From an economic perspective – America needs immigration. Unfortunately, the word ‘immigration’ has become emotional. It has been twisted by politicians into a bad word, because it’s being confused with unlawful immigration. Yes – the borders are a mess, and Congress needs to get off their butts to put policies in place to control it. But our economy cannot grow as it has without immigration. Here’s why:
- America’s labor force is too small. The pandemic forced – and gave opportunity to a wave of early retirements. Too few workers means employers must overpay workers. That forces business to charge more for their goods and services. That can create inflation.
- Social Security needs more workers, making greater contributions to the program. Even undocumented workers have FICA taxes withheld from their paychecks. If undocumented – they cannot receive the benefits they were taxed on. Legal immigration adds to the to the number of workers who are also paying into the system.
- Immigration is good for growth. Our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is a measure of our growth. When people work, they consume – and that is a large part of the GDP. If we need more workers and we get a percentage of them through immigration… our economy grows by the increased consumption, taxation and labor.
- Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that small businesses contributed 55% of net job creation in the U.S. Non native-born citizens are more likely to start a business than those born here. Half of the billion dollar companies and 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
