Polipundit can't figure out why some Georgians believe that there's enough education-related funding to go around:
More than 11,000 undocumented Hispanic residents were living in Dalton in 2000, according to Census Bureau figures. Latino children now make up the majority in Dalton city schools. Many graduate from high school and meet the requirements to enroll in a state college or university. This fall, more than 50 undocumented high school graduates enrolled at nearby Dalton State College.If some Georgia lawmakers get their way, future graduates won't have that option. Senate Republicans said last week that they will make illegal immigration a top priority in the upcoming legislative session, supporting proposals that would bar undocumented residents from receiving taxpayer-funded services in Georgia.
Let me get this straight. For all this time, Georgia's taxpayers and legal residents have been picking up the tab for students whose parents immigrated illegally? And we're supposed to feel bad that the free ride is now at an end?
Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said he hopes the law will discourage illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia in the first place."We cannot feed, clothe and educate everybody in the world," Johnson said Friday in a telephone interview. "We have limited resources. Money doesn't grow on trees. Having people here using up our limited resources is not fair."
Exactly. No one's picking on legal immigrants, and the article also makes the point that it's the parents to blame here, not the students. Certainly, my local high school has a problem with illegal immigrants, and I bet it's not a coincidence that my property taxes are sky-high. Polipundit tries to keep the comments on the topics of security and tax issues, but the discussion devolves into the usual race-baiting.
Posted by kswygert at September 19, 2005 01:02 PM