 Is Illegal Immigration Hurting Our Working Class? Is Illegal Immigration Hurting the American Working Class?
As a nation we seem to have finally awoken to the challenges brought on by our unwillingness to address the illegal immigration situation of the past twenty years.
I believe illegal immigration is hurting the millions of Americans that comprise our proud working class.
I support immigration. In fact, I’d go so far as to characterize myself as being a strong supporter. I believe the diversity of our people has played an important role in the evolution --- and success --- of our society over the past one hundred years of American geo-political dominance.
We allow roughly one million people to immigrate into the US each year through legal means. We welcome all races, religions and nationalities. To apply for entrance into the county we ask merely that the applicant follow a relatively simple process --- one that is designed to be fair and reasonable: apply in advance, supply some basic background information (giving us a chance to make sure they’re not, for example, a felon or known terrorist) and have a sponsor that would provide financial support if needed. It’s a process --- like when we went for our first driver’s license or credit card. It requires a little effort and patience on our part, but it makes intuitive sense to us and we accept the notion that society at large has the right --- and responsibility --- to create a reasonable set of guidelines to govern a fair process.
Despite the fairness and transparency of the legal immigration process there are now millions of people in the country today that have skirted the process --- and thumbed their nose at us and our heritage in the process.
There are many commentators writing or speaking about the cultural ramifications of this situation. I’ll leave that to them. I’d rather focus on an economic angle and the impact it is having on our working class.
Do you realize that the federal minimum wage in this country hasn’t been raised since 1997? Once in nine years! During that time the median family income increased by just 12%. Across the same span of time the stock market has gone up by 71%, the average price of a home has easily doubled, and corporate earnings are at all-time highs. The distribution of our wealth has gone decidedly in the favor of the wealthy while the working class has barely benefited.
Why has this occurred? Why haven’t wages and benefits gone up at a better --- and fairer --- rate? There are several reasons, but one of them is the basic role of supply and demand. The size of the labor pool of lower skilled workers has risen so sharply and suddenly during the past five to ten years that the usual balance between labor and business is skewed in favor of big business. There is no pressure on employers to raise wages. The 15 to 18 million illegal immigrants --- most of them lower skilled workers --- have effectively undercut our working class. Exacerbating the problem is that our elected officials (both Republicans and Democrats) has turned a blind eye as unscrupulous employers have brazenly refused to follow our labor and hiring laws by hiring illegal immigrants.
Perhaps I’ve simplified certain aspects of this situation, but I haven’t fabricated any of them: in the ever-present tug-of-war between corporations and employees the majority of leverage currently rests with business. Just take a look at corporate profit which are at all-time highs. I think this is unfair to our working class and I think it’s shortsighted of us to sacrifice their well being because we’re unwilling to crack down on the millions of people that are here illegally or the corporations that knowingly hire them.
In conclusion, I think we owe natural born Americans and LEGAL immigrants the opportunity to earn a decent wage to support themselves and their loved ones. The majority of these folks are honest hard working people that, like most of us, are just trying to get ahead. They came from families of people that helped make this country what it is today and, I believe, should benefit from our successes as a people. The 15 to 18 million illegal immigrants currently here make that difficult to achieve because they are depressing wages and benefits.
Hey, I’m just one guy in a big diverse world, but that’s my view.
|