As John Kasarda, the director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said, "That's adult money. That's a really significant impact that this population is having."

The institute conducted the study for the N.C. Bankers Association and the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, as David Rice reported in Wednesday's Journal. The consulate obviously wants to help Mexicans and other Hispanics. And the bankers' association obviously sees the money to be made off the state's Hispanic population, which the study estimates to be more than 600,000.

Many North Carolinians are realizing that welcoming Hispanics is not only right, but it can also be profitable. Most of the money Hispanics make goes back into the state economy. They're starting up businesses right and left, and banks can make money by lending those businesses money.

Critics can't see the money to be made. They claim that Hispanics are taking many jobs from native-born Americans - even though Hispanics often take the jobs nobody else wants.

Yet such critics do make a point when they say that the federal immigration system is broken. The system does indeed need to be reformed so that it will let honest workers in and keep out criminals. That's especially important when one considers that the Kenan study found that 45 percent of the Hispanics in the state in 2004 were here illegally.

The study also found that, contrary to what many critics say, Hispanics do pay taxes - a lot of taxes. They contribute $756 million a year in state and local taxes. But the study also found that Hispanics cost the state $817 million annually in services - education, health-care and corrections.

The best way to reduce some of the health-care and correction costs in the long run is to ensure that Hispanic children are educated, although some critics object even to that. A cynic might wonder if some of these critics fear that, with more education, more Hispanics might take higher-paying jobs. As it is now, the study found, Hispanic households earn about $32,000 annually, vs. $45,700 for non-Hispanic households.

More educated Hispanics would also enhance the Hispanic work force - and could lure companies based in Latin America.

Like it or not, Hispanics are here to stay. The study is more evidence that their presence is not a bad thing.

The critics can continue railing against Hispanics. Or they can let dollar signs lure them into doing what's right - welcoming them.