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By Chad Arias / Editor’s Assistant
By Chad Arias / Editor’s Assistant
As American citizens, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
These inalienable rights have forever catapulted American Democracy into one of the most coveted forms of government in the world.
However, constitutionally we are faced with an issue of social justice.
U.S. citizens have always been told that all men are created equal when in reality, birth is the only time men are equal to one another.
Tools such as power and prestige are used to strip humanity of their inborn right for equality.
The second half of the California “Dream Act,” or “AB 131,” is a bill that makes a serious effort to equalize all college students in the state.
This bill states that undocumented college students should be able to receive the same grant money entitled to only its citizens.
Controversy arises not only in the matter of equality, but with the issue of Californian tax payers contributing toward the education of undocumented immigrants.
We live in a state in which the middle class supports the poor to help raise its standard of living.
This act of charity may not be voluntary, but it is accepted due to the fact that Californians are willing to help other Californians.
The middle class is already burdened enough and cannot afford to give aid to a struggling population that shouldn’t be in this country to begin with.
Senator Gil Cedillo is the man behind the “Dream Act,” and he couldn’t have chosen a better time to push this initiative.
According to the 2011 California state budget, the state is in debt of $25.4 billion.
Also in the budget was a long list of tax cuts created to dig us out of the hole the state legislation got us in, including $500 million from Community Colleges, $600 million from Cal-State and UC universities, $1.7 billion from the state’s health program, and $1.5 billion from its welfare program.
The budget deficit shows that the state is in financial ruin, while the budget cuts prove which programs Governor Jerry Brown favors and which he doesn’t.
Over a billion dollars being cut from colleges and universities makes the statement that Governor Brown doesn’t care about your education.
To add insult to injury, Californians have their education cut while Senator Cedillo frantically tries to give their grants to illegal alien college students, forgetting who it was that elected him to the senate in the first place.
A state should make sure that its citizens are cared for before going out and throwing free money at those who are less fortunate.
The American Census Bureau states the 16.3 percent of Californians live under the poverty level.
How in good conscious can our state help non-citizens while our own people are struggling to survive?
By helping illegal aliens, we are hurting the citizens who could also use that grant money to further their own education.
There are many issues that one can find corrupt about this bill, starting with the fact that an illegal alien has already broken the law by being in the country.
If Senator Cedillo wants to give free education to fugitives, then he might as well petition to have the border taken down as well.
Senator Cedillo was elected as a government official to uphold the law, not to reward people who break it. The audacity of his actions justifies his own recall.
When looking at the second half of the California “Dream Act,” we have to remember to view it logically and not emotionally. There may be much sympathy to be had toward an undocumented college student.
As a fellow student, my heart goes out to them, but from a logical standpoint, California is in no condition to be using its tax dollars to pay for an illegal alien’s education.
A reform must be made in order to save California.
Senator Cedillo and Governor Brown are running this ship toward a storm in which there is no return.
Now is the time to act before California’s ship sinks to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean with all 36 million of its citizens.