Obama's Illegal Aunt

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/06/obamas-illegal-aunt

The New York Times has an article about the Massachusetts immigration crackdown we wrote about here back on May 29. There is a reference to "pockets of anger here over the case of President Obama's Kenyan aunt, who had been living in public housing in Boston while fighting a deportation order." This is interesting for those who defend the "safety net" as a net for those who have no other net to resort to. President Obama made $5.5 million last year. He may or may not want to help out his aunt. He has no obligation to help her out. He may prefer to help her out by paying taxes that provide public housing to anyone who needs it rather than by paying the rent for a poor person who just happens to be lucky enough to have a high-income relative. But somehow, a lot of people would rather have the extra money to choose to help their own aunt, if they want to, than have the government take the money from them in taxes and use it to house President Obama's aunt.

by Ira Stoll  |  Jun 11, 2010 at 10:08 am Related Topics:  Housing, Immigration, President Obama, Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list