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Berman's rhetoric has nothing to do with immigration

We've heard some doozies coming out of the Texas Capitol over the years, but a comment made recently by state Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, is a top contender for the Miriam "Ma" Ferguson Rhetoric Award.

When a group of Mexican American legislators, joined by the Texas Association of Business, reasonably suggested that 14 state bills filed this session dealing with immigration should be vetted for constitutionality by the Texas attorney general, Berman was quick to react.

Berman is the author of a bill that would deny birthright citizenship and in-state tuition to children born in Texas of illegal immigrants.

"I'm a life member of the TAB and I am absolutely disappointed, and will probably drop my membership since they got involved in an issue of illegal aliens, which has nothing to do with business," Berman thundered.

Oh yeah?

The link between immigration and employers is so clear that business groups and business owners have weighed in on the issue nationally.

To put it quite plainly: Business owners hire employees, some of whom may not be in the country legally.

Businesses obviously have a stake in the immigration debate because any immigration decision is going to have an effect on contractors, restaurant owners, hoteliers, meat plants and agriculture to name but a few.

Technology companies have a deep interest in the immigration debate as well.

Incidentally, Berman also wants to impose fees on money transfers to Mexico and Central and South America, which will affect bankers and some title companies.

Both fit the standard definition of businesses, if not the political one.

Moreover, the point the legislators and the business group made was a good one: Immigration is a federal issue and should be dealt with by Congress.

The fact that Congress hasn't acted is no excuse for state legislators to monkey with the U.S. Constitution.

Berman's comment that business has nothing to do with immigration is reminiscent of the quote attributed to Ferguson, a former governor of Texas: "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the children of Texas."

She was voicing objection to children learning a foreign language in Texas classrooms. The language was Spanish.

Mental health funding pathetic

Funding for mental health has never been at an adequate level in this state, leaving many who suffer mental illness and their families with limited access to services.

A look at the funding levels in other states shows just how disproportionate the allocation of funds for mental health is across the country.

Texas has the dubious distinction of being 47th in the country in terms of per capita funding for mental health.

Examining how the money is distributed across the state, the numbers only get worse for Bexar County.

Texas provides $39.02 in per capita funding for mental health; other states spend $77 to $90 per capita.

In Texas, mental health funds are distributed through 40 mental health authorities.

The Bexar County authority gets only $11.56 per capita, placing it 36th on the state list.

Being at the top of the list is no great consolation; the bestfunded mental health authority in the state receives only $27.13 per capita. The agency at the bottom of the list gets $8.29.

That's pathetic.

One would think that state lawmakers would have realized by now that low funding at one end doesn't make the problem go away. It only makes taking care of the problem through alternate routes more expensive.

State and jail statistics reflect that many of the mentally ill are ending up in the criminal justice system, where beds are more expensive.

This doesn't make sense, even for a tough-on-crime state like Texas.

Going into this legislative session, all state agencies were asked to reduce their budget proposals by 10 percent of their current levels.

The mentally ill cannot afford a further state reduction in the service level; on the contrary, they could use a lot more help.

State lawmakers would be wise to realize that if they don't provide the funding now, they will have to pay more later.

San Antonio Express News