WASHINGTON (AP) – About one-third of the people living in the national’s [sic] capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of Columbia.
Adults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications.
The study by the State Education Agency, a quasi-governmental office created by the U. S. Department of Education to distribute federal funds for literacy services, was ordered by Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2003 as part of his four-year, $4 million adult literacy initiative.
The growing number of Hispanic and Ethiopian immigrants who aren’t proficient in English contributed to the city’s high functional illiteracy level, which translated to 170,000 people, said Connie Spinner, director of the State Education Agency. The report says the district’s functional illiteracy rate is 36 percent and the nation’s 21 percent.
Adults age 65 and older had the lowest literacy score of any group, the report found.
The District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce, which contributed to the report, said the city lost up to $107 million in taxes annually between 2000 and 2005 because of a lack of qualified job applicants.
You can’t do the jobs Americans refuse to do if you can’t read and write English. The report didn’t say how many of these people were in the United States illegally. Over 1/2 of one-billion dollars lost due to immigrants not learning English. That’s only one cost of the problem and why English needs to be the official lanuage of the United States.
**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein@gmail.com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

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March 20th, 2007 at 9:27 am
I tell ya, as a part time 911 operator on weekends it is stunning the amount of calls we receive from both incompetent english and non-english speaking callers that even the bi-lingual operators confirm to me daily are just plain ignorant to basic english comprehension along with our most basic customs,you name it.
Even a basic understanding of the littlest assimilating things that make one wonder how they actually safely get through each and every day in this country alive or not inadvertently injuring others along the way. Both frightening and angering to me.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Illiterate Immigrants Contribute to Problem…
Cross posted from Liberally Conservative
WASHINGTON (AP) – About one-third of the people living in the national’s [sic] capital are functionally illiterate, compared with about one-fifth nationally, according to a report on the District of C…
March 20th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Chertoff SPP Implementation Memo Uncovered by Judicial Watch…
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March 21st, 2007 at 8:01 pm
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