Commentator Brittanicus - now there's a nice Anglo Saxon name or something - is rather irate about the Earned Income Tax Credit and he has studies from conservative think tanks to prove his point:

“The Earned Income Tax Credit and Illegal Immigration: A Study in Fraud, Abuse, and Liberal Activism,” The author says immigrants collected about $12 billion from the EITC last year, the majority not paying a cent towards it.

The author of the study or Brittanicus should check all of this more closely.

The earned Income Tax Credit is a partial refund of payroll taxes. Everyone who works at a regular job pays the payroll taxes. In order to get the credit you have to work at a regular job and then file a tax return. People who get the Earned Income Tax credit have worked and paid taxes. They do not get a net gain from the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Brittanicus may think that the income tax is the only tax in town. He is wrong. He might also note that immigrants pay sales and excise taxes.

Brittanicus imagines that the real burden on the state of California comes from illegal immigrants. That may be, although Wonks Anonymous doubts it strongly. At any rate Wonks Anonymous does have a suggestion for people who are concerned about immigrants burdening our society: Charge admission.

People currently spend $1,000 or more for coyote services to get across the border. We could generate needed revenue if we just sold green cards for an annual fee equal to the going smuggler's rate. The Federal Government could divide the revenues between states based on their immigrant population.

It would help the budget of California. It would also put some criminals out of business. What's not to like?