Hi Tom,

It was a phony-guesstimate statistic, based upon some of the phony statistics thrown at us by INS regarding how many yearly illegals come to CA and work yearly - mostly for cash in US dollars which they can send home to their families.

I am not without compassion for their plight. In CA, I saw how all of Oceanside and the surrounding area has become a hangout for illegals waiting for trucks to pick them up daily for field work, etc. Literally, you can drive a big truck and pick up three dozen farmhands from street corners.

In AZ here dozens yearly die in the 110+ deserts trying to make it and are mercilessly killed by the sun and the ravaging heat and dehydration - all just to find a job and send some money home.

The illegals pay local taxes when they are paid as 'sublet help' or 'miscellaneous' by check. State taxes are not deducted. The prevalence of check-cashing places is mute testimony to the sheer volume of illegal immigrants who cash their checks outside the US banking system. (Banks generally require a US residence and identification for accounts)

These folks certainly do not receive a Federal Income tax form or can be pursued by the federal government, as they are not US citizens.

In San Diego, there are whole small cities and regions where Mexican "workers for cash" hangout and loiter.

You see Tom - I know up in northern CA - you live a sheltered, (silicon-valley suburb) cloistered CA existence from the goings on in Southern CA... ;-) ...where the harsh reality is now etching a sad human drama daily.

;-)

SDAI-Tech1