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Two Californias
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Immigration; Posted on: 2010-12-17 09:19:49 [ Printer friendly / Instant flyer ]
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These areas are the ground zero, so to speak, of 20 years of illegal immigration.
The last three weeks I have traveled about, taking the pulse of the more
forgotten areas of central California. I wanted to witness, even if
superficially, what is happening to a state that has the highest sales
and income taxes, the most lavish entitlements, the near-worst public
schools (based on federal test scores), and the largest number of
illegal aliens in the nation, along with an overregulated private
sector, a stagnant and shrinking manufacturing base, and an elite
environmental ethos that restricts commerce and productivity without
curbing consumption.
During this unscientific experiment, three times a week I rode a bike on
a 20-mile trip over various rural roads in southwestern Fresno County. I
also drove my car over to the coast to work, on various routes through
towns like San Joaquin, Mendota, and Firebaugh. And near my home I have
been driving, shopping, and touring by intent the rather segregated and
impoverished areas of Caruthers, Fowler, Laton, Orange Cove, Parlier,
and Selma. My own farmhouse is now in an area of abject poverty and
almost no ethnic diversity; the closest elementary school (my alma
mater, two miles away) is 94 percent Hispanic and 1 percent white, and
well below federal testing norms in math and English.
More here...
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News Source: nro
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