janedoe225:

mohandasgandhi:

thenoobyorker:

vruz:

vruz: KA-BOOM, GOP and other assorted demi-libertarians in non-racist disguise. (I take issue with the term ‘illegal’ in the headline, but that’s another story)

While GE - which earned a whopping $14 billion last year - is reported to have paid nothing, nada, zero in taxes (GE denies it), the undocumented paid billions in state and local taxes in 2010.

No, it’s not me talking; it’s the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (itepnet.org), a prestigious, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy issues.

[…]

Ironically the vilified undocumented population, among the poorest and most vulnerable in the country, does its part when it comes to taxes.

They pay sales taxes and property taxes - even if they rent, ITEP said. At least half of them pay income taxes. And, I believe, if they were ever legalized, close to 100% would do the same. “Add this all up,” ITEP said, “and it amounts to billions in revenue to state and local governments.”

ITEP estimates that households that are headed by undocumented immigrants (which may include members who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants) paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes last year. That included $1.2 billion in personal income taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $8.4 billion in sales taxes.

New York is fourth in the country in tax revenue - $662.4 million - from households headed by undocumented immigrants, after California, Texas and Florida.

There’s another study that states that “immigrants” contribute much more than they will ever receive monetarily (since everyone is obsessed with money.)

I think it’s really depraved to argue either position on immigration based solely upon monetary impact rather than focusing on humanitarian values but most economists agree that the United States economy would cease to function without “immigrant” workers.  I’ll defer further discussion to a few starting places I’ve used in the past and managed to find for free instead of rambling:

Tamar Jacoby - Immigration Nation

Gordon H. Hanson - The Economics and Policy of Illegal Immigration in the United States

Howard F. Chang - The Economics of International Labor Migration and the Case for Global Distributive Justice in Liberal Political Theory

David Card - Immigration and Inequality

Individual attitudes towards immigration: Economic vs. Non-Economic Determinants

Seriously, I hate when liberal frame immigration as an issue for exploiting people for cheap labor.