CAlifornia: Free Health Care for Illegal Aliens: If You Give It, They Will Come

...A publication sponsored by a large health insurer wanted me to comment on a study entitled, “Re-orienting the Safety Net For the Remaining Uninsured,” published by an innocent-sounding organization called Health-Access.org.

Seemed harmless at first.  Until I read the whole report.

As I read the survey, it was predictable—touting the massive success of ObamaCare as single-handedly resolving the problem of the uninsured in California. Then, as the report went on, it began to advocate for California to spend taxpayer money to cover the illegal aliens that even the federal government won’t cover.

A red flag went up. This was not so much a “report” as a shill for more government spending–and not for struggling citizens, but to give free health care to those who came into our country illegally.

Prior to my election to the California State Assembly in 2010, California was facing a $30 billion annual budget deficit, much of which can be attributed to the explosive growth of social programs that create an entitlement based on an individual’s need. The “report” made certain to point out that California is famous for creating entitlements for illegals, even when the federal government excludes them. It’s one of the reasons that California’s cost of living and tax burden is so high...

The “report” noted that in a number of counties in California, where they had a policy against giving taxpayer-paid benefits to illegals, the caseload of indigents had been reduced significantly, down to only a few hundred or even zero cases...

In 2007, I attended my brother-in-law’s graduation from a law school in Berkeley, California. The speaker was none other than our current Lt. Governor, Gavin Newsom, who was then the mayor of San Francisco. I listened as he inspired the class to fight against conservatism at every turn, and undo any and all efforts to control our borders, protect the 2nd Amendment and exercise our religious liberty to worship and believe as we see fit.

At the time, I was not involved in politics—other than having been a leader of the largest Minuteman Group in California—but I was stunned by what I’d heard.  As they read off the list of dozens of hardcore leftist, socialist organizations and nonprofits who had made lucrative offers to hire these idealistic young lawyers to weaken our Constitution, undermine the rule of law, and attack our fundamental freedoms, I felt as if I’d been kicked in the stomach...

It’s astounding that such hopelessly biased “reports” and “studies” conjured up by activist groups who will clearly benefit are all it takes to persuade the government to engage in more legalized theft from hard-working Californians in order to provide yet another incentive for illegals to make California their home.