Mention illegal immigration and it is likely to strike a cord with many people in different ways. There are those that feel compassion for the immigrants that enter our country illegally for the purpose of supporting their family, and there are those that see illegal immigration as a threat to our national sovereignty and way of life. As I have said before, there are only 3 things that we citizens should rightly expect from our government: Protecting the constitution and the rights it guarantees, creating an environment where the economy is allowed to grow, and enforcing our laws. I see the illegal immigration issue as affecting all three of these areas and as such must be addressed.

By turning our backs on this problem we are condemning those here illegally to a life that is essentially slavery. If the owner of a business has chosen to expand his business and the predominant wage for that type of work in that area is, for example, $12/hour, by the time the employer pays social security, health insurance, workers compensation, vacation and sick time, he is actually having to pay $18/hour or more to hire an American or legal immigrant worker. But, if he can hire someone who is in the country illegally, the employer can pay that worker as little as $5/hour with no other taxes or benefits to pay for that worker. Because a person is in this country illegally, they have nowhere to turn for help or for protection from unscrupulous employers. They cannot command a living wage, let alone a predominant wage. Since they have no health care insurance, illegal workers turn to emergency services for even routine medical care, thereby increasing the cost of medical care to all Americans. They are forced to live in substandard housing with as many as 30 people living in a single family dwelling.

As a compassionate nation that believes that all men are created equal, we cannot allow this to happen within our borders. Of course we have all heard the claims that they perform a service that Americans won’t do. Ironically, that is exactly the same argument that farmers and businessmen used to support slavery in this country from the time the Republic was founded until the end of the Civil War. 40 years ago when immigration laws were changed, tomato farmers claimed that their crop would rot in the field without the cheap labor illegal immigrants provided. The crops did not rot in the field, rather, some enterprising individuals created machinery to harvest the tomatoes, ultimately increasing efficiencies and lowering costs to the consumers.

Unless we remove the incentives that attract people from outside our borders to sneak across, there is no fence or security system that will stop illegal immigration. Unless we can stop illegal immigration, giving amnesty to those that are already here will only create a vacuum that will entice and attract more illegal aliens. The way to remove the incentive is to place severe penalties on employers that hire illegal aliens. As the state of Arizona has already proven, as you eliminate the job opportunities, illegal aliens will leave the area and move to where there are jobs available.

The cost of illegal immigration on our economy is staggering. Last year the Los Angles Times published some astounding statistics. According to the L.A. Times 95% of all warrants for murder in L.A. County are for illegal aliens, 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are here illegally, 60% of all HUD occupants are illegal aliens, and 40% of all workers in L.A. County are working for cash and not paying taxes because they are predominately illegal. The cost to our corrections facilities, our social services, our hospitals, and the loss of tax revenue add up to a potentially devastating amount that law abiding, tax paying citizens must pay for.

One of the things that has made this country the greatest country on the planet is people leaving their homeland and migrating to the U.S. They bring with them their ideas, their talents, and their drive to become successful because they know that this is the land of opportunity. Over this country’s history we have attracted the best and the brightest from around the world. If we are to keep this country the land of opportunity, we must enforce our laws.

            Since the inception of the Great Society, we have been increasingly conditioned and expected to turn to government for the answers to the ills of society.  Government is not the answer to the state’s problems, it is the problem.  There are really only three things that citizens should expect from their government at any level.  We should expect the government to protect and secure our freedoms, to create an environment where the economy is allowed to grow, and enforcement of our laws.

            As the size of government grows, an ever increasing amount of money is removed from our economy to support that government in the form of ever greater taxation; taxes on our income, on our property, on our investments, on our expenditures, on businesses, on utilities, on fuel, on inheritances, and on our savings.  In nearly every aspect of our daily lives the government is taking money in the form of taxes out of the hands of its citizens, money that otherwise would have been available for people to spend, save, or invest as they see fit; assets that are no longer available for industry to reinvest in the form of research, development, and expansion.  This, in conjunction with excess regulation and red tape restricts our economic growth.

            Our freedoms are not given to us by our government, only to be taken back when they become inconvenient.  Our freedoms are inalienable rights given to us by God, our Creator and cannot be taken from us unless we willingly surrender them.  If we allow our rights and freedoms to be taken from us in exchange for perceived physical or financial security, we shall in the end, have neither.

            Government does not create jobs nor create a robust economy.  Government on its own has nothing; it only has what we, its citizens, give to it.  Government does not create wealth or goods; it only redistributes the assets it has taken.  People, through their ingenuity, labor and risk create our economy and wealth. 

            Our laws, our constitution is not based upon the laws of man, they are based upon natural law, the laws of God.  As such these laws must be upheld in a consistent manner for all citizens.  No one can be above the law, and no one can select which laws we choose to enforce and which we choose to ignore.

            Rather than turn to government, we must turn back to what made America great.  We must look to the people for the solutions to the ills that we now face.  Individual ruggedness, innovation, accountability and risk taking will provide more sound solutions to our current social and economic plights.

            Our communities are confronting an economic affliction of great proportion.  Inflation fueled by escalating energy costs distort our economic decisions, penalize thrift, and crush our struggling youth and fixed income elderly alike.

            Idle industries have cast our workers into unemployment.  Those who do work are denied fair compensation for their labor by a tax system that penalizes personal achievement.  President Reagan made these statements over 20 years ago, and they are just as true today.

            As great as our total tax burden is, it has not kept pace with our public spending.  As individuals we can only live beyond our means for a short time by borrowing.  Why then should we think that our state should not be bound by the same limitations? 

We are facing an estimated state deficit of nearly $1.8 billion.  Some will say we simply need to increase taxes, but we have reached and exceeded the public’s tolerance for and ability to pay for more taxes.  Some have suggested increasing taxes on business and industry.  But business does not pay taxes.  Businesses are being taxed, so much so that they are unable to compete on the global market and are being forced to relocate and shift production to plants beyond our borders.  Business must pass its costs, including taxes, on to the consumer.  Only people pay taxes.

For years we have talked of reducing government spending in order to decrease taxes, and at times we have made feeble attempts at it.  There are those that say we cannot reduce taxes until after we have reduced spending.  Well, we can lecture our children about their wasteful spending habits until we are out of breath, or we can change their spending habits by reducing their allowance.

Spending cuts should not be at the expense of the truly needy.  We can continue to meet our responsibility to those who, through no fault of their own, need our help; as well as meet the other legitimate needs of the state.  We cannot continue our wasteful ways at the expense of our workers and economy.  Our goal should be to increase wealth so all will have more, not just to redistribute what we already have.  We must again reward hard work and risk taking by forcing government to live within its means.  For years we have been in denial of our self destructive economic structure, but we no longer have that luxury.

I believe we can address school funding issues without further raising taxes and maintaining local control of our schools. Ten years ago the Ohio Supreme court determined that our schools rely too heavily on local property taxes. Many people think the state should contribute more money to our schools. Unfortunately, this would only increase our taxes and ultimately take away local control of our schools. Eliminating property taxes and using local earned income taxes would help to greatly reduce the need for additional levies, address inflationary issues of the schools, protect those on fixed incomes from rising taxes, and maintain local control of our schools.

I believe that we should reduce the tax burden on Ohioans and businesses to expand the local economy and attract new industries back into our communities.