Illegal Immigration and our kid's education

Immigration is a touchy subject these days, with more and more confrontations happening. My forefathers came from Sweden and other lands to this country to start a new live to make a life better for their children, but they did it the legal way. They came through the proper channels, worked hard, learned English and spoke it as much as they could, paid taxes, and basically did just that, made a better life for them and their children.

What I am oppose to is ILLEGAL immigration and the terrible impact it is having on my kid's education.

It seems more and more today that there is a rising voice for Illegal Immigration, and it comes in the form of being against anyone or anything that wants to place restrictions on legal ramifications to policing this problem. AZ decided to put a line in the sand, and I applaud them for it. Maybe it is not perfect, but at least it is a start. CA has the highest % of Illegal Immigrants, and the state that is the closest to being bankrupt. CA really needs to do something about it for sure.

Some stats that I have read...

• In a Dateline report done in 2004 it was found that in California who's already struggling K-12 education system was spending approximately $7.7 billion a year to school the children of illegal aliens who at that time constituted 15 percent of the student body.
• In July 2010 Fox News did a report and found that the US spends 113 Billion Dollars a Year in harboring Illegal Immigrants. Just think what we could do with 113 Billion Dollars if we put it into our public schools.

The same Fox News story post info about the cost to our schools

"The single largest cost to the government of illegal immigration, according to the report, is an estimated $52 billion spent on schooling the children of illegals. “Nearly all those costs are absorbed by state and local governments,’ the report states.

Moreover, the study’s breakdown of costs on a state-by-state basis shows that in states with the largest number of illegals, the costs of illegal immigration are often greater than current, crippling budget deficits. In Texas, for example, the additional cost of immigration, $16.4 billion, is equal to the state’s current budget deficit; in California the additional cost of illegal immigration, $21.8 billion, is $8 billion more than the state’s current budget deficit of $13.8 billion; and in New York, the $6.8 billion deficit is roughly two-thirds the $9.5 billion yearly cost of its illegal population."

OK, so in my humble estimation, here is one solution... might not be the best, but at least here is an option...

Put the education vouchers in place. Each parent would get a voucher that covered a certain dollar amount of the child's education costs. Obviously this would need to be coordinated with the state and local leadership that handles this and should cover the basic cost of education that the states and local communities are already bearing for the legal citizens. The school would receive this amount to educate that child. Vouchers would only be given to Citizens of this country for that use. Those that are not here legally, would have to pay the full price to have their kids educated here. It is very similar to the way State Colleges charge students and in state tuition and an out of state tuition. It is higher for those that choose to go to another state to get the education, but know that they will have to pay more.

Student vouchers would accomplish this by forcing those that are illegally here to have to pay the full "tuition" to get their kids educated. They would still have a choice, just that all the rest of us do not have to pay their way. You may say that it is not fair, that those that are here illegally are usually working on farms, and do not have the means to pay that. Your right they probably do not, so let them stay in their own country, or get the legal documentation to be here in this country and then they could take part in getting their children educated.

I am tired of seeing the teachers in the schools where my kids go, have to fund educational materials out of their own pockets (and we all know that teachers are among the lowest paid, highly educated positions in our country). I am tired of seeing the student/teacher ratio in the schools continue to climb to a point where the teachers cannot be effective in helping our children get a good education.

I am certain that I do not have all of the info... I am also certain that this may not be the complete solution, but it would be a start. And we have got to start somewhere.

Excuse Me, but are you ashamed to say it?

I try to keep a level head about some of the antics that our Politicians do, or say, cause in the end they are human, they make mistakes, and they all have flaws....

But, I mean there is a point when you begin to see the underlying motivation in their actions and that leads you to understand the person inside, regardless of what they may profess.

I know that there are those of you out there that will completely disagree with me, and feel that it does not matter whether a person has a religious background or not to be in public office... I understand and value your opinion... As for me, I have a deep, penetrating understanding that this great Country was founded by men and women inspired by God, in how and when to form this Country.

Yes Inspired by God!

I have a deep belief that God directed the activities of those special men and woman to do what they did and when in order for us to have the freedoms that we now enjoy. I know from personal Spiritual experiences that God has a great purpose for having this great Country here on this continent, at this time, and for a higher purpose. I also believe that he still directs the affairs of this Country as long as we, as a Nation are trying to follow and live like him.

I know that our President has his flaws, again, we all do, but he was "marketed" to the US Public that he was Religious, that he held the same values as I did when it came to looking to God for understanding and inspiration on the affairs of this Country and the World around us.

I am sorry, but I am seeing more and more from his actions that tell me that he really truly underneath the facade might not have a deeply rooted understanding of the need to have God involved in our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-xYtTv3dUo&feature=related

There have been other instances that have happened earlier, but this one tells me that he just wants to "appeal" to the public. I really think that he is just working his angle at getting re-elected. He hesitated a long time before actually skipping the part "they are endowed by their Creator", so either he forgot that part, or was thinking through whether to say it or not, and then did not. Either way does not enlist confidence for me. The Declaration of Independence is a very important document in our history.... If your going to quote it, quote it right! It is what it is and it is what has helped form our Country in what it is today.

Want to fix our Country's issues? Involve God.

"What's in it for Me"

You may ask this now and again, I know I do. But I am changing my tune on this.....

I was witness to an event that took place last night that reaffirms my thoughts that it is in the simplest ways that we might be able to solve our most pressing problems in this country.

I have been involved in Theater Arts for over 15 years now. In that time I have shared the stage with plenty of Diva's and Egomaniacs, but also privileged to spend many a memorable evening or Saturday morning with amazing people... last night was no exception.

Since moving to this new town a little over 4 months ago, I go involved in a startup theater group that has just acquired rehearsal space in a previously vacant building, near the actual Theater, but also next to the local liquor store that has a reputation for attracting a rougher bunch, and that some of the towns homeless seem to come to get booze after collecting recyclables throughout the day. So since moving into the space that the homeless use to hang out in front of, we have been able to see some of the destitution of these folks first hand and have had to move a few on even in order to not have issues while doing rehearsals.

Last night we had the usual audience... as we were rehearsing, one particularly "fragrant" man stood in the doorway, he did not try and come in, but just stood in the doorway, blocking passage, and looking at us. He had tattered clothing, few teeth, and looked as if he had not been able to shower in well over a year. Since I was close to the door, I took the sentinel position and walked over to talk to him and ask him to move along. He stated that he just wanted some food, and not knowing about the food that was brought yet, I told him that we did not have anything for him and that he needed to move along. He then pointed over to the table where people were busily getting ready for rehearsal time and prepping for warm-ups, and in a flash I could see what he was looking at. There was a tinfoil pan, and a few people getting plates out and dishing some enchiladas out that one of the cast members brought. This same cast member, looked over, and then grabbed a plate, put on a heaping pile of enchiladas and Spanish rice and then without even a second thought, grabbed a fork and brought the lot over for the man to have. She did not make any fanfare about it, if I had not just a few minutes before told the man to “move along” I would probably had not even seen this act of service.

This touched my heart… You see, this cast member has to work two jobs just to help support her family, and she volunteers with the theater, since it is Community Theater and there is no payroll. I see her working long hours and putting in extra time at her work just to help her bosses in order that their businesses stay afloat in this economy. She has mentioned in the past to me that only a few years ago when the economy began to take a dump, her husband lost his job and they ended up losing their house, and possessions to the bank (one of the same that was bailed out by the Gov.) and have had to basically start life financially over again in their 50's. The food she brought could have easily gone to help lessen the load for feeding her struggling family, but instead she offered it up to the cast freely, and then when seeing this person in need without hesitation piled a huge portion grabbed a fork, napkin, and helped him over to a place that he could sit and enjoy a much needed meal.

I feel that one of the pressing issues with our Country today is a lack of a desire to serve others, versus the attitude of “what do I get out of it”. I see it more and more with Politicians, and people on the street. Gangs are all about “what’s in it for me”. Crime is a factor of the attitude of “what’s in it for me”. I am grateful however to have been privileged to witness this Small Miracle, that reaffirmed my faith that there are people today that can keep this Country great! That are still decent! That have morals and values that are well beyond the “what’s in it for me”! If we all could take this approach to life, we could solve so many of the issues we face today! I know this is probably preachy, overly simplified, and probably way naive in most of your minds… but it is by simple things that great things are accomplished. I for one will do much more for those around me, so there is one… who else will join me?

Wow, If we all could have all the money we want to print at our finger tips

Found this site on the Internet... Interesting way of looking at the deficit. I am not certain if all of the info is 100% accurate, but it does make you think.

http://www.spendingrevolt.com/

Oh my Hell!! What on earth are they thinking!!

I read in the paper this morning that Meg Whitman who is running for Gov. of CA has now raised and is planning on spending 119 MILLION DOLLARS, which is a new record in the amount that has ever been raised or spent in a Gubernatorial race....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/15/meg-whitman-campaign-spen_1_n_718415.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/09/whitman-adviser-defends-campaign-spending-on-meet-the-press.html

WTF (in my mind that is "What the Freak")

OK, so not only is she planning on spending that to get elected as Gov. of CA, but the other candidate Jerry Brown will be spending Millions as well in order to "get the word out".

Do either of these candidates understand that when average hardworking citizens read this, those that are struggling with the downturn of the economy, loss of retirement pension values, increase fuel prices, struggling public school systems, and a whole host of other issues that we are facing... we as tax payers and citizens begin to think that they have lost touch with reality.

Hmmmm, maybe they have....

Let's say that Jerry Brown only spends half of what Meg Whitman is planning on spending. That is roughly 178 Million freakin dollars just to let us know that they want to be the next CA Gov.

OK, so here is an idea I have for a solution......

1. Put a cap on the amount that politicians can spend on campaigning. Make it a fixed amount. I don't care if it is figured into a budget that comes out of some tax funds. Keep it low, like an amount that would equal a decent salary, say 100K. Oh I can hear the rumblings now... "there is no way in this political area to get the word out for 100K, signage costs more than that, TV ads are expensive, radio ads are expensive".... Your exactly right!! If that was the budget they might actually have to get CREATIVE in getting the word out, or NEGOTIATE time on TV and Radio. They may even have to plan more DEBATES where they would be forced to really talk about their way of fixing the issues we have versus telling us how "stupid, incompetent, morally unfit" the other candidates are. Are we not looking to put people in office that actually have these skills? Are we not looking for candidates that can solve issues with effective programs and teamwork?
2. Let them fund raise, let them see if they can be in the record books for raising the most money for the issues they say they are going to fix. Just think if you could put all the rest of that money that these two are going to spend on campaigning, into the budget beleaguered public school system in CA. How many more teachers could be hired, how many more school building improvements could be made to schools that so desperately need it, how many more struggling students could get a more hands on experience with a teacher that cares and now has the ability to spend some quality time with kids because the student/teacher ratio for her classes has dropped from 35 to 28 or less.
3. Now take the funds that they are raising and begin putting them to good use, making a differnce in peoples lives, before we vote. Let the media (who is always looking for a story) cover these events and report on what these candidates are actually doing to improve and fix the issues we have. Let the candidates put these funds into meaningful projects and programs that can be sustained by the funds raised, and if elected, can put in place additional tax dollar or propositions in place to help sustain them even further, or increase their penetration into solving the issues.

Let's see them actually do something good for a change before we actually have to vote for them. I think that we would all like to see how effective a leader our candidates can be before we have to pick one. I would love to have the problem of having to pick from two or three really awesome, effective, compasionate, and caring candidates for a public office. This would also allow us to see how creatively they can solve the issues of the day without just throwing money at it. I agree that we have a lot of issues that need money to fix, but we have increasingly become a nation that feels that, to fix it, cover it with a money bandaid. This is going to bite us in the butt with the overspending of the budget and the increasing deficit that we are in. We are a nation that within a very short time, put the greatest minds we had on a goal of putting a Man on the Moon, and we did!! Not only that, we got him back as well!! China now owns probably more of the US than we do. This is because we have been willing to go into debt and place money bandaids on pressing issues for years and years. We have not had anyone really digging in there and actually solving the underlying problems, and this has got to stop.

That might mean that our next candidates are not the most beautiful, or hansome, not the most well known... they maybe average people like you and me, but would have shown by example their capabilities to lead, direct, inspire, and creativly solve our issues.

I am tired of only having to choose between the two or three that have the most money to spend to "get the word out", without really knowing anything about thier abilities to actually deal with the challenges that we face. I have met some people, very average people as to the view of the world, that are amazingly effective at solving problems, who can inspire people beyond what they thought they could accomplish. These folks have unique understandings of how to organize and implement solutions to complex issues at a moments notice.

I would love to hear from you.... Please post your thoughts.

I need a place to vent

You are probably wondering what this blog is all about with a name like KISS Politics... No I am not the ultimate fan of the KISS Rock group, although I do like their music now and then, KISS is in reference the sales and marketing adage "Keep It Simple Stupid". I have felt more and more over the last decade that politics has become increasingly cumbersome and overly complicated, and it is brought about by the "yahoo's" we have in office, and the attitudes of the American People. I have posted a few times on Facebook my thoughts on politics, environmental issues, healthcare, and other issues that as of late have got my blood boiling. I have decided to create this blog so that I can vent at will and those that want to read it can, those that don't can just ignore.

I would say that I have become increasingly conservative in my political views, but I pride myself on keeping an open mind. I am trying to constantly educate myself on the issues and the arguments from both sides, so that I can make wise decisions when it comes time to vote on laws and propositions that are sent to the polls. I am a family man. I like to spend time with my family more than doing other activities that might seem "fun" or "cool" in today's world. I would rather "hang" with my kids and my beautiful wife, than to run down to the sports bar and take in a game. Call me old fashioned, but I feel that working hard and saving for something greater is better than going out and buying the "hot on sale item" with credit.

If you like, you can comment on posts that I place on here, I love to hear others opinions. I would like to encourage you to rant if you feel like it, but please add your thoughts on how to solve it. I think we all need to turn on the thinking caps and actually look for ways to resolve the issues we face. Thanks for reading