Community groups talk back to Astorino on immigration, taxes
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- July
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The immigration issue hasn’t generated quite the same amount of heat in Westchester politics as it has up north in Putnam County. But late last month, Westchester GOP county executive candidate brought up illegal immigrants in a discussion about rising property taxes. And yesterday a group of Hispanic and community advocates gave a reply in no uncertain terms.
My story in today’s Journal News describes the exchange, but here I’ll include more commentary from both camps. First, the original comment by Republican candidate Rob Astorino on News 12:
Rob Astorino: “County government has grown tremendously over the last eight years, the last 12 years, to the point where it’s becoming unsustainable. Property taxes in Westchester are unsustainable. You can’t keep doubling and tripling, at the rate of inflation, property taxes. It’s driving people out. And when you say more people are moving in, that’s not necessarily true, and people are leaving the state.”
Jeanine Rose: “Population is growing, though, in Westchester.”
Astorino: “But look who’s coming in. They need more services. It’s not people who necessarily can keep a house, it’s people who are moving in from the Bronx or, you know, who is counted too. It could be illegal immigrants, and when you say illegal I don’t want to make that into a nasty term, it’s people that are not here legally. And they do need services.”
You can watch the video clip on YouTube.
About those Westchester County property taxes: They account for about 15 to 18 percent of a homeowner’s tax bill, with the rest going to school, municipal, water and fire district taxes. The county tax bills have increased on average by 2.6 percent over the last five years, and 1.77 percent this year. Under a very complicated formula, the increases vary from community to community depending on the changing property values in each town, the shifting tax base and the way property is assessed in each place.
Anyway, Astorino was suggesting that the influx of illegal immigrants and “people moving in from the Bronx” were bringing a demand for public services, implying that they are driving up taxes. A large group of community advocates stood outside a White Plains agency yesterday to protest that Astorino was scapegoating immigrants and minorities, at a time when Hispanics are being threatened and intimidated.
Zoe Colon, a Bronx native and the incoming director of the Hispanic Resource Center in Mamaroneck, said:
I know first-hand how hardworking and dedicated these families are. … These communities are following patterns, historical patterns of migration and settlement, whether it’s following work opportunities or whether it’s moving second and third generation families out of inner city neighborhoods and into the suburbs.
The speakers said they weren’t picking sides in politics. But Westchester County Legislator Jose Alvarado, D-Yonkers, pointed to the absence of Latinos in Westchester political office:
The Bronx is well represented by the people that live there. Westchester isn’t. I’m the only Latino elected here, and I am really upset at this, and the Hispanic community should take note.
And this from Robin Bikkal, who chairs the county’s Hispanic Advisory Board:
When a candidate for public office identifies and selectively blames financial stresses on these two discreet segments of our community, and proclaims that such people are not people that can ‘keep a house,’ that person incides anti-Hispanic rhetoric on a broader scale. This rhetoric, in turn, causes divisiveness and hatred within the boundaries of our community.
Astorino had prepared a statement handed out at the press conference saying he wasn’t trying to blame undocumented immigrants for Westchester’s “sky-high taxes.” It didn’t address what he was trying to say about immigrants and Bronxites. And who are the people who can’t “keep a house”? Here’s what he told me afterward.
(Illegal immigration) is not deniable, it’s a national issue that needs to be dealt with. People are here that have not received their citizenship, and they are using services, and the taxpayers of this county and of this nation are bearing the brunt of that. …. There is a burden the taxpayer has to account for. …. Undocumented citizens in this county are not the major problem whatsoever for the high property taxes. It’s the county executive and his policy for taxing and taxing and taxing.
I asked Astorino whether he thought illegal immigration was a burden for local governments.No one’s going to argue with that. That’s a national issue that even Congress can’t deal with.
As for the people who can’t keep a house: He said he was referring to people who don’t own property and therefore don’t pay property taxes directly. “People who don’t own a house may not be as concerned as owners, but renters should be,” he said.
And lastly, about the Bronx. I didn’t really get an answer on why he brought up the borough.
My father grew up in the Bronx, my grandmother just moved out of the Bronx not too long ago. And I’m a Yankee fan. I go to Arthur Avenue all the time. I went to Fordham, by the way.
He concluded,
I can get a Bronx cheer for how I said it, but what I said is correct. If we don’t stop taxing at the rates we do, nobody’s going to be left in Westchester County.
Here was Democratic County Executive Andrew Spano’s comment, via spokeswoman Susan Tolchin:
We are very surprised that a candidate for county executive would make these remarks. The county executive has always said that diversity is the strength of this county. That’s why people move here, that’s why people live here, that’s why our quality of life is so high. So to target one segment of the community just is very divisive and irresponsible.
Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 12:40 pm by Leah Rae.
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With Al Franklin being sworn the oath of office, which for a majority in either party means absolutely nothing? Be assured the Democratic Libertarian leadership has a perfect storm and with a 60 member majority the other side cannot filibuster any new laws to being enacted. My major concern is an illegal immigrant the-
OVERPOPULATIONinvasion. UnlessTHE AMERICAN PEOPLEdon’t exert pressure on their Senators, Representatives, they areSURE-to pass another AMNESTY. With no restraints it means 13 to 20 million plus, foreign workers and their large families will get a path to citizenship, even though they broke our laws. In stark addition to this, millions more will appear in America after sweeping across our border, after being advised that AMNESTY is going to be enacted.OVERPOPULATION—will over the next 40 years propel the amount of people, living, working here to around 430 million? That’s federal government statistics?
Our country is already being swamped by foreign nations who cannot speak or write English and unable to comprehend road warning signs. Amongst the impoverished, the sick and others carry contagious diseases, comes the gang members, rapists, murders and other criminal elements. Those caught have already compromised our overcrowded penal system. Each day there is carnage on the highways to American family members. The Heritage foundation has already stated that the costs could reach $2.5 TRILLION DOLLARS, just in retirement benefits. I don’t think their are any words to describe the financial impact on taxpayers, as these poor, unschooled and large extended families cannot find work, in a near 11.0 percent jobless rate for AMERICANS. There is huge unknown financial amount of money to support the illegal worker, followed by a wife and then-
CHAIN MIGRATION-of sisters, brothers who are sure to come?There is a danger to our economy so unbelievable, it cannot be emphasized enough-
THAT THE PUBLIC MUST PRESSURE THEIR RELUCTANT PUBLIC SERVANTS IN WASHINGTONNOT TO ALLOW ANY KIND OF AMNESTY? The full weight of this massive expenditure will fall on the U.S. TAXPAYER-NOT THE PARASITE EMPLOYER WHO DOES THE HIRING? A prime example at this time is payments of illegal alien households around the country. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation calculated the average low-skilled immigrant household received $30,160 in direct benefits, education, medical care and other services from all levels of government in 2004. Those same low-skilled immigrant households paid only $10,573 in taxes that year, meaning the average low-skill household had a fiscal deficit of $19,588.The ultimate question is can Americans afford to support all these low income nationals, while the nations economy is stagnant? With millions of the US population searching for a job, with a slender possibility of passing Universal health care? We must have a uniform immigration enforcement program, that our politicians have cowardly moved away from, except for a brave few.
We need immediate transformation of E-Verification to a permanent, none voluntary for-
ALL-workers, within the United States. Whether you have five employees or 50.000 everybody must be verified as legal. IT SHOULD START WITH EVERY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR WITHOUT ANY EXCEPTION? THEN EVERY US FEDERAL WORKER SHOULD BE VETTED, OR HAVE THE US GOVERNMENT GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE? BEING THAT FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH, IMPLEMENTED THE PILOT PROGRAM, THE GOVERNMENT MUST SET AN EXAMPLE INSTEAD OF ALL THE DELAYS?The defenders of ILLEGAL immigrants can try to sugar-coat it if they want; but, the bottom line is that these people DO NOT BELONG HERE and they are sucking the life out of our taxpayers. America cannot support the ENTIRE world. As poster “Brittancus” alluded to: We will not have enough natural resources to support all these illegal people in the future. Unless, any of you think you can drink air, in place of water !!!
just get rid of ALL social services and it will clear this
debate up right away. Let’s see how well the hispanic alien
does without them. Then we’ll see if they are an asset or a
liability. I think even liberal leah knows the answer to that one.
So just the mention of illegal immigrants is enough to brand this man a racist? What about all the people who assumed he was talking about hispanics?
Isn’t he right? Don’t illegal immigrants recieve services like health care and education that they don’t pay taxes for? I really don’t see why this is a controversy, aside from the fact that it’s a slow news day.
Besides, he made these comments TEN DAYS AGO. Why is it news now?
It’s time to stop all of the poltically correct nonsense- what he said was correct- illegals use services that our citizens pay for through overburdening taxes, if you are illegally in this country you are a criminal, and should be deported. If you are here illegally and using our services you are even more of a criminal, this is what most people think but are afraid to say because these groups always take such great offense and come out for the attack. Go Astorino!
What he said is true. The “system” is crumbling because there aren’t enough homes to cover the costs. “These people” and I mean illegal aliens send their kids to schools, after school programs, daycare, etc. There can be several families in a home or rental unit; and that unit pays ONE property tax figure. Then you have an elderly couple in a home——they receive nor ask for any services except police, fire, and garbage pick up. They have no kids in school. They also pay ONE property tax figure. Proof socialism fails all the time. This cannot be sustained.
Illegal is illegal is illegal. It can’t be called anything else. These illegals most definitely impact life as we ONCE knew it. Why is this country so afraid to tackle this issue? I just don’t get it. We tax paying, law abiding citizens are paying very dearly for the decisions of those we have placed in office. My confusion is, if we all put them in there, how come we aren’t taking them out? This issue is not new this year. I believe that when right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right, we are already into the slide written about close to 2000 years ago.
Thank you Mr Astorino for being brave enough to speak about such issues. All you might have to do is refine your wording but keep the true issue and passion in the forefront.
Where’s the original article with comments?
Brattanus,
Do you know what the word Libertarian means?
Look it up before you start your next rant.
JoAnn
I am a demographer and I currently have a best selling book titled “The Age Curve, How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm”. I would like to give you a little different perspective on the Latino immigration issue, a macro view from thirty thousand feet. I was recently interviewed by CNN where I made the statement “Latinos have saved our country.” I received hate mail so I know bigotry is alive.
I thought a snap-shot of my demographic perspective would be helpful.
Between 1965 and 1984 the number of babies born in the United States dropped like a stone owing to a misguided belief that “Zero Population Growth” was beneficial. Roe vs. Wade (1973) also played a significant part and our fertility plummeted twenty-five percent after the Supreme Court decision. In 1985 we began to have children again at above replacement level fertility, but the damage was done.
We have a deficit in our native-born population that is twenty years long. It’s called Generation X. Generation X has nine million fewer people than the Boomer Generation born 1945 to 1964 according to the United States Census. This means that Generation X can not earn, consume, pay taxes or populate the labor force at the level of the baby Boomers because they simply do not have the critical mass.
When Generation X entered the entry level labor market twenty years ago they could not satisfy the demand. This sent labor costs soaring and jobs off shore. Latino’s poured into the country by the millions to fill the demand unmet by Generation X. Now the bad economy and our own homegrown labor force, Generation Y, born 1985 to 2004 is forcing millions of Latinos to return to their home countries. The remaining Latinos have conveniently filled in the deficit in our population between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four years old.
As Generation X, now fortified by the remaining Latino immigrants, ages into the stage of life when they will be required to do the heavy lifting in the United States by paying most of the federal, state and local taxes, it is paramount that the Latinos immigrants assimilate and advance economically as quickly as possible. Most of this assimilation will occur naturally because their culture is very compatible with U.S. culture and they assimilate faster than any other immigrants in the Nation’s history.
We need the Latinos to pay taxes at the level necessary to run our great nation. Without the Latino immigrants our economy would crash in about ten to fifteen years making the current economic crisis look like a cake walk. So not only can immigrants enjoy the American dream, they actually make it possible.
Bigotry is stupid and bigotry is the real issue. That’s the bad news. The good news is, it is dying. The best evidence of this fact is in our White House.
Kenneth W. Gronbach
Hey Ken ever watch Lou Dobbs? He’s on CNN also. This is about ILLEGAL Hispanics not legal ones. The legal ones pay into the system the Illegal ones do not. Why don’t you do
a study on the illegal population that far out numbers the
legal population. They DO NOT pay taxes and send most of their money home into that economy while sucking it out of
ours. There is no bigotry here just Tax paying American’s
who want their laws enforced. Get rid of the illegals to send a message that we won’t tolerate law breakers in this
country and replace them with the legal ones who are waiting in line. I doubt very much our economy will fall
apart in 10 years because we’ve sent home uneducated non
English speaking hispanics. Get real.
“Latinos have saved the country”? i doubt it. Many require
social services which makes them a liability not an asset!!!
I think we saved them. Their own countries can’t feed,house,cloth or find jobs for them. Who’s saving who again? They need us more than we need them Kenny boy.