The Heritage Foundation recently released a new study – The Fiscal Cost of Low-Skill Households to the U.S. Taxpayer.  This study took into account all forms of government services – direct and indirect.  The resulting categories are direct benefits, means-tested benefits, educational services, population-based services, interest and other financial obligations and pure public goods.  The study was seeking the total cost of benefits and services consumed by households without a High School diploma.

Balance of Taxes and Benefits

On average, low-skill households received $32,138 per household in immediate government benefits and services in FY 2004, including direct benefits, means-tested benefits, education, and popula­tion-based services. Total benefits rose to $43,084 if public goods and the cost of interest and other financial obliga­tions are added.

By contrast, low-skill households paid only $9,689 in taxes. Thus, low-skill households received at least three dollars in benefits and services for each dollar in taxes paid. If the costs of public goods and past financial obligations are added, the ratio rises to four to one.

You might be asking what does this have to do with amnesty for illegal aliens?

From October 2006 there was another Heritage Foundation paper called – Importing Poverty: Immigration and Poverty in the United States: A Book of Charts. 

Hispanic immigrants (both legal and illegal) comprise half of all first-generation immigrants and their families. Pov­erty is especially prevalent among this group. Hispanic immigrants have particularly low levels of education; more than half live in families headed by persons who lack a high school diploma. Family formation is also weak among Hispanic immigrants; fully 42 percent of the children of Hispanic immigrants are born out of wedlock. Hispanic immigrants thus make up a disproportionate share of the nation’s poor:

**First-generation Hispanic immigrants and their families now comprise 9 percent of the U.S. population but 17 percent of all poor persons in the U.S.; and

**Children in Hispanic immigrant families now comprise 11.7 percent of all children in the U.S. but 22 percent of all poor children in the U.S.

Massive low-skill immigration works to counteract government anti-poverty efforts. While government works to reduce the number of poor persons, low-skill immigration pushes the poverty numbers up. In addition, low-skill immigration siphons off government anti-poverty funding and makes government efforts to shrink poverty less effective.

Low-skill immigrants pay little in taxes and receive high levels of government benefits and services. The National Academy of Sciences has estimated that each immigrant without a high school degree will cost U.S. taxpayers, on average, $89,000 over the course of his or her lifetime.[3] This is a net cost above the value of any taxes the immi­grant will pay and does not include the cost of educating the immigrant’s children, which U.S. taxpayers would also heavily subsidize.

In this way, the roughly six million legal immigrants without a high school diploma will impose a net cost of around a half-trillion dollars on U.S. taxpayers over their lifetimes. The roughly five million illegal immigrants without a high school diploma will cost taxpayers somewhat less because illegal immigrants are eligible for fewer government benefits. However, if these illegal immigrants were granted amnesty and citizenship, as proposed by the Bush Administration and legislated in a recent Senate-passed immigration bill (S. 2611), they could cost tax­payers an additional half-trillion dollars. In total, all immigrants without a high school education could impose a net cost on U.S. taxpayers of around one trillion dollars or more. If the cost of educating the immigrants’ children is included, that figure could reach two trillion dollars.[4]

Why is it that politicians will accept and believe junk science relating to Global Warming yet refuse to accept documented data from government agencies which exposes the cost to U.S. taxpayers in giving amnesty for 12 to 20 million illegal aliens.  There is no justification in rewarding illegal aliens for invading our country with U.S. taxpayers having to pay the bill.

Other CAII news:
Illegal Immigration in the News from Morning Coffee

Assassins, Rapists, and Torturers from Common Sense America

Mensaje de Newt Gingrich – Appeasement or Appealing? from Liberally Conservative

Q&A on illegal immigrant from My Country – My View

Ode to the Gang Unit from GA Crime Watch

Illegal Immigration has the American People Cornered from The People’s Patriot

Georgia leads the country in immigration reform…but is it enough? from GA Crime Watch

This Did Not Have To Happen from Common Sense America

Target plays dirty with non-Muslim employees from Right Truth

Federal Law, criminal invaders, and cornered Americans from Right Truth

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

Technorati Tags: Illegal aliens, amnesty, costs of immigration, statistics, Heritage Foundation

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