Around 1500 economists have signed a letter to President Trump and Congress, highlighting the advantages of immigrants working for the US economy. Their hope is that legislators while drafting an immigration policy will take into account the fact that "immigrants boost growth, jobs, and wages." Hotlz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office who also served as the chief economist under President George.W Bush was the driving force behind the organization of the letter. This letter was written in an attempt to shed some light on the situation that 11 million illegal people living in the United States face. Signatories included economic and policy experts from renowned institutes across America. They argue that immigrants help to make up the backbone of the American economy. They are not a threat to American workers but create more opportunities for jobs. Many immigrants contribute to the economy by starting companies in various sectors such as technology (Silicon valley is full of them). It is reported that more immigrants work in the STEM field to boost economic growth. The article also discusses "immigrant-friendly environment." Give the immigrants a warm welcome, show the same level of respect you want, and its a win-win for everyone. Statistics have shown such positive impacts inherently increase wages. It is reasonable to say that labor force growth without immigrants will take a huge hit. In my opinion, innovation is the key to boosting economic growth. Immigrants bring innovation, diversity, and an increase in labor force participation to the American economy.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-economists-immigration-letter-trump-0413-biz-20170412-story.html
2 comments:
This article was an interesting read. I agree with you in that hopefully Trump will listen to what the economists are saying. It is statistically proven that implementing policies to increase diversity improves productivity and profitability firms, which in turn can improve the productivity of an economy. I also agree with you that immigrants are mostly the workers who are employed in the STEM industry and the economy will definitely be affected negatively if diversity decreases.
Research shows, immigrants generally do not have a direct negative impact on the earnings of native-born workers, as native-born workers and immigrant workers generally complement each other rather than compete for the same job. Native-born workers and immigrants tend to have different skill sets and therefore seek different types of jobs. Thus, immigrants are not increasing the labor market competition for native-born workers and therefore do not negatively affect American workers’ earnings.
Post a Comment