic growth. Kerry Jackson, a fellow with the Pacific
Research Institute, gives a few specific examples of how excessive government
regulation hurts California's poor. He writes in a recent op-ed for
the Los Angeles Times:
Extensive environmental regulations
aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions make energy more expensive, also
hurting the poor. By some estimates, California energy costs are as
much as 50% higher than the national average. Jonathan A. Lesser of
Continental Economics ... found that "in 2012, nearly 1 million California
households faced ... energy expenditures exceeding 10% of household
income."
Some government regulation is
necessary and desirable, but most of California's is not. There is
virtue in governing with a "light touch."
Finally, California's welfare state
is, perhaps paradoxically, a source of poverty in the
state. The Orange Country Register reports that California's
social safety net is comparable in scale to those found in Europe:
In California a mother
with two children under the age of 5 who participates in these major welfare
programs – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (food stamps), housing assistance, home energy assistance,
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – would
receive a benefits package worth $30,828 per year.
... [Similar] benefits
in Europe ranged from $38,588 per year in Denmark to just $1,112 in
Romania. The California benefits package is higher than in
well-known welfare states as France ($17,324), Germany ($23,257) and even
Sweden ($22,111).
Although welfare states ideally help
the poor, reality is messy. There are three main problems with the
welfare state. First, it incentivizes poverty by rewardingthe
poor with government handouts that are often far more valuable than a
job. This can be ameliorated to some degree by imposing work
requirements on welfare recipients, but in practice, such requirements are
rarely imposed. Second, welfare states are expensive. This means higher taxes and therefore slower economic
growth and fewer job opportunities for everyone – including the poor.
Finally, welfare states are magnets
for the poor. Whether through domestic migration or foreign immigration,
poor people flock to places with generous welfare states. This is
logical from the immigrant's perspective, but it makes little sense from the
taxpayer's. This fact is why socialism and open borders arefundamentally incompatible.
Why Big Government?
Since 1960, California's population exploded from 15.9 to 39 million
people. The growth was almost entirely due to immigration – many
people came from other states, but the majority came from
abroad. The Public Policy Institute of California estimates that 10 million
immigrants currently reside in California. This works out to 26
percent of the state's population.
BLOG: COME TO
MEXIFORNIA! HALF OF LOS ANGELES 15 MILLION ARE ILLEGALS!
This figure includes
2.4 million illegal aliens, although a recent study from Yale University suggests that the
true number of aliens is at least double that. Modifying the initial figure implies that
nearly one in three Californians is an immigrant. This
is not to disparage California's immigrant population, but it is madness to
deny that such a large influx of people has changed California's society and
economy.
Importantly, immigrants vote Democrat
by a ratio higher than 2:1, according to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies. In California,
immigration has increased the pool of likely Democrat voters by nearly 5
million people, compared to just 2.4 million additional likely Republican
voters. Not only does this almost guarantee Democratic victories,
but it also shifts California's political midpoint to the left. This
means that to remain competitive in elections, the Republicans must abandon
or soften many conservative positions so as to cater to the center.
California became a
Democratic stronghold not because Californians became socialists, but because
millions of socialists moved there. Immigration turned California
blue, and immigration is ultimately to blame for California's high poverty
level.
MEXIFORNIA: WHERE LA RAZA AND THEIR CARTELS
LOOT FIRST!
California used to
be home to America's largest and most affluent middle class. Today,
it is America's poverty capital. What went wrong? In a
word: immigration. SPENCER P. MORRISON
“Thirteen
years after welfare reform, the share of immigrant-headed households (legal and
illegal) with a child (under age 18) using at least one welfare program
continues to be very high. This is partly due to the large share of immigrants
with low levels of education and their resulting low incomes — not their legal
status or an unwillingness to work. The major welfare programs examined in this
report include cash assistance, food assistance, Medicaid, and public and
subsidized housing.” Steven A. Camarota
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