Simple question: Are you happy that inflation has stabilized? Economic indicators do not and cannot capture everyone's situation, but real wages have risen and costs have remained stable. We are certainly in a much better position than the recession that many economists had predicted would now engulf the country. The soft landing, which seemed like a major achievement, took place without the slightest economic conflict.
To some extent, we can thank the Federal Reserve's reluctance to raise interest rates and the Biden administration's pro-worker and pro-industry policies. But what has really prevented the landing is what has been the United States' economic secret sauce for two centuries: immigration.
Current economic analyses Research from the Economic Policy Institute, the Congressional Research Service and others shows that the labor force has grown enormously in large part because of resurgent immigration that had declined during the pandemic. This helped address the labor problems that largely led to inflation and ensured high consumer demand and a flow of money into the economy.
Here we can hear critics spreading the persistent myth that these foreign-born workers are “taking” jobs from native-born workers. That would bring even more impact in the event of unemployment were not at historic lows across the board, or wages are rising particularly for lower-income populations, both immigrants and native-born.
To the extent that there are negative economic circumstances, such as rising child poverty rates following the end of child care and other assistance programs during the pandemic, these are areas where immigration can be a significant boon.
Birth rates in the United States have fallen below replacement levels, and a large share of the workforce in child care, nursing, and general health care now consists of immigrants, who will counteract the demographic crash.
Unfortunately, you won't hear much about it from political leaders, from Joe Biden to Donald Trump, who are vying to see who can be tougher on immigrants rather than touting the significant benefits of remaining a global destination for talent and culture to be.
Mayor Adams escalated his public anger over immigrants last week, suggesting that New York should do so in principle reverse its refuge policy and begin cooperating with ICE when an immigrant is suspected of a crime and not convicted, indicating that they “should be held accountable.”
The mayor appears to have forgotten that the criminal justice system, which he was a part of for decades as a police officer, is already responsible for holding people suspected of crimes accountable. There are specific, and indeed constitutional, reasons why individuals suspected of criminal activity, regardless of what the activity is, are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are not convicted until that guilt is legally established .
Deportation is a very harsh fate, yet the mayor is proposing that we effectively blame immigrants who are arrested for crimes and send them away.
This is not right and does not reflect New York values. Instead of threatening harsh enforcement, Adams should focus on limiting law enforcement There is massive waste in migrant services contracts and continue to push the Biden administration to support arriving migrants itself rather than forcing everything on local and state governments.
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