Set aside the latest Trump blurt. He may not read. He’s not qualified for office. But he is a master manipulator, especially through social media. I’m convinced the comment was meant to distract us from more serious news.
But immigration was a hot issue in the 2016 presidential election and continues to be. Democrats tend to favor generous numbers of people entering the United States. Republicans are more heterodox — some favoring a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, while others want wholesale deportations. The latter carried the party for Donald Trump. Restricting immigration was one of his most popular issues with his base.
This is not a new strand in American history. Irish, Italian and eastern European immigrants faced discrimination in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Immigration was severely restricted by Congress in 1924, with tight quotas that weren’t lifted until the mid-1960s. About 1 million legal immigrants have come here since 2000. Now many European countries are being roiled by the politics of immigration.
Economists generally agree that immigration is a net economic plus. But it’s also true that large-scale immigration, especially at a time of slow economic growth, hurts wages in certain fields. This doesn’t get into the desire for a white-majority country held by many Trump voters, who lie to pollsters for fear of being called racist. And the genuine racism out there prevents a serious discussion about immigration policy in an overpopulated world, where climate change and war are setting loose unprecedented movements of people.
What’s been your experience?
The poll has expired. Thank you for your submissions.
——————————
This Week’s Links:
• Is the opioid crisis a consequence of U.S. economic decline? | Equitable Growth
• The state of play with carbon capture and storage | Tim Taylor
• More evidence that Medicaid expansion boosts health, well-being | CBPP
• Walmart has four reasons to raise wages, but the tax cuts aren’t one | Fortune
• How robocallers wrecked the Do Not Call list | Barry Ritholtz
• Ready or not for the next recession | Project Syndicate
• Occupations, wages and educational attainment | Josh Lehner
——————————
Today’s Econ Haiku:
Apartment rents ease
As more units are built here
Demand, meet supply
——————————