I should not have responded AT ALL. That is my response ONLY BECAUSE I was discussing the costs of illegal immigrants to the U.S. and you jumped in to discuss the costs of the war in Iraq. That was not the subject being discussed and does not negate the other costs or justify them in my opinion. It is as though I complained about my boss not letting me take lunch everyday and you piped in with "My wife beats me every night." Both are tragic and wrong, but are two different issues.


>"One cost does not justify the other"? That's your response to a cost overrun of > 100:1? You or I would be out on our kiesters for messing up this badly. Our industry is notoriously lenient -- if we bring in a software project only 20% late and 20% over budget, we're heroes -- but this is ridiculous. $285 billion is a scary number even in federal government terms. We are leaving that tab for our children and our children's children. That's a hell of a price IMO for the temporary pleasure in 2003 of puffing our chests out. What fools we were.
>
>
>>One cost does not justify the other and vice versa. Both are ridiculous.
>>
>>
>>>>SNIP
>>>>OTOH, they don't cost much as they don't have any rights as well. They also help the economy, though some of the money might be flowing to the family to mexico. Illegal people are not so much of a problem in a society where there are limited governmental benefits. The european society is a bit different in this respect.
>>>>
>>>>I disagree and below are some small examples why:
>>>>
>>>>http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty2.htm
>>>>
>>>>In Texas, the Harris County Hospital District alone doled out $330 million in free medical care to illegal immigrants over the last three years.
>>>>
>>>>The average cost of educating citizens annually K-12 is $8,745 per student. The costs for illegal immigrants is estimated to be around 29 BILLION (8,745 x 3.3 million children). Schools also have implemented English as a 2nd Language classes, bilingual classes, and immigrant-orientd classes which add to the costs as well and could raise it closer to 35 billion a year.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.vdare.com/misc/levin_illegals_in_er.htm
>>>>
>>>>In California alone, the estimated costs are 10.5 billion a year for education, medical care, and incarceration.
>>>>
>>>>http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersffec
>>>>
>>>>On top of it all, it is estimated that 33% of our prison population is comprised of illegal immigrants and that does not count the ones the INS releases because they do not have the manpower to deport them. It is estimated that while the average american citizen will pay for their crimes, the average illegal immigrant is released into the general populace because INS cannot deal with them and the police turn them over to INS.
>>>>
>>>>Another estimate from Congressman Ted Poe's site:
>>>>http://www.house.gov/poe/remarks/immigration71205.htm
>>>>
>>>>And more:
>>>>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=42474
>>>
>>>
>>>"A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money" -- Sen. Everett Dirksen
>>>
>>>Speaking of billions in government (OUR) spending, here are some numbers that came across my desk this morning. I have not had the chance to verify yet.
>>>
>>>Amount the administration estimated it would cost us to "liberate" and rebuild Iraq: $1.7 billion.
>>>
>>>Amount it has cost to date: $285 billion.