The Ensign Amendment Fiasco

Ross Kaminski gives a good overview of the failure of the Ensign Amendment in the Senate, 50-49.

The Democrats are in favor of anything that keeps more people addicted to government. In this case, the idea that millions of people would suddenly have claims on Social Security is a dream come true for them, second only to giving illegal aliens both claims on government funds and the right to vote for the politicians who promise to give them more of it.

On a similar note, if this provision becomes law, the future liability of the Social Security system will explode along with estimates of future budget deficits, allowing the Democrats to call the (Republican) Immigration Bill another example of GOP fiscal irresponsibility. And again, who could say they are wrong?

Outrageously, Leaky Leahy says the following about rewarding identity theft with government benefits:

"We should not steal their funds or empty their Social Security accounts," he said. "That is not fair. It does not reward their hard work or their financial contributions. It violates the trust that underlies the Social Security Trust Fund."

Now that the amendment has been defeated, I will no longer have to go to bed with the guilt that I "stole funds" from the Social Security accounts of illegal immigrants who also committed identity theft to get false social security cards. Thank you, senators - I feel much better.