illegal immigrants on education

I read the editorial written by my classmate, J. Houston, entitled, California Gives Illegal Immigrants In-State Tuition. I agree with Houston that illegal immigrants should not be entitled to the same benefits that in-state students are given on the college level.

However, I feel that the problem starts with allowing illegal immigrants the right to attend grade school.  I do not understand how they have the right to go to grade school in the first place since technically they are here illegally. I am aware that there was a law passed by the Supreme Court in 1982 giving the children of illegal immigrants the right to attend grade school, but to me it just does not make sense nor seem right.

By not paying taxes and getting the same opportunity to attend public schools, it is unfair to the American citizens and legal immigrants.  If an immigrant can take the necessary steps and deal with the financial hardships to become citizen but not reside in the State where they would like to go to college and have to pay out-of-state tuition, then to me this does not seem fair that an illegal immigrant be provided the opportunity to go college and pay in-state tuition without becoming a citizen.

As my classmate had stated, I too agree, that this does provides illegal immigrants with more incentives to come to the United States. The Federal Government invests millions, if not billions, on border security and then allows this to take place. If this is the case then why not give illegal immigrant children the right to enter the United States and receive a free and/or discounted education provided by the legal citizens of this country, instead of wasting time and tax payer’s dollars to try and stop them from coming into the United States, in the first place.

There is much debate over this subject not just in California but in many other states as well. My hope is the right thing is done for the sake of the American people, who get up each day, pay their taxes and try to make a positive impact on this country.

Earmarks good or bad

The article titled Top Senate Republican endorses halt to earmarks is about a very controversial topic that will affect many people in different ways. The Senate members that promise their districts these funds for projects will jeopardize the trust that they have from their constituent groups that support them. In turn, I think it will give some people a feeling that they were lied to and may affect the outcome of future elections.

I do agree with the Senators that say it is out-of-control spending, but I do not believe that earmarks need to be ceased completely. I believe that they should be reviewed more thoroughly and see what kind of benefits theses projects will bring to the states that support them. I do not agree with President Obama   completely on this issue. I think that the American people do want to see change in federal spending because it is taxpayers’ money and it will make a difference, even if it is only a slight one.

Like Massachusetts, I think that other states should use their funding for projects that affect the American people and enables them to see their tax money at work. These controversial earmarks that are used for personal gains, inappropriate projects and needless spending have given a bad name to earmarks in general. The majority of the Senate is using this federal funding for good such as to benefit their constituent groups, the people that support them and using them on funds for the projects they promised if elected.

It will also be very tricky for the Democratic Party to fill their earmark requests, like the article states, if most of the House is controlled by Republicans. This is why I feel that there has to be another way to solve where earmarks are being spent without eliminating them all together. In this case, I believe there has to be a mutual agreement between the two parties.

I understand that Congress has put stricter measurements on earmarks but I think they should just tighten up a little more and not over due it. By doing this it will relieve a lot of tension between support groups and the Senate and will still give the Senate the opportunity to aid the projects that Americans want to see accomplished with their tax dollars.

In my fellow classmates editorial blog titled, Unemployment Hurts he stresses on the pros and cons of the unemployment rates. I do agree with the fact that employment rates are slowly increasing from earlier years. In one of my recent blog’s, I researched the ways that the Recovery Act and many different tax credit programs are helping families and small business recover from the strains of the fallen economic situation that this country is in.

I agree that the political parties are pointing the finger at the opposing parties’ opinions, but merely as means of attack advertising to win more votes during the most recent elections.

Getting political leaders together as one government seems to be impossible because they would have to agree on every situation at hand and neither political party believes that the views of the opposing party would work. Political parties have different priorities they want to see accomplished when they are voted into office. If one party is in office for one term and loses in the next election, then the priorities will change.

I have to disagree with the argument that the stimulus program was just brownie points to win the favor of the public. I have noticed the economy slowly rising out of the shadows of the recession. For example, I have recently seen numerous construction projects, which to me is not a sign of recession but rather states using federal and state taxes to provide jobs to people that would probably be unemployed.

Unfortunately stimulating the economy will take time and has put stress and burdens on many families and businesses. I believe the Recovery Act has provided many different programs to help these families and business get through this tough economic time and as i.house has said, “only time will tell”.

Arizona Immigration Law

During the summer I was seeing and hearing a lot of controversy with the Senate Bill 1070 which caused a lot of outrage with Arizona and multiple states. SB 1070 enforced more strict policies on the immigration status in Arizona. The bill was revised under U.S District Judge Susan Bolton and went into effect on July 29.

The article I read in USA TODAY,   Ariz. immigration law three months later: no arrests , has stated that basically nothing has happen in the last three months since the Bill became active. I, however, feel that a lot has happen even though no one has exercised their rights under the Bill. I think that by having no arrests that people are being aware and cautious of performing any illegal acts under the Bill.

In the article, it seems that all local law enforcement agencies are somewhat relaxed on the policies. Several agencies are coming up with their own policies to enforce, while others will exercise the Bill fully when the need arises. I do not think that these responsibilities should be left to local law enforcement and should be left to federal agencies. Local law enforcement agencies should stay concentrated on public safety and not immigration policies, unless it interferes with the safety of the public.

I think that the Bill is still fairly new and has a lot of ifs about how the laws are regulated and enforced. I feel that it needs more time to predict if it was worth the effort or not. The Bill could have several effects to the U.S economy. It could decrease immigration in a good way and bad way. The way it would be beneficial is that it would encourage immigrants to obtain work and citizenship in the U.S. which would help the economy by increasing the number of workers. The negative way is that it would scare immigrants away that want to work and would decrease the flow of migrant workers.

Immigration will always be an issue in the United States, as many see the U.S. as a better place to live and work than their current country. I believe that until we can find a neutral and equal zone to have all parties involved benefit from this, the people of the United States will always struggle with this issue and how it can be better handled.

Tax Cut Facts

The blog editorial Tax Cut Facts: How Obama’s Tax Cuts Are Helping American Families is intended for the American public and was posted by Jared Bernstein who is Chief Economic Advisor to the Vice President. Bernstein is assuring the American public that the recent tax cuts are helping families. These tax cuts are helping kids go to school by paying tuition, covering health care and offsetting the cost of energy efficient home improvements.

Bernstein states that the Recovery Act provided billions of dollars to states to assist in avoiding Medicare cuts and provide an opportunity for teachers to keep their jobs. Although the Act provided money to each of the States, many of them still had to increase their State taxes to offset the funding provided by the Federal Government.  This increase made Americans feel like there were getting shorted since they saw the increase.  Also taking place, the Work Pay Tax Credit reduced the taxes withheld from taxpayers.  This reduction was withheld in small increments throughout the year and many Americans did not notice it since it wasn’t provided as a lump sum payment as had been done in previous years.

He also states that without the Federal Government programs and stimulus money the United States would have suffered a more severe blow to the economy then what happened during the recession.  This was shown in the graph from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The real private income has dropped as the real personal disposable income steadily increased. According to Bernstein, this graph is proof that tax cuts are having a positive effect on the economy.

He also adds that there are other tax credits that are helping families and small businesses to build up the economy such as a 65 percent tax credit for people who lost their jobs by providing health care and making their first $2,400 in unemployment benefits tax free, child tax credits which reduced the earned income credit for low and moderate income families, and increased the earned income tax credit.

The facts that Jared Bernstein showcased in his blog do show a positive outlook on how the tax cuts are helping American Families.  It appears to be working as I have noticed that people seem to be ready to spend money, although I anticipate that they will be more cautious with their future purchases