Say Anything Blog

From the Sacramento Bee via Electric Venom:

Senate leader John Burton charged that attempts to overturn a new law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses were being fueled by racism, but he stopped short of saying that was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's motivation.

"I say the issue is racism," the San Francisco Democrat told reporters Tuesday. "Do you think if these people were white and not brown skinned we would be talking about it? I don't.

Not so much racists, Mr. Burton, but rather concerned tax payers not wanting to see an influx of terrorists and non-tax-paying persons enjoying the benefits of U.S. citizenship.

A diver's license is, by default, the key to gaining everything from a job and video club membership to airplane tickets. The law Mr. Burton is talking about would allow any person to obtain such a license. The cost of licensing these people alone would put an enourmous additional burden on the already collapsing budget for the State of California.

Supporters of the law say that it will allow illegal immigrants to take their children to school and travel to work. I would imagine that most of them are doing this already, so what good is giving them a license? Is a photo id going to make them better drivers? Is it going to ensure that they have insurance on their vehicles? I don't think so.

This law is a bad idea. The benefits are doubtful and the negative repercussions are enourmous.