One of the biggest aspects of our society that they affect is the American economy. The common arguments highlight the negative effects of immigration however, the positive outweigh the negative in this situation. For example, if all unauthorized immigrants were removed from America, the American economy would lose eight billion dollars in economic activity. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, ten percent of the total economic out in the Denver metropolitan area came from immigrants in the year 2007. Those who oppose immigration need to do their research to be well versed in the positive side of their effects.
Those opposed argue they are taking jobs from unemployed Americans, they are not paying taxes, and that they are draining the economy. If they were aware of simple statistics, such as 17% of the workforce in Colorado in 2008 was made up of illegal and legal immigrants, they may not be as quick to stand up and oppose the issue of immigration.
Yes, 17% is a lot of jobs to be filled be immigrants however, in the least stereotypical tone, they are our gardeners, housekeepers, factory workers and janitors. They do the jobs that so many Americans are not willing to do. They are not taking positions from those who are unemployed; they are taking positions that even the unemployed are not willing to perform. Because of their legal status, they have a greater difficulty finding work and so they are more willing to take jobs that are considered low class in our society. Without these positions filled, the wealthy citizens, and even the middle class, of America would be dead in the water. By this I mean they have no one to do their laundry, watch their kids, or mow their lawn. Also with the cost of cheap labor that these immigrants bring in, Francine Jipman points out that, there is increased productivity which in turn lowers costs of goods and services. In Colorado, immigrants have this same profound effect on the workforce. In 2002, the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners showed that there were over 24,000 businesses owned by Latino immigrants. Within those businesses they had sales of over 5.1 billion dollars and they employed almost 32,500 people. The fact that these businesses are Latino owned shows that they are not taking jobs from Americans because without immigrants these businesses would not even exist and so those 32,500 jobs would not exist either.
Those 32,500 people employed by Latino businesses in Colorado are workers. However, people must remember, like Carl Quintanilla states, “they're not just workers. They're consumers with money to spend”. They are just like each and every American citizen they have an active role and are participating in the American economy. They are earning money which is taking it out of circulation but they are also putting it back into circulation when they spend it on goods and services. In Colorado in 2009, the Latino and Asian immigrant populations had a combined purchasing power of 26.2 billion dollars, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. Jipman states that they “contribute more to public coffer in taxes than they cost in social services”. A majority of illegal immigrants leave the country before retirement so they do not gain the benefits of Social Security and Medicare however, they do pay taxes to benefit these services. This in turn means that they are contributing to the comfort and security of all Americans. According to a study by the National Research Council, there are 34 million immigrants in this country and they pay more in taxes than they benefit from public services.
This statement makes many of the arguments against immigrants and taxes void. Many people argue that because they do not pay taxes, they do not deserve to live and work in the United States. There are a large number of immigrants who have entered the United States under false identification and so they are paying taxes it just isn’t under their own name like the normal American citizens taxes are. Also, with the passing of taxation without representation, legal and illegal immigrants are required to pay taxes but they are not allowed to vote. According to a study in 2005 by the Bell Policy Center, unauthorized immigrants paid between 159 and 194 million dollars in taxes. In contrast to that, employers paid only between twelve and fifteen million in unemployment insurance taxes. The difference between these values is enormous and shows the exact ways in which immigrants are not just taking up America’s jobs but they are also pumping the money they make back into the economy through consumption and taxes.
Immigrants that come into our society are for the most part hard working and willing to work almost any job. They have come to the ‘land of opportunity’ for the chance to change their life and also the lives of their families. As a child, I grew up showing horses. In this industry, there are many undocumented workers who work long hours every day taking care of the horses. Because there are live animals involved in their work they hardly ever get a day off. I grew up with the same three grooms who worked at my barn. My parents would give them a gift every Christmas and when they received it, their faces would light up. It was usually money and they knew that this was just a step closer to being able to fully support their family. I was very close with them so when one of them returned to Mexico because his wife was sick it was similar to losing a family member for me. They were always there for me when I was at the barn and they always took fabulous care of our horses. The work was tough and the days were long, sometimes six in the morning to seven at night, but they were always willing to be there night and day and this is something that you could not get an unemployed American to do if you begged them. The guys who worked at the barn were here to find a better life and support their families; they had greater motives than just themselves. They had people at home relying on them.
No comments:
Post a Comment