This is corruption in action:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday disputed claims that illegal immigrants caused California's $24.3 billion deficit, while he praised their economic contributions and said he is "happy" they have access to services.

...In response to dozens of questions from readers who say the state ought to wipe out the deficit by eliminating services for illegal immigrants, the governor said it is a "myth" that those immigrants are to blame.

He said the cost of services to illegal immigrants, which has been estimated at $4 billion to $5 billion annually, is a "small percentage" of the deficit California faces.

"Yes, it is something that ought to be dealt with, but the fact of the matter is, I think it's an easy scapegoat for people to point the finger and say, 'Our budget is out of whack because of illegal immigrants.' "

While illegal aliens aren't to blame for everything, they do play a large role. Massive illegal immigration doesn't just increase spending. It also gives more power to the far-left Democrats in the California legislature; they use that expanded power base to push for more spending. It also fosters a climate of corruption, with leading politicians - such as Arnold - not only turning a blind eye to massive illegal activity but actually promoting it:

"You know something, as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy that they can get the services.. Because I would like to have the services if I'm somewhere in another country … if I have an accident with a motorcycle and I go to an emergency room, I don't want someone to say, is he here legally? ...Everything we eat today is picked and created by undocumented immigrants, to a large extent... And every time we go to a restaurant and every time we go and move into a building, a lot of those buildings are built by undocumented immigrants' hands."

The first part of that is a false choice: no one is talking about cutting off emergency services to illegal aliens. The debate is about cutting off non-emergency services, services that serve as an inducement to come here. No one wants kids to be uneducated, they just want them to be educated in their own countries. And, given that California's unemployment rate is at 10%, Arnold shouldn't be promoting illegal aliens having construction jobs at the same time as millions of those he was elected to represent are out of work.

To show just how much Arnold is on the wrong track, Gil Cedillo praised him for his comments and had this to say:

"Our economy is very, very dependent on the immigrant work force... They're a very disciplined, very stable, very productive work force. Our economy would collapse without them."