Still Dodging Immigrations Truths (Samuelson on excessive low-skill immigration)

Washington Post ^ | 5/17/06 | Robert Samuelson

[ProCivitas]

This one was cited and much discussed on both Howie Carr and my beloved Laura Ingraham yesterday. I think it's still linked at both sites. Important facet of the issue: driving down the wages of our fellow Americans through all immigration. If it's not Pro-American, why allow it?

[nmh]

Explain to me how ILLEGAL LOW PAYING immigrants are going to FUND our retirement?

Shouldn't we be encouraging SKILLED LEGAL immigrants?

Bush has it backwards.

Our standard of living is being pushed down with ILLEGALS who will do anything and those that ARE DOING JOBS AMERICANS WANT TO DO. More importantly we are proving that our laws are arbitrary and we REWARD people who break them.

[thoughtomator]

Even with skilled legal immigrants there are many of the same issues, large corporate interests vying with the interests of US workers. If unskilled immigrants, in excess, depress wages of unskilled Americans, so do skilled immigrants, in excess, depress wages of skilled Americans. Right now we have Tysons wanting illegals to run its chicken plants, but ultimately this is little different from Microsoft importing aliens to run its software factories.

[tomahawk]

Bush is a dimwit, in case you haven't figured it out yet.

If he allows Iran to get the bomb, he will be the worst President we've ever had.

[DManA]

I think it's time to settle this aspect of the debate. It is clear that a large influx of Mexicans will be a COST, not a BENEFIT to our economy.

[Alberta's Child]

Explain to me how ILLEGAL LOW PAYING immigrants are going to FUND our retirement?

They're not.

What they are going to do, however, is help Americans pay the increasing costs of funding "our retirement" while at the same time enabling us to maintain our very high standard of living.

It's really all that simple, folks.

[stopem]

They already are costing Americans BILLIONS of dollars, they definitely are not worth it.

And how mnay low paying jobs are there really? Glad you asked!

There aren't that many McDonald minimum wage jobs available what has happened is that the traitors are construction companies, Instead of paying American workers $18.00 per hour and have to abide by the legal costs of hiring people like paying taxes on the people etc the construction companies decided to take the law into their own hands and decided they would rather pay the illegals $18 per hour cash and NOT have to abide by all the rules placed on them by the liberals who set the employment laws to begin with!!

Should companies be allowed to take the laws into their own hands regarding employment laws?

Should construction companies decide whether they want to pay taxes or not?

Because they are paying the exact same amount of money to the illegals under the table they were paying legal residents folks, I know I spoke with an owner of one of the companies.

[ProCivitas]

As between general workers, manager/executives, and 'passive investors': I would prefer to see the first paid substantially more than currently, and the latter two paid somewhat less than currently.

Is that what a 'fair/unimpaired market' would do? What do 'distorted markets' do re such things? How do markets become impaired/distorted?

[Eagles6]

save

[ProCivitas]

As between general workers, manager/executives, and 'passive investors': I would prefer to see the first paid substantially more than currently, and the latter two paid somewhat less than currently.

Is that what a 'fair/unimpaired market' would do? What do 'distorted markets' do re such things? How do markets become impaired/distorted?

[Tripleplay]

Your right. Assimilation of immigrants has worked so well in Europe, let's copy it here.

[P-40]

"Their presence in the labor market increases competition for low-skilled jobs, reducing the earnings of low-skilled native-born workers.

Look at the high school graduation rates in this country *now* and tell me where these failed low-skill students are going to work when faced with continued unfettered illegal immigration?

[P-40]

while at the same time enabling us to maintain our very high standard of living.

We cannot maintain our standard of living by allowing in uncontrolled numbers of people that cost more than what they pay in. It is really that simple.

[A. Pole]

The tax increases that will be required to pay for existing federal commitments to the elderly are on the order of 30 to 40 percent. People who don't think there will be conflicts between older beneficiaries and younger taxpayers -- Hispanic or not -- are deluding themselves.

[DumpsterDiver]

ping

[angkor]

they are paying the exact same amount of money to the illegals under the table they were paying legal residents

I've also been told this by ... ahem... people who would know. In fact I've been told that illegal "day laborers" demand the same amount of *cash* wages that would be paid to a legal American day laborer, but with taxes and FICA deductions.

From those anecdotal conversations, it's pretty clear that the "underpaid and abused" illegal alien "day laborer" is a myth, nothing more.

[junta]

If great amounts of cheap labor were what it takes for prosperity then Mexico would be running rings around us.

[George W. Bush]

Great article. But I think there was another thread on it, syndicated by a different paper.

[Mogollon]

.....so do skilled immigrants, in excess, depress wages of skilled Americans.

Yes they do. Fortunately, the government does keep tabs on them and doesn't let them sneak into the country.

[chris1]

The employer makes out by not paying FICA and Workers Comp.