The Austin American-Statesman in its editorial says, "finally, a lawmaker tells us her cold, hard truth". The newspaper is talking about State Rep. Debbie Riddle R-Houston, and her remark about undocumented workers from Mexico and Central and Latin America who live and work in Texas, but are not citizens. These folks do pay sales and property taxes (in the rent payments), send their kids to school, spend money at stores, and mostly perform work that no one else wants to do. They are in every neighborhood. Just look at the food places close to your home. Taco stands and other fast food places are there to serve this population. They are a fact of life.

Riddle said:

"Where did this idea come from that everybody deserves free education, free medical care, free whatever? It comes from Moscow, from Russia. It comes straight out of the pit of hell. And it's cleverly disguised as having a tender heart. It's not a tender heart. It's ripping the heart out of this country." -- Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, after a March 5 hearing of the House Border Affairs Committee

The Statesman said in its editorial "Depending on the reader's politics and worldview, reaction to Riddle's comment will range from sputtering outrage to a happily shouted "yes!"

"We lean toward outrage, but we'll give her this: It's the most honest thing that has been said during this legislative session. At least some legislators privately agree with her, we think, but know that saying so out loud sounds cold and cruel. So they've hitched a ride on the $9.9 billion budget gap as a way to say, "Sorry, but we've got to slash these human service programs because we just don't have the money. And no, we can't raise taxes, even a little bit, because that would break our promise not to raise taxes, and that promise is more important than the sufferings of the poor and the children."

"As to her questions, we don't think our answers will satisfy Riddle, but here they are:

We have public education because, in the long run, it's not only good for the children, but necessary for the health of our democracy and our economy. The idea that the people of a democracy should be educated doesn't come from Moscow but the Founding Fathers, especially Thomas Jefferson. And the idea that people should be educated is supported by business.

Some people don't pay for medical care because human beings should not endure pain without treatment simply because they are poor. That's especially the case for children, who have no control over their financial circumstances. And though ours has become a secular society, so many citizens who still try to be good Christians have a hard time reconciling denial of medical care because of income or national origin with their assertion that everyone is a child of God.

Finally, those who have done well in our democracy and pay taxes can take pride in their hard work and self-discipline. But they cannot take all the credit for their success. They cannot take credit for having the luck to have been born in this country, and they cannot take credit for the sacrifices borne by our predecessors who built this country -- more than a few of whom were killed in wars and never reaped the benefits.

We can and will argue endlessly over how much to help those at the bottom of the ladder. Riddle doesn't think we should help them much at all, it appears, and while we couldn't disagree more, it's refreshing to hear a lawmaker say what she really thinks"

The Statesman is correct, Rep. Riddle's comments reflect the thoughts of many. They are the same people who talk about "welfare Cadillacs and homeless folks who take advantage of the system". You may not agree with their viewpoints but as the Statesman says at least someone had the guts to state them in the open and get the subject out for debate. You may not like the concept that we should ignore these folks, but that is the feeling of lots of Texans.