Increasing the Tax Base - Group 3

Illegal Aliens. One of my favorite topics. Illegal aliens are usually, although not always, paid in cash, so payroll taxes are not taken out. I differentiate immigrants here as “illegal” because those who are here legally are paying taxes through a payroll deduction. I am assuming that the illegal aliens we are talking about here is the immigrant from a depressed country and there are here to earn money to help their families survive back in the old country. And yes, I know that is not the only reason illegal aliens are in the United States, that’s a topic for another time and place. I may have problems with the “reason” they are here, but I am more concerned with the “way” they are here. But that too, is a topic for another time and place.

The illegal alien generally doesn’t have a traditional job. They are usually day laborers and paid in cash. They are gardeners, hotel maids, dishwashers, mechanics, nannies, and in other jobs where the employer is willing to pay them in cash. Are they bad people? Of course not. That’s not the point. Even though they are here and try to “fly under the radar” they will need public assistance in the form of social services. At some time or another, because they work at minimum wage jobs, someone will help them to apply for welfare, WIC, Medicaid, and any other number of social welfare programs that my liberal side and my fiscally conservative side fight over. These programs are all paid for through my (and your) tax dollars.

Under the Fair Tax, illegal aliens would automatically be added to the tax rolls every time they made a purchase. Here in Manatee County we have a large Hispanic population. I see Hispanics in every store I shop in. So, my point is, under the Fair Tax, they would pay a tax every time they shopped, just as I would.

We started out with the wage-earner group and added the criminal element, tourists and now illegal aliens. Who will be in the next group?