As we observe the baby steps being taken by the newly elected budget-cutting Congress of 2010, we are coming to realize how absurd the old Washington political approach of throwing money at our problems is. The remarkable capitalist engine driving our free republic had become so incredibly powerful that for decades politicians have been able to shovel billions of dollars toward our foreign allies and adversaries, developed a safety net that assured food and medical care for nearly all U.S. citizens (and millions of non-citizens) and funded crackpot studies of no use and political causes of nearly every stripe.

The funding for one such political group seems particularly inappropriate considering our current fiscal dilemma. Mike Piccione at Human Events pulled the tax returns from 2006 to 2009 for the radical Latino group, the National Council of La Raza, and discovered that our federal government shelled out nearly $12 million to help the controversial group promote open borders and amnesty for illegals during that period.

La Raza translates from the Spanish to "the Race." The group has been associated with the motto: "Por La Raza todo. Fuera de La Raza, nada." This translates as "For The Race, everything, outside The Race, nothing." The group publicly rejects it's link to this motto as well as any connection to the popular Mexican concept of "reconquista" (Mexico) or taking back the southwestern United States by overwhelming demographics.

The details of La Raza's use of those federal funds includes generous compensation to 17 foundation officers and board members ranging from $119,675 to $378, 446. The tax returns also itemize a total of $800,787 for expenses "to lobby the U.S. government for money."

Apparently at one time this made sense. A similar donation to a white supremacist group would never had gotten out of the gate. Paying special interest groups in order to enable them to lobby the government to pay them to lobby doesn't seem like a very good investment, especially to a group promoting the continuation and extension of billions of dollars in payments for the welfare, education and medical payments for non U.S. citizens.

Call or write your congressman and insist that all funding to La Raza be ended.

Ralph Alter is a regular contributor to American Thinker. He blogs at www.rightot.blogspot.com