From A Year Ago... Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With

[WillyT]

Billions

By Eduardo Porter
The New York Times
Tuesday 05 April 2005

<snip>

Stockton, Calif. - Since illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States six years ago, Ángel Martínez has done backbreaking work, harvesting asparagus, pruning grapevines and picking the ripe fruit. More recently, he has also washed trucks, often working as much as 70 hours a week, earning $8.50 to $12.75 an hour.

Not surprisingly, Mr. Martínez, 28, has not given much thought to Social Security's long-term financial problems. But Mr. Martínez - who comes from the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico and hiked for two days through the desert to enter the United States near Tecate, some 20 miles east of Tijuana - contributes more than most Americans to the solvency of the nation's public retirement system.

Last year, Mr. Martínez paid about $2,000 toward Social Security and $450 for Medicare through payroll taxes withheld from his wages. Yet unlike most Americans, who will receive some form of a public pension in retirement and will be eligible for Medicare as soon as they turn 65, Mr. Martínez is not entitled to benefits.

He belongs to a big club. As the debate over Social Security heats up, the estimated seven million or so illegal immigrant workers in the United States are now providing the system with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year.

<snip>

Link: http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/37/10128

Hell... maybe we should pass a national living wage law, make 'em all citizens, and PRAY they stay here after the baby-boomers retire!

I'm being told that in the next 5 to 10 years, something like 56% of all California State Employees are gonna retire. If that trend is true for the rest of the country, we may wanna look at other options than deportation and Berlin Wall building. We may need these folks more than we can possibly imagine.

:shrug:

[MrTriumph]

1. Maybe better paid American workers be a better situation.

x

[BlackHeart]

2. How do you

take SS out of a person's paycheck if they don't have a SS#?

[ThomasNewton]

3. My question exactly

I guess we're supposed to believe that all the Latinos buying those Western Union money orders are sending them to the Social Security Administration.

[JohnnyRingo]

4. I have a feeling the employer is just telling the worker that's what the

"deduction" is going to.

Why would an employer send extra money to the govt to cover the payroll taxes of workers who are illegal to begin with? Nobody in business pays more than their share on purpose.

He hired the illegals out of greed to pad his profit line, and I suspect any "deductions" also go straight in his pocket.


I don't buy the "paying taxes" bit for a moment.
Someone would have to show me an "Illegal alien tax form" before I'll believe it.

[countryjake]

5. Google "earnings suspense file"

The Social Security administrators recent estimates are that around 80% of this now comes from "illegals"; IRS estimates are even higher, around 92%. There is no way to tell, exactly, since they are not "documented".

[RagingInMiami]

6. Not having an SS doesn't mean they won't take anything out of your check

It just means you can't collect what you've put in.