United States
Immigration Reform could improve the economy
Written by: Jeremy K.
With immigration laws needing to be
fixed, there is a lot of government spending that goes into preserving the
outdated immigration regulations. Research being done has shown that there has
been higher birth rate and labor force participation from immigrants compared
to native born Americans. This is taking a major toll on our country’s GDP,
which if these statistics are changed, could raise one percent over the next
decade. It could also raise the GDP per capita by an average of $1,500.
Members discussing the altercation
of immigration rules have also argued that, unlike in other countries,
America’s immigration laws aren’t constructed to support the economy. While
countries like UK, Canada, and Australia have.
The House of Representatives and
the Senate are working to pass similar laws to help with the immigration laws,
and if both were passed they would need to be reconciled and edited together
before facing the decision of President Barack Obama. It is certainly
interesting to see how different factors play such a large role in American
economy.
The main factor for letting in
immigrants would be to see if they are 1- legal, and 2- a good amount where the
government wants for their long term economic goal. The problem with the
current laws is they are outdated, back to 1986 where it restricted companies
from hiring new illegal workers, but it had no rules to the future where it
would help prevent and regulate legal immigrant flow. There are too many
immigrants getting in, whether it is legally or illegally, and our economy is
taking a major hit from it.
On the other hand, giving legal
immigrants full rights and citizenship could boost the economy by 1.4 trillion
dollars in the gross domestic product. This could also create another 203,000
jobs. With that happening, the average American salary could reach an increase
of 25% over 5 years, which would increase overall salaries together at a total
of 791 million dollars. That means the government could see a 116 billion
dollar tax increase over 10 years. The
immigrants who received the full rights as well, could see their salaries
increasing by 15.1% which in turn could go back into the economy through luxury
spending, boosting everything even more. The economy can’t be fixed without
people spending, and with a gain in revenue for almost everyone, the economy
can get a boost that it needs to become powerful and thriving once again.
When it comes down to it something
has to be done about the immigrant issue in America, because there are a lot of
dollars being lost and total GDP lost as well. The Senate and House of
Representatives needs to make this change to kick start or become a catalyst in
our economy. These next ten years will be interesting to see unfold and whether
or not these new laws are passed, or if passed, they affect the economy in the
large and positive numbers that most analysts claim.
US immigration reform could improve
economy, says conservative thinktank | World news | guardian.co.uk ." Latest
US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com |
The Guardian . N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/09/us-immigration-reform-improve-economy>.
Koba., Mark. "Immigration
Reform: What's It Going to Cost?." Stock Market News, Business News,
Financial, Earnings, World Markets - CNBC. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/100628416>.
"New Findings: Immigration
Reform Will Help the U.S. Economy Grow." TriplePundit: The Triple
Bottom Line. Sustainable Business, Social Entrepreneurs, CSR and more....
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/04/immigration-reform/>.
Immigrants are not necessarily a bad addition to our country, but it is only when they start coming in large amounts and illegally. I agree that they should be given more rights. This will, after all, help our economy. Since our economy is in a state that needs a boost, this is a good way to regulate our GDP. If there are a lot of illegal immigrants, their work and illegal service won't be accounted for. For example, if an illegal immigrant comes to the USA and makes his living by illegal drug deals, then his service won't be in the GDP. Even if it is drugs, it's messing up all our statistics. Immigrant laws should be more strict: if they come into this country they should be accounted for, otherwise they must stay out. Our economy is desperate for regulating and updating these immigrant laws.
ReplyDeleteClearly the immigration laws are outdated if they have not been completely redone since 1986. I was very surprise to know that just by considering the illegal immigrants as American citizens our GDP could be increased by 1.4 trillion dollars. Maybe if all Americans knew the economic benefits to adding immigrants to our citizenship their point of view would change. It will be interesting to see was immigration bills will be passed in the upcoming years as economists and the government asses the advantages and disadvantages.
ReplyDeleteCollin Sternad
Wow!!! Jeremy that is just amazing!!! Mrs. Straub is so lucky to have you as one of her students. You bring such insightful information forth and help her other students learn. I agree with Joanie by the way. Immigrants may cause an illegal alien problem and cost a lot to keep in track but honestly if they go through everything they need to to become a legal United States citizen. They would bring their culture into the United States and possibly increase the output of America.
ReplyDeleteWhen immigrants come into our nation legally I believe we can only benefit for it. Their work clearly helps stimulate the economy, otherwise it wouldn't have raised our average GDP by 1,500. It'd be better to count these immigrants as legal versus having them in the country illegally and not counting them at all.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Shelby. By having these immigrants come in to the US would ultimately stimulate our economy by raising GDP and contributing to our labor force and output. Diversity, is also never a negative thing. As long as they are accounted for working in sustainable work force, unlike the drug cartel, I do not see this as being an issue. I would also agree on the other hand, that it is only fair for the government to have some regulation on these immigrants so it is not a free for all entrance in to America.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that the immigration laws should be changed, especially if it can impact our economy so greatly. Also, if it would create over 200,000 jobs then it would boost our economy even more. The only question I have is if there would be more competition for jobs between natural born citizens and immigrants, and if so, who would be more eligible for specific jobs.
ReplyDeleteIllegal immigration is an interesting topic in not just politics but economics. Human capital comes into play with this discussion. If these immigrants are crossing the borders in search of a job with little education, are they really stealing jobs? When Americans are expected high school education, someone has to take the lower-class jobs. Illegal Immigration can add billions to GDP as you said, and in the the long run, positively effect the economy.
ReplyDeleteJeremy, I really this blog! It was nice to read a new perspective on immigration policies. Your use of facts and stats really proved your points well, especially the stat of 1.4 trillion increase in GDP if legal immigrants are granted full citizenship and rights. You offered a different side of immigration that is often not seen.
ReplyDeleteOften times when we think of issues regarding immigrants, we don't think about how it could hurt and help our economy. A key factor in the business cycle is that the business cycle is constantly fluctuating. The immigration issue has the potential to impact the business cycle through expanding the GDP. If the immigrants were granted their citizenship, it was interesting to hear that even the American's salary could be expanded by 25%. With an increase in the salaries, the amount of money households have to spend on investments and consumption spending would increase, which would increase the demand for goods. An increase in the demand for goods would increase the price level, which would cause the United States GDP to expand. This would be great for our economy, and shows a positive impact of the immigration issue.
ReplyDelete