Dreams Deferred Dollars & Sense 05/15/05

Cynthia just graduated from North Babylon High School in Suffolk County, NY. Now she is ready to enter the job market, apply for financial aid to continue her education and maybe get her first car. But all these goals are out of reach for Cynthia because, while she grew up like any American child, she is an undocumented immigrant. Like tens of thousands of other young people in the United States, Cynthia discovered this unwelcome surprise when she started to look for jobs and dream of international travel. Until she wanted to apply for a Social Security card, driver’s license or a passport, she had never known that her parents, who brought her to this country from Peru when they immigrated 13 years ago…

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Ballots Wanted Dollars & Sense 05/15/05

Lu Liu, a 30–year–old Chinese immigrant living in New York City, was granted her unconditional Permanent Resident Card (the coveted “green card” that permits her to remain in the United States indefinitely) in late 2004 after living in the United States for almost seven years. She has a Social Security card, a driver’s license and a license to practice her chosen profession as a manicurist. She files a 1040 tax form. Yet she cannot choose the political representatives whose decisions directly affect her life. “It’s not right,” she says. “I can pay taxes to them like everyone else, but I can’t vote for them?”

Liu’s objections to current policy sound familiar: “No taxation without representation” has been a central idea in American politics since…

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To view the full 2005 Dollars & Sense issue click here.