No sooner had I written this short post earlier today on Washington State cutting taxpayer-funded benefits for refugees, when I came across this piece by the Associated Press about refugees going to the state house to demonstrate against the cuts.   Oh brother, have these groups like the International Rescue Committee (IRC) no shame—using the refugees for their own political and financial gain. This sort of gambit only makes Americans less “welcoming” to refugees when they see they are out demanding stuff from government (from taxpayers)!    If fewer refugees are sent to Washington State then the IRC loses bucks for their salaries, offices etc. and the Far Left loses reliable leftwing voters.

Note that no where do these volags (federal contractors) EVER say we need to slow the flow of refugees until we can better afford them.

Let’s talk about the demonstration (community!) organizer, the IRC, before we get into this story.

According to the IRC’s Form 990 for 2009, the organization is a nearly THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR A YEAR organization ($281,328,534) which pays NO taxes.  It received in 2008, $175,150,651 from YOU (the taxpayer). Take note Kansas lady! (By the way, the government grants have now been hidden on Page 9 of the Form 990, thanks to the IRS, it is no longer at the top of Page 1.)  The IRC’s CEO, George Rupp, made $429,705 in salary and benefits in that year and he was one of ten employees with salaries in the 6 digits.  Maybe they could share some of their largesse with the poor and struggling refugees!

Now back to those refugees the IRC brought to Washington State (they were paid by the head to do so) and the demonstrations at the state capitol.

From KLEWTV-3 in Lewiston, Idaho:

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – For 18 years, Devi Prasai lived in a packed refugee camp after fleeing from ethnic tensions in his native Bhutan. Prasai waited for a chance at a better life for himself, his wife and children. It finally came, when the United States agreed to welcome thousands of Bhutanese and Prasai was approved to come to America.

But now in Washington state, he’s struggling to keep a roof over his head.

Prasai’s monthly state cash assistance has decreased from $662 to $561. Rent for the one-bedroom apartment in Kent – where he, his wife and two children live – costs $599 monthly.

“No job,” Prasai said through an interpreter. “Both of us have no English, so we have not found job.”

Prasai is one of thousands of refugees who have resettled in Washington state over the years, with many struggling with a tough job market and decreasing assistance from the state.

And it may get worse.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed wiping out completely programs that subsidize English classes, job search and pathways to naturalization. Those proposed cuts also go along with budget reductions to other programs that serve refugees, such as waivers for dental exams.

It’s a drastic change in how this state treats refugees. Historically, Washington has been one of the most welcoming. It’s one of a handful of states that provide significant money to refugee programs, on top of what the federal government provides. [Hello! Kansas lady]

“Historically, Washington state has been very generous in providing dollars,” said Bob Johnson, executive director at the Seattle office of the International Rescue Committee and a veteran in refugee resettlement. But, he said, “Everybody’s got a problem. It’s not like moving (money) around, there’s nothing to move anymore.”

Prasai and Johnson joined hundreds of refugees this past week as they lobbied lawmakers in Olympia in an attempt to stop more proposed cuts. Many carried white poster board signs calling for “equal access to jobs” and boasting that refugees are “legal” immigrants.

The narrative now is that Washington State is bad and unwelcoming!   There is more, read on and note near the end there is this revelation.

The welcoming environment soon ushered other private resettlement agencies and the refugee community here boomed.

The lesson for taxpayers:  generous welfare=welcoming=more immigrants.  Cut welfare=unwelcoming=mean and greedy taxpayers, BUT less immigrants!

Here is the basic strategy:

The Far Left (and the IRC is definitely in the George Soros one-worlder sphere of influence) is to create the classic Alinsky war of the have-nots against the haves.  Cloward and Piven (here and here)  understood it well.   Give the people lots of government goodies, then foment unrest if it’s taken away.  The poor refugees understand that the Democrats distribute stuff and the mean Republicans take away their stuff.  They don’t know that they are pawns in the grand socialist scheme to bring down our form of government.