The American social security (SSTF) actuary Steve Goss claims that, far from being a drain on the US, illegals have actually brought in a staggering £350 billion in ‘stamp’ payments – which the SSTF knew to be false.

One of the weird but true things about illegal workers is that while they’re too scared to claim unemployment benefit, exploitative ‘importers’ of such workers convince them that they must pay the stamp to ‘look’ legal. On this basis – quite knowingly – the US tax system can’t lose.

All this is going to come as something of a blow to America’s far-Right hate dragoons.

But why has Goss gone public on this? And perhaps we should ask: why has he been allowed to?

Because of high unemployment, the running illegals story is getting traction, and anger is coming to the boil. The Arizona situation is the tip of an anti-immigration movement that is rapidly gaining ground in the States – and is very much grist to the Tea Party bunker-mentality mill. Bear in mind that ‘whistle-blower’ Goss is suggesting that since 2007, the level of free (aka fraudulent) bunce-money for the SSTF has been around $24billion. Some 7.4 million illegals are involved, using phony cards to ‘contribute’ money that is never going to be paid back: that’s a staggering 1 in 7 of those contributing to SSTF nationwide.

In this context, some writers are suggesting that the revelations are Obamite spin to neuter the potentially divisive issue of Hispanic immigration. One such is Bruce Kasting at the site Zero Hedge.

He writes: ‘The Administration will use the Goss revelation to prove to the American people that illegal workers have made a major contribution to the US economy via the taxes they paid to SS. This will be done to blunt the growing tide of ire among those who actually live here. There could be another chapter to this story. It could be the ticket whereby some illegals get legal.’

That last part is pure speculation, but given Goss broke the story to the pro-Democrat Washington Post, there is a sense of set-up about it. That said, it’s still an astonishing yarn – and proves yet again that Government agencies are all for the blind eye when errors are in their favour.