Hitting Arizona where it counts

My parents live there, so I have family obligations, but the voluntary trips (and seeing your parents isn't one of those) can really stick it to the 'show me your papers' state.

The total (direct and secondary) impact of the Arizona travel industry in 2008 was 310,000 jobs and $10.2 billion earnings.

And who supplies a lot of that?

...demonstrate the economic importance of Mexican visitor spending to Arizona’s economy. Close to 23,400 wage and salary jobs in Arizona at eating and drinking establishments, retail establishments and other spending-related sectors are directly attributable to Mexican visitor spending. Through local purchases of supplies by businesses and the spending of income derived from visitor-related jobs, these visitors generated almost 7,000 additional jobs in Arizona in 2007-08. These jobs account for a total income of $837.24 million and $3.61 billion in sales.

And just imagine if they stop building all those retirees their cheap housing?