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I've been thinking (hey, no funny comments necessary LOL). Secure the country's borders is a no brainer. Presently, unemployment is at 4.6% WITH 12 million illegals in the country. GDP growth has been anywhere between 3-5% a quarter for the past few years.

My questions, how do we conservatives mimic the free flow labor market that is happening under the present loose border policy? What are we conservatives going to do about labor market demand? With unemployment so low and GDP growth anywhere from 3-5%, cutting the free flow of labor could be problematic for future economic growth. I am very curious if anyone has thought of the Border/Immigration Problem from that angle?

I know this isn't a military question, but I wouldn't mind the best brains considering these questions. Thank you. :)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1642841/posts?page=92#92;

Only got three responses. Curious what's your view?

OK, I'll take a stab at parts of it. I don't have all the answers, but I'll give you a lot of follow-up questions which might illuminate things. 1) Unemployment is at 4.6 %. Great. Is that the business survey or the household survey? Does the question only businesses which hire legally, or those who hire under the table? And what about "underemployment"?

2. What is the unemployment rate among illegals? What is the unemployment rate in Mexico? I thought NAFTA was going to result in a boom for both the US and Mexico. What happened down south?

3. GDP growth does not automatically translate into growth in hiring, at least in the short term. Remember that one of the "miracles" which former Fed Secretary Alan Greenspan discovered was dramatically increased productivity growth--higher GDP output per worker.

My questions, how do we conservatives mimic the free flow labor market that is happening under the present loose border policy? What are we conservatives going to do about labor market demand? With unemployment so low and GDP growth anywhere from 3-5%, cutting the free flow of labor could be problematic for future economic growth. I am very curious if anyone has thought of the Border/Immigration Problem from that angle?

I don't see how bringing in a large suppy off illiterate, uneducated, manual laborers is going to solve the employment needs of Boeing, Ford, ADM, Microsoft, or Intel any time soon.

The illegals supply a different need. Most of the illegals seem to be in low-level service jobs ("jobs we won't pay American wages to do") or are competing in higher-wage unskilled and semi-skilled positions (e.g. construction where I have read you can get a day laborer of Mexican origin for $100/day without payment of taxes, social security, workers' comp, etc.)

OK, you CAN bring these people in, but only with a corresponding drop in quality of work. But that's "OK" since most people no longer consider the quality of products or services until long AFTER the sale. At that point, good luck getting your money back.

Try looking on my Freeper Home Page and clicking on the vanities Another Look At Outsourcing, A Falling Tide Grounds All Boats, and Peak Labor as well as Immigration Policies, or, Half-A-Glass.

Cheers!