Immigrants_in_the_United_States__Important_Contributors_to_the_Economy

Imagine a day where you have to think twice before spending money on a ten dollar pack of lettuce, or when you have to fight for the last dozen of apples in the grocery store. Perhaps you will only be allowed to purchase a small amount of vegetables or in worse cases stand in line for hours, waiting for the next shipment of imported fruits and vegetables to arrive from Southeast Asia. This would be all too real if the United States lost its immigrant workers. The United States has become increasingly dependent on immigrant workers in terms of low wage jobs. In some sectors of the economy such as agriculture or other low wage services, the reliance on immigrant workers is so immense that entire industries would suffer severe economic losses if these workers were to leave. However, many citizens of the United States, particularly those who hold anti immigrant views, are not able to understand this situation due to their reluctance to consider the issue with an open mind. These individuals have the mentality that immigrants are detrimental to the United States economy as they take up jobs that should belong to native born United States citizens, and that immigrants place burdens on the infrastructure and resources available in the United States. Although many people believe that immigrants pose a threat to the United States economy, the underlying reality is that the contributions of immigrants outweigh the financial burdens they create, which strengthens the growth of the economy. Many individuals in the United States perceive immigrants as leeches and a strain to the United States economy. According to a Gallup poll conducted in August 2009, 50 percent of Americans believe that immigration should be decreased because the United States cannot sustain the financial burden that immigrants pose in difficult economic times (Morales). This represents a significantly large portion of the United States population who believe that immigrants have a negative effect on the United States economy. This common view is fueled by groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), who advocate beliefs such as immigrants are undermining opportunities for America's citizens to improve their working conditions and wages. Utilizing their presence in mainstream media, groups such as FAIR are able to persuade United States citizens that this widely held claim is true. However, many people are so convinced of the anti immigrant view that they fail to realize the actual situation, which is that without immigrant workers to fill the workforce, the United States economy would be worse off as some industries may be drastically affected. According to Chi Chur Chao and Eden Yu, professors of economics at the Oregon State University, “occupations that require little education but much skill is dominated by immigrants to the point that native workers alone could not fill the demand if the immigrants were to no longer remain within the industry” (407). Chao and Yu discuss the large dependency that the United States has on immigrants and the serious consequences that may arise if immigrants were to leave the United States workforce. As there are many jobs in the United States that native workers do not want, immigrants have filled these jobs due to their immigrant frame of reference. Since immigrants constitute significant proportions of workers in major United States industries, it is likely that without these immigrant workers, many companies would be running negative profits. Such collapses within these sectors would result in entire industries undergoing extreme changes or even ceasing to exist, which would undoubtedly produce severe costs to the United States economy. This dependency on migrant workers makes immigrants a necessary part of the United States workforce in order for the country to maintain its economic stability. Although some people may argue that this economic stability is still compromised when immigrants exploit government services, in reality, as time goes on immigrants use fewer government services because their income increases, and this places less stress upon government finances. According to Dr. Gerald W. Bracey, head researcher for the United States Center for the Study of Jobs and Education, “while the income of immigrants may initially be low, with time, immigrant incomes increase and their use of services declines” (328). Bracey contends that although immigrants start off with low wage jobs when they first enter the United States and may seem like they use a large amount of public services, as they begin to find higher wages, they use less of these services. Hence, even though immigrants may initially seem to pose a strain on public services, this reliance on government finances ultimately decreases to the point that they no longer have to exploit government services to uphold themselves. This indicates the fact that as immigrants spend more time in the United States, they eventually use little or no government services, which helps to preserve the strength of the United States economy. Immigrants not only decrease their dependence on government services and taxpayers’ money, but further contribute to the economy increasing the tax base which lessens government debt burdens. Jeffrey Passel and Michael Fix, researchers for the Pew Hispanic Center, assert that “for immigrants arriving after 1970, the amount of taxes paid to the federal government will total 70 billion dollars, generating 25-30 billion more than they use in public services” (112). Passel and Fix put forward numbers to support the argument that although immigrants use a substantial amount of public services, the taxes that they generate greatly outweigh the services that they use. The taxes that immigrants pay not only covers for their use in services, but generates an even larger amount of revenue for the federal government which in turn lessens the debt that the United States has. Apart from being an important part of the United States workforce, taxes paid by immigrants is a clear benefit of immigration as the expansion of the tax base is able to increase the revenue of the government almost instantaneously. This allows the government to allocate more funds for various expenditures such as infrastructure, facilitating the continued growth of the United States economy. Some individuals who are against immigration may argue that the aging population of the immigrant population may cause burdens on government debt, however, this debt is lessened with the constant inflow of younger generation immigrants, replenishing the loss of funds from the aging population. Bracey states that “it is only new arrivals who are in their late 60’s or older who impose an actual financial burden” (329). Bracey recognizes that one of the largest drains upon public services in any state is an aging population, and that this more aged immigrant population may require more public services and in turn cost the government more money. However, he contends that immigration helps to ease this burden as well. As the vast majority of immigrants are within the prime employment age range, they contribute much more than they take from the nation and the government. Hence, a steady influx of immigrants will help to drive this mechanism and enhance the benefits that immigrants bring to the economic structure of the United States. According to Paul Schou, professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, “in addition to off-setting the demands upon the government assistance system by retired native workers, immigrants who enter during their working-age years via tax payments give a net contribution to the pensioners of the same period” (672). Schou discusses his findings that not only do working age immigrants help to alleviate the burden that the aged population creates in terms of public services, they even contribute to pensions, which goes beyond the costs of their own living. In this sense, immigrants are able to cover the costs that are related to them residing in the United States regardless of their age or employment status, and even contribute to the well-being of native born United States citizens. With many avenues of generating revenue for the United States economy, there is no doubt that immigrants are an indispensable portion of the United States population. As immigration is a constant and necessary feature of the modern world, it is essential for the effects and impact of immigration to be fully understood by those within the receiving country. Individuals who argue against immigration rely upon only a few facts and do not incorporate the long-term effects of immigration or mediating effects of immigrant’s actions. People should look beyond the concerns over individual immigrant issues and see the contribution of immigrants with a broader scope. What may seem like a well-formed argument may likely be merely a shallow, misleading view, and should be investigated fully. Although it may initially seem as if immigrants are placing a burden on the United States economy, they are a crucial part of the workforce and pose a net benefit in terms of taxes and the use of public services. Within the national economy, immigrants represent a net fiscal plus. Therefore, it is neither accurate nor fair for people to use economics or jobs as a reason for not wanting immigrants to come to the United States because looking beyond the short run, one can see that immigrants are clearly beneficial to the United States economy. Permitting a steady inflow of immigrants may take up jobs in the short run, but in the long run in order to fully expand the national economy it is necessary to give immigrants the chances to fill positions in the workforce. Giving immigrants opportunities in the United States will allow them to strengthen the growth of the United States economy, which will in turn improve the lives of all who live in the United States. Works Cited Bracey, Gerald W. "The Impact of Immigration." Phi Delta Kappan January (2004): 407-08. Print. Chao, Chi-Chur, and Eden S. H Yu. "Immigration and Welfare for the Host Economy with Imperfect Competition." Journal of Regional Science 42.2 (2002): 327-38. Print. Morales, Lymari. "Americans Return to Tougher Immigration Stance." Gallup.Com. 05 Aug. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. . Passel, Jeffrey S., and Michael Fix. "Myths About Immigrants." Foreign Policy (2003): 151. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2009. . Schou, Paul. "Immigration, Integration and Fiscal Sustainability." Journal of Population Economics 19 (2006): 671-89. Print.