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This reminds me of the story about the high school kids that took on MIT and many other schools in an underwater robot competition and won. This exerpt from the

This reminds me of the story about the high school kids that took on MIT and many other schools in an underwater robot competition and won. This exerpt from the article at the bottom sums it up: During one scene in "Underwater Dreams," the Carl Hayden team members head to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to meet with members of the 2004 team they defeated. The MIT alums talk about their current jobs. Three are involved in underwater robotics, with one headed to a project in Antarctica. Another designs accessories for Apple products. One student then asks the Carl Hayden team what they are up to. It's a scene that Mazzio says has made audiences in test screenings uncomfortable. "It's heartbreaking," she said. "Here you have kids that can compete and that clearly are innovative, that love to build and to fuel the country forward ... We need these kids, and they face these impediments." http://www.azcentral.com/story/life/az-narratives/2014/07/17/phoenix-high-school-win-mit-resonates-decade-later/12777467/ http://www.azcentral.com/story/life/az-narratives/2014/07/17...

lugg 12y ago
> Of the four, only one, Vazquez, has a job in an engineering-related field. Arcega is attempting to start his own consumer electronics business. Santillan has a catering business and a job at a restaurant. Aranda is a janitorial supervisor at the Maricopa County courthouses. > All four entered the country illegally as children. For three of the four, their legal status has been an obstacle to entering college or finding employment. > "I can't let that get to me," Arcega said, "because that's always going to be an uphill battle with everything." Kind of left me hanging so thought I'd add the conclusion in here.
- vinhboy 12y ago
  Every time I hear these stories I always think to myself, if those guys became engineers, they'd eventually make around $100K. At a modest 20% tax rate, thats 20K a year in revenue for our country.
  - barry-cotter 12y ago
    What you say is true. What is not true is that those children were typical illegal immigrants. Most illegal immigrants have low educational background and their incomes will reflect that. They and their citizen children are usually a net drain on the government. Legal immigrants are a different story. If you want to argue for Open Borders go for it but the current US immigration system is a clusterfuck that makes no sense on any level. It's also extremely unlikely to be reformed for many, many reasons.
    - alphydan 12y ago
      > They and their citizen children are usually a net drain on the government Do you have a credible source for that? Particularly one which compares the cost to the country of not having cheap labour vs. having cheap labour?
      - barry-cotter 12y ago
        >The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments, The Congressional Budget Office >According to available estimates, there are about 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Federal, state, and local governments spend public funds that benefit those immigrants, and those immigrants pay individual income, sales, and property taxes. Most available studies conclude that the unauthorized population pays less in state and local taxes than it costs state and local governments to provide services to that population. However, those estimates have significant limitations; they are not a suitable basis for developing an aggregate national effect across all states.
        dragonwriter 12y ago
        Note that that's restricted to state and local taxes vs. spending, it does not include federal taxes and spending, so isn't (aside from the additional explicit disclaimer of utility in the last sentence there) a basis for any conclusion about net impact to government overall.
walshemj 12y ago
A bit like the Rocket Boys in the late 50's probably because they came from a holler up in the mountains didn't get to go to MIT. Homer Hickam went to Vietnam and made it via the GI bill in the end.

lugg 12y ago

> Of the four, only one, Vazquez, has a job in an engineering-related field. Arcega is attempting to start his own consumer electronics business. Santillan has a catering business and a job at a restaurant. Aranda is a janitorial supervisor at the Maricopa County courthouses. > All four entered the country illegally as children. For three of the four, their legal status has been an obstacle to entering college or finding employment. > "I can't let that get to me," Arcega said, "because that's always going to be an uphill battle with everything." Kind of left me hanging so thought I'd add the conclusion in here.

vinhboy 12y ago
Every time I hear these stories I always think to myself, if those guys became engineers, they'd eventually make around $100K. At a modest 20% tax rate, thats 20K a year in revenue for our country.
- barry-cotter 12y ago
  What you say is true. What is not true is that those children were typical illegal immigrants. Most illegal immigrants have low educational background and their incomes will reflect that. They and their citizen children are usually a net drain on the government. Legal immigrants are a different story. If you want to argue for Open Borders go for it but the current US immigration system is a clusterfuck that makes no sense on any level. It's also extremely unlikely to be reformed for many, many reasons.
  - alphydan 12y ago
    > They and their citizen children are usually a net drain on the government Do you have a credible source for that? Particularly one which compares the cost to the country of not having cheap labour vs. having cheap labour?
    - barry-cotter 12y ago
      >The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments, The Congressional Budget Office >According to available estimates, there are about 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Federal, state, and local governments spend public funds that benefit those immigrants, and those immigrants pay individual income, sales, and property taxes. Most available studies conclude that the unauthorized population pays less in state and local taxes than it costs state and local governments to provide services to that population. However, those estimates have significant limitations; they are not a suitable basis for developing an aggregate national effect across all states.
      - dragonwriter 12y ago
        Note that that's restricted to state and local taxes vs. spending, it does not include federal taxes and spending, so isn't (aside from the additional explicit disclaimer of utility in the last sentence there) a basis for any conclusion about net impact to government overall.

walshemj 12y ago

A bit like the Rocket Boys in the late 50's probably because they came from a holler up in the mountains didn't get to go to MIT. Homer Hickam went to Vietnam and made it via the GI bill in the end.