Archive for March, 2017

Cost of Illegal Immigration Higher than Cost of Securing Borders – Breitbart News

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Zoltn Kovcs, official spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, told Hungarian media last week that the monies spent on border protection are very obviously being recouped.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Speaking to Breitbart London, the Hungarian governments International Communications Office explained:

The Hungarian state spends a total of 5,505 forints on the daily care of each illegal immigrant. To put things in comparison, the minimum wage in Hungary is currently 127,500 forints/month, which equals to 4,250 forints/day.

This adds up to an annual cost of some 2,009,325 forints per illegal migrant, per year.

Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, recently reported that the introduction of technical barriers to illegal migration on the Hungarian/Serbian border slashed crossings via that route from 200,000 in 2015 to 25,000 in 2016 a massive theoretical saving.

The International Communications Office breaks down the costs associated with the care of asylum applicants as follows:

People who have requested recognition for asylum are eligible for the following services and allowances, depending on their level of need and individual situation: a) within the framework of the material requirements of reception: accommodation and care at a receiving institution travel discounts the covering of the costs of public burial for asylum-seekers; b) medical care; c) the reimbursement of education/schooling expenses; d) within the framework of financial support: funding to enable them to permanently leave the country.

Costs vary between countries: Freedom of Information responses obtained by the Daily Express in 2015 indicated that providing asylum seekers with bed and board in the United Kingdom cost at least726,027 a day in 2013/14.

In Germany the cost of supporting migrants has been even more dramatic, hitting 30 billion euros in 2016. Indeed, it was the economic activity associated with public spending on migrants which allowed Germany to overtake the UK as the fastest-growing G7 economy of last year.

It is not only government which bears the cost of mass immigration, however. Research by the Center for Immigration studies in the U.S. indicates that migrants generate total profits of$437 billion for their users for the most part, big businesses and employers. But mass immigration comes at a cost of $405 billion in wage lossesfor native-born workers, which falls disproportionately on the so-called working poor.

Follow this link:
Cost of Illegal Immigration Higher than Cost of Securing Borders - Breitbart News

Practice saying President Mike Pence: Matthew Tully – USA TODAY

USA Today Network Matthew Tully, The Indianapolis Star Published 2:14 p.m. ET March 7, 2017 | Updated 13 hours ago

Vice President Pence greets employees at Blain's Fleet and Farm Distribution Center in Janesville, Wis., during a listening session with Wisconsin business leaders Friday, March 3, 2017.(Photo: Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

It seems quite reasonable to consider the possibility that Donald J. Trump will leave the presidency at some point before the end of his current term.

Will he quit in a historic huff? Will he be pushed out by Congress? Or will he be lured away to host a reality show on Russian TV? I dont know. For now, the last line of this book seems easier to imagine than all the pages before it. And while I dont dispute the possibility that I could be wrong, the increasingly paranoid, reckless, authoritarian and generally unstable behavior of our new president makes it hard to see how the country or his own party sustains four years of this.

With that in mind, Ive been thinking a lot lately about the president Mike Pence would be. As the great actor Albert Brooks put it on Twitter over the weekend, amid Trumps outburst accusing President Obama of wiretappinghim: President Mike Pence. The president, Mike Pence. President Pence ... I was just practicing.

Its probably something worth practicing, and pondering. Seriously, is it really that hard to imagine a scenario in which Trump, who long ago lost his grip on facts and calmness, loses his grip on or interest in the presidency? Not for me.

President Pence hey, who knows?

Now Ill never argue that I know the vice president in any significant way he never even sent me an email from his famed AOL account. He was the kind of guy who would invite media types like me out for breakfast or lunch to chat one on one, and then stick pretty close to his political shtick while occasionally giving you a glimpse of a real person. I never left thinking I knew him. He seemed far too polished for that. But those of us who toil in Indiana politics were able to see the nations No. 2 up close when he was a candidate for governor and then governor.

Putin's best-laid plans are failing: Max Boot

Time to talk Trump impeachment: Jason Sattler

We saw him through political crises, such as the religious freedom debacle and the embarrassing plot to create a state-run media outlet. At his best, we saw him forge impressive deals, such as his Medicaid agreement with the Obama administration and his push for the state governments first investment in preschool. And we saw him at his ideological worst, such as when he killed a federal preschool grant application or when he signed an abortion bill everyone knew would be struck down.

Obviously, the Mike Pence story was thoroughly debated and discussed last year. In recent weeks, though, amid various Trump meltdowns and mistakes, it seems like conversations about Pence have centered on one certain question. Its a question that has been posed to me by several people, and debated by many more on social media.

Would a President Pence be any better than President Trump?

Excuse my language but ... hell, yes.

Heres the bottom line: Whether you reside on the political right or the left, or anywhere in the middle, Pence would be an upgrade. I say this as someone who arguably has written more critical columns about him than anyone, as someone who criticized both his politics and his leadership, and as someone who once wrote that he was out of his league as governor.

Despite all of that, I find myself these days hoping that Trump simply tires of the White House and hands over the keys to Pence.

President Pence? Given the alternative, Ill take it. In a second.

Yes, I would then surely join many others in opposing many of Pences policies. I would worry about the influence of divisive culture warriors in his inner circle. I would criticize him for joining the Trump team in the first place and for being an enabler of the presidents antics.

And then I would take a deep breath and be thankful that a human being who has exhibited stability, calmness and caution was sitting in the Oval Office. Id read about North Korea nervously, but not quite as nervously as I do now.

In these early days of the Trump presidency, I keep thinking back to Pences years as governor. It has surprised me but within those years, years filled with so much deserved criticism, I find clear evidence that Pence is simply a better person and leader than his boss. By better, I mean that he has more of the basic qualities you want to see in a leader, particularly a president, than Trump does.

POLICING THE USA:Alook atrace, justice, media

Sessions' credibility is shot: Column

Three things:

First, Pence has never spewed disgust at the institutions and ideals that sit at the core of our democracy, from the free press and the courts, to Congress and the ability of people to challenge their leaders. I disagree quite often with Pences political views, but I dont fear that his goal is to bully or otherwise shut down the institutions and traditions that have made America great. He seems to respect these institutions, in fact.

Second, he doesnt see enemies everywhere. Take the religious freedom controversy. Indeed, he stumbled when questioned and lost control of the debate, and he surrounded himself with an out-of-touch group before signing the bill. But here is what he didnt do: He didnt lash out at his critics or his staff. He didnt label those of us questioning him as enemies or liars. He didnt offer conspiracy theories. He didnt descend into deep and dark places for his information. He actually listened to critics.

Third, while many mock Pences strict adherence to talking points, and it is indeed frustrating, the trait does make clear that he understands the value of carefully choosing ones words. It suggests he sees the value in stable, consistent messaging. It shows that he understands the damage that can come with reckless words. Imagine that.

With his conspiracy tweets about Obama, Trump showed that he is in no way suited for the presidency. He showed that he is a reckless and dangerous man, and either dishonest or delusional. He once again made it easy to imagine a scenario in which he at some point loses or leaves his job.

Mike Pence would not be my preferred president. Not by a long shot. But hes not unhinged, hes not reckless and hes not mean. That alone guarantees he would be an upgrade.

Matthew Tully is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star, where this piece first appeared. Follow him on Twitter: @matthewltully

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2mCa1XH

Continued here:
Practice saying President Mike Pence: Matthew Tully - USA TODAY

VP Pence touts House GOP health care plan – Washington Times

Vice President Mike Pence made clear Tuesday that a House GOP plan is the framework for moving ahead with President Trumps promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

This is the bill. And the president supports the American Health Care Act, he said after meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol.

His comments followed similar endorsements from Mr. Trump and his health secretary, Tom Price, who praised the House effort while leaving room for potential changes by fellow Republicans.

The plan scraps Obamacares unpopular mandates and gradually unwinds its vast expansion of Medicaid coverage for the poor, while capping federal funding for the program by 2020.

It replaces Obamacares subsidies with age-based, refundable tax credits, though conservatives say that aspect amounts to a new entitlement, or Obamacare lite.

Senate GOP leaders cant afford to lose more than two Republican votes for the plan, which will use arcane budget rules to get around a Democratic filibuster, assuming it makes it out of the House.

Sens. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, and Mike Lee, Utah Republican, have already said the plan falls short.

Democrats, meanwhile, said the plan is a reckless attempt to cut taxes for the wealthy while reining in federal assistance for the poor.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said the GOP hasnt released more details about the proposals effects on because theyre ashamed of this plan.

See the rest here:
VP Pence touts House GOP health care plan - Washington Times

Not Even Mike Pence Can Defend Trump’s Wiretapping Claim – Huffington Post

Vice President Mike Pence struggled on Tuesday to defend President Donald Trumps allegation that former PresidentBarack Obamawiretapped Trump Tower ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Asked whether he thought Trumps tweets were a good move, Pence declined to weigh in.

I think the presidents tweet speaks for itself. Hes expressed himself on it. And were very pleased that the congressional committees have made it clear that they will look into that matter, just as theyre looking into every aspect of it, Pence said during an interview with Fox News RadiosKilmeade and Friends.

There is no evidence to support Trumps claim, though membersof Congress have said they will investigateit. FBI director Jim Comey reportedly asked the Department of Justice to deny it.

After the question about the tweets, Pence tried to pivot the interview away from the controversy.

I can tell you that the focus here at the White House is eyes forward and completely focused on the presidents agenda to repeal and replace Obamacare and to put the national security of this country first, he said.

White House aides havesourced Trumps claim to news reports, but have struggled to defend it. White House press secretary Sean Spicer used similar language as Pence on Monday when addressing Trumps tweets.

Im just going to let the tweet speak for itself, Spicer said.

Visit link:
Not Even Mike Pence Can Defend Trump's Wiretapping Claim - Huffington Post

Kellyanne Conway Gets More Free Media Than Mike Pence and Paul Ryan – TheStreet.com

Repeats story published March 7.

If it feels like you've seen a ton of Kellyanne Conway on TV lately, it's because you have.

Conway, former Trump campaign manager and current counselor to the president, has received millions of dollars in free earned media since the start of the year, according to data from analytics firm mediaQuant. Last month, she got more airtime than Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. And the month before, she edged out Vice President Mike Pence. The only figures who have consistently beat her in free media attention in 2017 are Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

"I'm the face of Donald Trump's movement," Conway said in a January interview with The Hollywood Reporter. And she appears to be right.

Conway, 50, got $15.9 million in free earned media in February, her boss' first full month in office, and $13.1 million in January. Over the past year, she has gotten more than $100 million in unpaid press attention.

Unsurprisingly, broadcast television is where she's gotten the most play, with about 60% of free media attention coming from there. She is also prominent in online news and Twitter.

She far outpaces other White House figures such as Reince Priebus, Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon in free earned media. She appears to be making a relatively equal splash to Pence, who got more media than her in February but less in January and December.

"Pence just hasn't got his own voice out there," said Paul Senatori, chief analytics officer at Portland-based mediaQuant. "Maybe it's hard in the shadow he's operating under, but Kellyanne Conway hasn't had that problem."

To be sure, Conway's free media prowess falls far short of her boss'. Trump rode $5 billion in free earned media to the White House, per mediaQuant's calculations.

To arrive at its estimates, mediaQuant tracks the coverage of each candidate and calculates dollar values based on advertising rates of the media in which the article or news broadcast appears. It weights mentions by the reach of the source (meaning how many people are likely to see it) and includes various mediums, including print, broadcast, online news, blogs and social. It makes adjustments based on sentiment, segment and search metrics.

Since joining the Trump campaign in August 2016, the former pollster has become a prominent figure on the media circuit. She is one of the most talked-about figures in the Trump White House, for bad and for good.

A heated interview with CNN's Jake Tapper went viral in February, and before that, Conway drew attention when she told NBC's Chuck Todd that the White House's claims about the president's inauguration crowd size were "alternative facts."

Conway took a step back from the airwaves late last month after a series of missteps, including offering an impromptu "free commercial" for Ivanka Trump on "Fox and Friends" -- a maneuver that earned her a letter from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that the White House eventually rebuffed. She also appeared to be out of the loop with regards to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's communications with Russia prior to his departure from the Trump administration.

Pop culture has caught onto Conway as well. SNL's Kate McKinnon has spoofed her several times, sometimes in a relatively lighthearted light, other times, less so. A photo of Conway kneeling on a couch in the Oval Office swept social media last week.

In an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. last month, Conway, a mother of four, discussed her rise in prominence. She said it is hard for her to consider herself a feminist in the "classical sense" but spoke of being a woman in power.

"I don't have any special advice for America's women, except to know who you are and to put your priorities in order and not to worry about the naysayers and critics," she said.

Love her or hate her, she's got thick skin and needs it, given her media presence.

See the article here:
Kellyanne Conway Gets More Free Media Than Mike Pence and Paul Ryan - TheStreet.com