“Look, slaves pick our cotton. Slaves work for free. Look, I’m not happy about slavery. But do you want to pay an extra dollar for your fabulous cotton T-shirt? I know I don’t. I know the American people are not going to pay an extra dollar for their cotton T-shirts in order to free the slaves. That’s economics. It’s not fair, but you can’t fight economic demand,” so said the economics professor.
Say, I gots an idea! Howzabout instead of putting illegal aliens on a path to citizenship, let’s create a permanent underclass of immigrant workers! After all, they’re only here to do the jobs we don’t want to do, right? We’ll create a class of people that can work below minimum wage just so we can get our strawberries cheap! That sounds fair and just to me! And if anyone says it’s not fair, well, you can’t fight economic demand. No matter what you do, they’ll come anyway. And we know that no American would ever take those jobs (forget the large percentage of workers that aren’t illegal). So, why not just make them a permanent underclass so we can get cheap houses and strawberries! Yay America!
This crazy fun time was partly inspired by this MSNBC article: Economics of immigration could defy laws. Honestly, if the businesses had their way, they’d be perfectly happy with a permanent underclass paid below minimum wage.
The problem after 1986 wasn’t exactly purely economics. The laws weren’t enforced, and they aren’t now being enforced. All the economic factors in the world wouldn’t let illegal immigrants through if we built a fence, instituted a draft, and patrolled our borders with soldiers. That’s a bit extreme, but it’s true. I wonder if we had enforced our laws in the first place, would we have as big a problem with illegal immigration?
The economic status quo is also malleable. We’re paying prices for gasoline that we would’ve found outrageous not too long ago. We also have to wonder about the true cost of things. Sure, I’m paying less for a fruit. Yet, my tax money might go to your child’s free lunch at school because you’re getting paid peanuts. Hm…
At least the article did have the gall to admit: “While illegal immigrants play a crucial role in the economy, their importance is sometimes overstated. Foreign workers account for less than 5 percent of the nation’s labor force. They are concentrated by industry and geography in ways that would cushion the larger economy should they removed from it. While their labor affects the prices consumers pay for some goods, it is but one component.”
Yet, the thesis of the article seems to be the all-powerful strength of economics in driving illegal immigration. Doesn’t that concession undermine the point that we can’t fight the “tremendous economic demand for illegal immigrants”?
Moreover, the article explains where the demand is coming from: “The reality, though, is that given the motivations of the businesses and workers at its center, regulating the flow of workers at the periphery of the economy will be very difficult, whether or not immigration is legal, experts say.” Although the article starts with the lovely tale of the employer who hires immigrants because he thinks his customers won’t pay extra, the real motivation to hire illegals comes from the motivation of businessmen to not have to pay as much for wages. We must realize that if it were up to businesses to decide everything, we probably wouldn’t have a minimum wage in the first place. I’m sure there are some people who agree with that we shouldn’t, but I bet the majority of Americans agree that there should be a minimum wage. So, why haven’t businesses gotten rid of the minimum wage by having their lobbyists scream about economic factors?
The moral of the story? Don’t accept the inevitability of economic factors. If we choose to clamp down on illegal immigration, it can be done, economic factors be damned. If we punish businesses for hiring illegals, then let’s see what happens to that omnipotent economic demand.