Wages drop, only 5th time in 33 years

Washington Examiner ^ | July 2, 2012 | Paul Bedard

[gusopol3]

Unemployment ebbs and flows, but one measure of the nation's economic health, average weekly wages, rarely dips.

Until now. In the latest demonstration of the struggling economy that threatens President Obama's reelection, average weekly wages fell in 2011, one of only five declines since the category was created in 1978 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a just-released review of employment in the nation's largest 322 counties, BLS found that weekly wages dropped over the year by 1.7 percent to $955 in the fourth quarter of 2011 from a high of $971 in the fourth quarter of 2010.

That means the $50,000-a-year mark, busted in the fourth quarter of 2010, has dropped back to an average yearly salary of $49,660. And the wage depression was widespread: 282 major counties suffered wage declines; just 36 saw increases.

[StAnDeliver]

"There are a lot of Freepers on the threads these days doing the work of trolls--"Obama's going to smash Romney," blah,blah. Get real."

Why, one has stopped by to lecture you already! lol

[gusopol3]

Fine, but still, no mention of drugs , sex and rock and roll and general cultural decline as a factor in Americans failing to achieve? You only miss it because you want to. BTW, I don’t see your immigration emphasis in the article either. They’re mainly talking about lack of Head Start programs and stuff, and we know how successful that program is.Are they pretending or do they really not know?

[gusopol3]

hi

[StAnDeliver]

"Those guys back in the fifties knew they had 4 kids to raise at home."

That guy is dead, and now you're working to support his 4 retired Baby Boomers, who loaded the dice along the way...

[kabar]

Just counting NEW visas does not give us an accurate number. You must also subtract those who leave.

Agree. Let's take a look at the data:

The flows of foreign workers come in two different, but related, channels. There is the larger flow of more or less temporary workers in the nonimmigrant stream, and then there is the granting to a smaller group the status of permanent resident alien (PRA) held by people with green cards. While most nonimmigrant arrivals are, in fact, arrivals from abroad, the grants of PRA status are usually, but not always, to people who have been in this country for years as nonimmigrants.

Nonimmigrants. There are multitudinous visa categories that can be used by skilled foreign workers, but we are going to concentrate on only five of them: F-1, J-1, L-1, H-1B, and O-1 statuses; all of the people in the last four of these visa classes can work full-time legally in the United States, and some of the F-1s can as well. There are many other classes of nonimmigrant workers,5 but these five contain most of the skilled ones.

Of the five categories, only the H-1B workers are admitted against numerical ceilings; there are no numerical limits for the others. To provide one very rough measure of the size of the flows of these five groups, we use the number of admissions6 in FY 2009. Those counted are only the workers or worker-students, and none of their dependents. All numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Nonimmigrant Visa Class

FY ‘09 Admissions

F-1 (students) -- 895,000

J-1 (exchange visitors) -- 413,000

H-1B (tech workers) -- 339,000

L-1 (intracompany transfers) -- 333,000

O-1 (extraordinary ability) -- 46,000

Total admissions -- 2,026,000

Most of the F-1s and many of the J-1s are not available for commercial work, being occupied at academic institutions. Some of the J-1s, particularly the youngsters in the summer work travel program, are not skilled workers. Virtually all of the H-1Bs and L-1s are college graduate workers or managers; the O-1 visa holders include people prominent in science, business, academia, and athletics, but not in the arts or entertainment.

An F-1 worker who has completed a degree has 29 months afterward during which he or she can work, provided the graduate is in one of a long list of academic specialties;7 it is during this period that the alien graduate’s employer receives a bonus because the employer need not pay payroll taxes.

The O-1 category is interesting, in that a person whose talents are recognized can nominate himself or herself for a visa, but there must be some indication that an agent or an employer will be involved in the alien’s trip to the United States. The requirements for extraordinary abilities seem to be rather demanding. USCIS is in the throes of streamlining the application process to make it less burdensome on the applicant. The initial visa can be as long as three years and it can be extended if USCIS agrees.

What is described above is a menu written in bureaucratese about some of the routes a talented, or at least an educated, alien can use to get into the United States and get a job. These routes are taken frequently by both the “best and the brightest” and by much larger numbers of less distinguished workers.

The size of these nonimmigrant worker populations — a subject never raised by the mass migration advocates or government officials — is remarkable. By population, I mean the number of people with these visas in the country, and in the labor market, at any specific point of time, known as the “stock.” (This is a different concept from the admission figures noted above, which measure the “flow,” to use the demographer’s term.)

The two largest of these populations have been estimated as follows:

H-1B -- 650,000

L-1 -- 350,000

Total -- 1,000,00

The other groupings (F-1/OPT, J-1, and O-1) may only add another 100,000 or so to the nonimmigrant skilled worker population, perhaps cancelling out the fact that some of the H-1Bs are teachers and a few are fashion models, and some of the L-1s are managers.

The major point is that there is a thunderous number of foreign workers with at least bachelor’s degree in the nation as nonimmigrants at any given time, most with tech backgrounds.

And they keep coming.

Let’s look at the annual additions of skilled nonimmigrant workers to our work force, as distinct from the less helpful admissions numbers shown above. What the open-borders types want to do is to enlarge the number of annual additions to the skilled work force by changing the migration rules. Let’s look at how many additions we are getting each year, anyway, under current laws — additions, I should note, to an already ample stock of such workers.

My estimate of these annual additions, under current law, averages at least 200,000 a year. There are three main components of this estimate: additional H-1B workers, additional L-1 workers, and all other nonimmigrant workers (F-1 with OPT, J-1, and O-1). Since the 85,000 ceilings for H-1B applications are routinely filled each year — though we are not there yet with the next fiscal year — and since there are no limits to H-1Bs hired by academic institutions (let’s call that 15,000 a year for convenience) we receive an additional 100,000 H-1B workers annually.

Professor Hira has estimated annual additions of L-1s at 75,000 a year. And I suspect that the other categories add another 25,000 each year.

And these numbers don't include this program: Cheap Labor as Cultural Exchange: The $100 Million Summer Work Travel Industry

The exchange structure was established in 1961, when Congress passed the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act. The legislation sought to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”11

Propelled by successive administrations, SWT grew dramatically. Its ranks of young participants swelled from about 20,000 in 1996, to 56,000 in 2000, and 88,500 in 2005. Participation peaked in 2008 at nearly 153,000 before the recession caused it to sag – to 132,000 in 2010 and 103,000 in 2011.

If anything, I believe these numbers are understated once you add in illegal aliens and permanent immigrants. We are bringing in huge numbers of both skilled and unskilled labor--more than we can absorb. This drives down wages and the labor participation rate. Americans without a high school diploma can't compete with the immigrants. And skiiled immigrants are hurting US college graduates. Our immigration policy is disconnected from our labor needs.

[kabar]

Fine, but still, no mention of drugs , sex and rock and roll and general cultural decline as a factor in Americans failing to achieve?

Demography is destiny. The composition of our population has changed significantly since 1970 when non-Hispanic whites comprised 89% of the population. Today they are 66% and by 2042, they will be 50 percent. Our aging population has also changed the composition of the workforce. Our cultural decline is a function of demography and a loss of national identity. We are being Balkanized along race, ethnic, and cultural lines under the banner of multiculturalism and diversity.

Bureau of the Census: An Older and More Diverse Nation by Midcentury

By 2050, the minority population -- everyone except for non-Hispanic, single-race whites -- is projected to be 235.7 million out of a total U.S. population of 439 million. The nation is projected to reach the 400 million population milestone in 2039.

The non-Hispanic, single-race white population is projected to be only slightly larger in 2050 (203.3 million) than in 2008 (199.8 million). In fact, this group is projected to lose population in the 2030s and 2040s and comprise 46 percent of the total population in 2050, down from 66 percent in 2008.

Meanwhile, the Hispanic population is projected to nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million during the 2008-2050 period. Its share of the nation's total population is projected to double, from 15 percent to 30 percent. Thus, nearly one in three U.S. residents would be Hispanic.

The black population is projected to increase from 41.1 million, or 14 percent of the population in 2008, to 65.7 million, or 15 percent in 2050.

The Asian population is projected to climb from 15.5 million to 40.6 million. Its share of the nation's population is expected to rise from 5.1 percent to 9.2 percent.

•The working-age population is projected to become more than 50 percent minority in 2039 and be 55 percent minority in 2050 (up from 34 percent in 2008). Also in 2050, it is projected to be more than 30 percent Hispanic (up from 15 percent in 2008), 15 percent black (up from 13 percent in 2008) and 9.6 percent Asian (up from 5.3 percent in 2008).

Again, Hispanics and blacks will comprise about 45% of the population by 2050. If their out of wedlock and school drop out rates continue to remain high, this does not bode well for the quality of our workforce.

BTW, I don’t see your immigration emphasis in the article either.

The article is from Brookings, a left leaning think tank. They try to exclude immigration from such studies, but the reality is that it is the elephant in the room. I work in a grassroots immigration group that lobbies on the Hill and in Richmond. We encounter this denial all of the time, but the statistics don't lie. It is destroying this country and it may be too late to reverse.

Motivated by parochial self-interest, the pro-mass immigration, open borders, amnesty advocates have formed a powerful coalition including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, labor union leaders, the Catholic Church, ethnic and racial groups, “moderate” Republicans, and the Democrat Party. The common thread that unites these groups is power, money, and the prospect of increased constituencies, even at the expense of our long-term national interests and survival.

Our country is being destroyed right in front of us. When they write this history of this once great nation, the historians will point to the 1965 Immigration Act as the reason why.

[1010RD]

Is this an average or a media salary?

[familyop]

Bipartisan constituents with government incomes are sucking private sector producers dry.

[zeestephen]

Clearly, your expertise on this subject is much greater than mine.

My own favorite solution is an income based visa/immigration policy.

If you can get a contractual job offer for $150,000 per year, here’s your visa.

If you can stay above $150,000 for three years, here are your citizenship papers.

Our current policy is not just economically insane, it’s political suicide for American Conservatives.

America has added roughly 10 million new citizens in the last 10 years.

Although their voter turnout is quite low, they vote 75%-80% for the Democrat Party.

[3catsanadog]

My sister and her boyfriend traveled to a midwestern state last week and while there, went to an Indy race. The race was delayed because of some storms.

While waiting, they got to talking with a man who used to live in Colorado Springs. He said he was an electrician and had his own business there. Did OK and hired real Americans to work for him. Over time, he was noticing he was losing jobs because his competitors were using illegals and able to pay them under the table less than minimum wage which enabled them to charge less for services. He couldn't compete anymore and closed up shop.

I would bet this is happening all over the country.

[kabar]

Here is my solution to reforming our immigration policy:

Advocate a pro-immigrant policy of low immigration. Republicans need to provide the American people with their own comprehensive immigration reform plan, i.e., give people a reason to vote FOR something rather than just attack the other side’s proposals. Such a plan should contain the following elements:

 Formulate a merit based immigration system that brings in the skills and talents to keep us competitive in the global economy;

 Reduce immigration levels based on need more closely approximating 300,000 a year;

 Eliminate extended chain migration, i.e., family reunification, limiting it to the nuclear family,

 Secure the border;

 Enforce existing immigration laws to reduce the current illegal alien population and limit future illegal immigration, i.e., attrition thru enforcement. Enforcement would include: (1) ending the job magnet; (2) increasing coordination at the federal level by eliminating barriers to information sharing among agencies; (3) leveraging state and local enforcement resources; (4) fully implementing the US-VISIT Program to track and deport visa overstays; and (5) make mandatory and improve such programs as E-Verify and 287 [g] authority to assist employers and law enforcement in identifying illegal aliens;

 Eliminate birthright citizenship and the visa lottery program;

 Ensure that anyone who enters this nation illegally is not rewarded by being permitted to stay and work here; i.e., no amnesty;

 Streamline the processing and adjudication of immigration cases;

 Promote pro-immigrant measures that help newcomers assimilate and embrace the values and principles of our Founders and the Constitution.

Although their voter turnout is quite low, they vote 75%-80% for the Democrat Party.

The numbers are telling. California has the demographics the US will have in 2050. We are seeing the impact electorally in places like Nevada, Colorado, NM, and AZ. It is having an impact in VA and NC. Once Texas goes purple then blue, it is game, set, and match. Here is an excellent study by Jim Gimpel, Professor of Government at the University of Maryland:

Immigration, Political Realignment, and the Demise of Republican Political Prospects

Unfortunately, many in the Rep Establishment think that there is a conservative hiding within the rapidly growing Hispanic population. They like to cite the fact that they are hard working and religious. They are in denial when it comes to the real state of the Hispanic family in America, i.e., rampant out of control out of wedlock birth rates, high school drop out rates, high usage of welfare programs, etc. Hispanics are natural Dem constituents, which is why they vote 65-35 Dem and the data show that the more recent immigrants vote an even higher percentage.

Hispanic Family Values? Runaway illegitimacy is creating a new U.S. underclass

[Gay State Conservative]

Romney's dual campaign slogans should be “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” and “ObamaCare:Healthcare delivered with the efficiency of the Post Office and the compassion of the IRS”.

[Gay State Conservative]

Mine’s more simple....build a wall from the Pacific to the Gulf that the North Koreans would envy.Stop most,if not all,foreigners from entering the country via our southern border.And reduce immigration to only the *most* talented foreigners...the ones that would benefit us most:physicians,nurses,engineers,etc.No riffraff from *any* country.

[kabar]

40% of all illegal aliens came here legally and overstayed their visas. We have over 50 million visitors a year.

[bigheadfred]

They haven't done a goddamned thing to shrink government when they were in control.

Wham bam.

[arrogantsob]

If he can convince out of work people they have jobs then he deserves re-election.

[chessplayer]

Until now. In the latest demonstration of the struggling economy that threatens President Obama’s reelection,

---

I have to shake my head every time I see something like that. “It’s the economy, stupid” doesn’t work against obama.

[chessplayer]

“Poll: Still Bush’s Fault”

“Americans continue to place more blame for the country’s ongoing economic problems on former President George W. Bush than on President Barack Obama, a new survey shows.”

http://www.drudge.com/news/157920/poll-still-bushs-fault

Thats why I say the “It’s the economy, stupid” approach won’t affect obama’s chances much.

[Smokin' Joe]

Sure wages have dropped. That’s why the elite’s refuse to secure our borders.

With the exception of a very few areas, there is a glut of labor for the positions available. As long term unemployment runs out, people are either claiming disability or turning to any job they can get.

Add in that employers are going to have to pony up for Obamacare, one way or another, unless Congress repeals it, and employers aren't going to offer a lot--no matter where the prospective employee is from.

[freedomfiter2]

With the exception of a very few areas, there is a glut of labor for the positions available.

If the illegals were gone there would be a much smaller labor glut.