Somebody Gets It
One California Newspaper Speaks the Truth

Ventura County (Calif.) Star -- August 11   The Governator is a Girly Man Eliminate illegal immigration to eliminate state deficit     To hear California's Republican governor and Democratic Legislature tell it, the Golden State's revenues are in such dire straits that the state government must raise taxes to make ends meet.     The facts tell a different story.     Just four years ago, California taxpayers filled the state's coffers with more than $74 billion. In the fiscal year that ended in June, taxpayers sent more than $96 billion to Sacramento — a $22 billion and 23 percent increase in revenues. That's three-and-a-half times the amount of the budget deficit the state is experiencing this year. Clearly, it's not revenues that are lacking. It's spending that is out of whack. [...]     In 2004, the Federation for American Immigration Reform published the most recent comprehensive report on how much illegal immigration costs the state of California. That report showed an $8.8 billion net loss to the state, enough to cover this year's deficit and provide the state with a $2.8 billion surplus.     And that was four years ago. The costs -- and the savings -- would be much greater today....