Opinion

Paddy Waggin'

By Paddy Notar

Continuing my scrutiny of illegal immigration policies and laws in the country, here are some more statistics that CNN and Immigration Chronicles put together.

Eleven billion dollars to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year. $2.2 billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens, $2.5 billion a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens, $12 billion a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally, $17 billion a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies, $3 million a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.

Thirty percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens, $90 billion a year is spent on illegal aliens for welfare and social services by the American taxpayers, $200 billion a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's 2.5 times that of white, non-illegal aliens.

In 2005, there were 4-10 million illegal aliens that crossed the southern border, and as many as 19,500 that came over from terrorist countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine and marijuana crossed into the U. S from the southern border.

The National Policy Institute “estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five- year period. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $45 billion in remittances back to their countries of origin. 14.

The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes committed by Illegal Immigrants in the United States.

The total cost is $ 338.3 billion a year to taxpayers.

Imagine if 4-10 million illegal immigrants didn't cross the border annually and we reinvested the $338.3 billion into other programs for citizens who are out of work. We could give everyone on unemployment $20,000.

There's nothing like driving on the highway, during night, this time of year. I've never seen a better argument for getting lights on the Seward Highway.

Unless you have a car in front of you, whose taillights you can follow, you're scared. If it's snowing, you're screwed. The state and Muni will say that overhead lamps, on the road, will take away from the scenic beauty that the highway holds.

Don't worry, I'll be experiencing the scenic beauty first hand as I drive into the Turnagain Arm because I can't see a damn thing in front of me. At least put reflectors all over the guardrails. Anything would be better than what they currently have.

Speaking of ignoring the obvious why does Girdwood have Olympic Mountain Loop going both ways? How dumb is that move? Maybe in the summer it makes sense but not during winter when you can't see over the snow banks. I've seen cars almost hit each other and the shuttle drivers simply don't like it.

Once again, we'll have to wait until a catastrophe before the GBOS does anything.

The Anchorage Daily News had a Sunday editorial criticizing Mayor Dan Sullivan for questioning U.S. Sen. Mark Begich for not holding out on the health care vote, and insisting that Democrats open up ANWR. After all, multiple Senators got loads of cash for their states. Senator Begich could have been the vital vote. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, was happy to hand out favors in order to get the 60 votes he needed to pass the bill. So, why didn't Begich do what he other Senators did?

First, he will do anything Harry Reid says. It's that simple. How Harry votes Mark votes. He wouldn't ask for $25 from the majority leader. In the article, Senator Begich stated that he was voting for the health care bill because he doesn't want to see people die. What the hell does that mean? The Senator must not understand population control. People die every minute of every day. This bill won't prevent it. But Sen. Begich says that 45,000 people will die, annually, without it. Wow. What is that, one-tenth of 1percent of all uninsured people? Don't worry, though. If you're an illegal immigrant Senator Begich has your back.

Secondly, Sen. Begich doesn't listen to his constituents. The vast majority of Alaskans, like the rest of the nation, don't want this bill. He doesn't care what you want. He made it to Washington and he will now make his own decisions. Oh, he'll talk about his health meetings with the public, his input from voters, and blah, blah, blah. He doesn't care what you think. Otherwise he would realize that he is an extension of your vote. If the majority of people in Alaska feel this is a bad idea, Sen. Begich should vote accordingly. He's a tiny fish in a huge pond and he needs to do whatever is necessary to make his mark, which oddly enough, seems to be voting with the majority. That type of thinking backfires on politicians because they often serve only one term.

Look for the House of Representatives to kill the health bill (they support a woman's right to choose), as it must now be reconciled before going to the President and look for Sen. Begich to continue getting Alaska nowhere with this type of kissing up to the majority. Sullivan may not have been correct in saying that Mark Begich should have held out his vote for democrats to open up ANWR but he was correct in making the point that the junior Senator should have at least held out for a little while. Who knows, we may have gotten some money… like the other dozen states. Without Uncle Ted, we need every advantage.

By the way, the health care bill wouldn't take effect until 2014. Yet, the taxes would start immediately and if you don't sign up for the health care plan you will be forced to pay $750 annually to the Government. What if you refuse to pay? Call Begich's office and ask. 202-224-3004.

Finally a question for you. Who has these statistics, the NFL or the NBA? Thirty-six have been arrested for spousal abuse, seven have been arrested for fraud, three have done time for assault, 71 cannot get credits cards due to bad credit, 14 have been arrested on drug related charges, eight have been arrested for shoplifting, and 84 have been arrested for drunk driving. All within the past year. What did you guess, the NBA or NFL?

Trick question, it's neither. It's the United States Congress (535 members strong). Can you really trust them to fix healthcare?

Listen to more of Paddy's rants on the talk show “The Citizens' Soap Box” that he co-hosts on KBYR AM 700 Saturdays from 7-9 p.m. You can call the listener line at 274-5297.