REACTIONARY? WHO'S REACTIONARY?

Reactionary? Tea Partiers? Ultra-conservative tendency toward outmoded public policies treating humans in an inhumane way? How about the idea of dealing with a social problem solely by heavy-handed laws and police enforcement? Have we not had sufficient nauseating examples of this in American history?

Take the Arizona anti-immigration law as an instructive example. An NPR news investigation (link below) has revealed that the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private-prison company in the country, was heavily involved in drafting the document that became, nearly word-for-word, the Arizona statehouse bill. CCA sees the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of illegals as a potential growth industry, paid for, of course, by taxpayers.

This should satisfy the limited-government, private-enterprise (and uber-nativist) Tea Partiers while they congratulate themselves for a problem efficiently solved. In reality, though, it would be a big step toward a police state--with the stars-and-stripes waving over the guarded compound.

Why would someone say there are reactionary forces stalking the land? After the Tea Partiers, in Congress, vote to gut social programs and vote down or filibuster the raising of the debt ceiling, we could all rejoice in the scorched-earth policy of bringing government and governmental social programs to a standstill. Nothing reactionary in this.

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741>

FEARMONGERING ABOUT ILLEGALS

The nativist goon-bloggers have been out in full force lately.

Here are some facts that might be useful in countering the nativist fearmongering. The 1996 welfare reform bill disqualified illegal immigrants from nearly all means-tested government programs including food stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid and Medicare. That means none of those services are available to illegals.

In reality, two-thirds of illegal immigrants PAY Medicare, Social Security and personal income taxes. And, don't forget: they pay any state sales tax, as well, thus contributing to financing roads, schools, etc.

In its 2008 annual report, the Social Security Administration said "undocumented immigrants" actually benefited Social Security, because many pay in but never collect benefits. In 2005, undocumented immigrants paid in $5 billion to SS.

In another counterintuitive area, the IRS says about 8 million (of the approx. 12 million) illegals file personal income taxes (!), because, also in 1996, the IRS began issuing identification numbers to those who do not have SS numbers. They contribute billions of dollars to federal coffers by paying federal income taxes.

Illegals--actually only those children who are born in the U.S. (they ARE U.S. citizens, of course)--are eligible for public K-12 education, food stamps, and the TANF program (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families which succeeded the AFDC program) which now has a five-year maximum eligibility.

The nativists want to stir up fear, which a politician (or actually many) can exploit by stepping up to the Media and claiming he/she is against those people who they say are ruining the country. Makes great politics. Unfortunately, they spread unreasonable fear--and lies.