Those are somewhat more useful statistics, because at least there are real numbers to put the percentages in perspective (20,000 members in a gang? Man, that's pushing the definition of "gang". Does the Mafia have 20,000 members?). But it still falls far short of quantifying the problems caused by illegal immigrants--we still need X% of the illegal population accounts for X% of whatever problem. That's necessary to then put in perspective the economic consequences of closing the border.

A lot of our crime and employment problems in California (never mind closing a major hole that terrorists can sneak through) could be helped by slamming the border shut. While it would be expensive, it would not be as expensive as the problems that illegals generate. Legal immigrants, who should always be welcome, can come through the gates.

Sure, there would be much wailing and hair-tearing from both liberals and those businesses that love cheap and frightened labor. But there are many states that have almost no illegal immigrants (almost 90 percent of them live in about seven states) and oddly enough, in all these states, lawns still get mowed, vegetables get picked, hotel sheets get changed, factories operate, and burgers get flipped. It just costs the businesses a bit more to hire citizens and legal residents.

Wow...California's "employment problem" consists primarily of professionals like engineers and programmers out of work, and watching their jobs being permanently outsourced overseas. So when you talk about how slamming shut the border would help California's "employment problem", you're actually saying that tens of thousands of trained and once well-paid professionals should resign themselves to picking vegetables, changing sheets in hotels, and flipping burgers? Well, gee, why not, what's wrong with reducing productive Americans to the status of "cheap and frightened labor", as long as it helps keeps corporate profits high? Three cheers for capitalism!

You probably read the piece in today's Mercury-News reporting Barney Frank's thoughts about why corporate profits are rising yet unemployment remains high. How do you like his suggestion that the problem is that we don't have enough government? I have to tell you, the present situation is causing a rising trend of dissatisfaction with capitalism, and we shouldn't be surprised to see a backlash that you aren't going to like one bit. Socialism is the inevitable reaction to the downsides of free enterprise, and those chickens will come home to roost pretty soon.