Mass immigration ain’t Uncle Sam’s cup of tea!

Will the immigration reform bring relief to millions of illegal aliens in the United States? piece of advice for progressives trying to figure out where they stand on immigration reform: It’s the political economy, stupid. Analysing the direct economic gains & losses from proposed reform isn’t enough. You also have to think about how the reform would affect the future political environment. To see what I mean – and why the proposed immigration bill, despite good intentions, could well make things worse – let’s take a look back at America’s last era of mass immigration. My own grandparents came to this country during that era, which ended with the imposition of severe immigration restrictions in the 20s. Needless to say, I’m very glad they made it in before the Congress slammed the door. And today’s would-be immigrants are just as deserving as Emma Lazarus’ “huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.” Moreover, as supporters of immigrant rights rightly remind us, that immigrants are insufficiently skilled, that they’re too culturally alien, and, implied though rarely stated explicitly, that they’re not White enough.

There’s a highly technical controversy going on among economists about the effects of recent immigration on wages. However that dispute turns out, it’s clear that the earlier wave of immigration increased inequality and depressed the wages of the less skilled. For example, a recent study by Jeffrey Williamson, a Harvard economic historian, suggests that in 1913, the real wages of unskilled US workers were around 10% lower than they would have been without mass immigration. But the straight economics was the least of it. Much more important was the way immigration diluted democracy.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source: IIPM Editorial, 2007
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

Home Campus Tour Contact Us Sitemap IIPM Think Tank IIPM National Brochure IIPM in Media India Today & Tomorrow
Strategic Alliance / Consulting / Intellectual Tic-up Partners Arindam chaudhuri GIDF Planman Consulting Business & Economy 4Ps Business & Marketing The Sunday Indian The Daily Indian Kkoooljobs.com