Progressive solutions rarely work because they tend to be simplistic – and not in line with how the real-world works.
For example, they believe that Washington can print or borrow money to meet every need of the American people. Or that you can actually tax corporations without having the consumer pay the taxes when they purchase stuff. Or that you can control prices without causing shortages. Or that you can give folks more money to blunt the impact of inflation without causing more inflation. Or ….. well , you get the idea.
Recently, those on the left have come up with another fantasy idea. Since we have so many open jobs – and we have so many migrants flowing into America – why not just give them the jobs. Two problems solved.
Actually, it creates more problems. Let us start with the basic problem. In a healthy economy, there is a balance between you and I, as a consumer, AND producers. There will always be consumers who are not producers – children, the disabled, the temporarily unemployed, etc. To some extent, even the family dog.
Because of ill-guided generosity, we have been supporting the lives of too many folks who could work but are either stuck on generational dependency or prefer a modest standard of living rather than work for their own betterment. They rely on dubious claims to welfare or workman’s compensation as an alternative to working and earning. They rely on the productive folks to support and subsidize them. Some may drop out of the workforce because they have adjusted to living off a productive spouse or parent – possibly with some form of government assistance.
Did you ever wonder how all those people who have not come back to their jobs are getting by. Well, that is how.
Giving their jobs to unemployed migrants (consumers) does nothing to solve the problem of too many consumers. Certainly, the working migrants will be a plus to the economy — making a consumer a consumer/producer — but we still have all those consume-only folks who should also be producing.
For the economy to grow, we need both the migrants AND the stay-at-homes to be producing – those who are able, of course. We are a rich enough – and compassionate enough – nation to cover those who are not able to produce.
Make no mistake about it. Immigration is essential to economic growth. But it must be based on LEGAL immigration that includes vetting. We need to exclude the criminal class. They are an economic burden on society. And we must limit immigration to a capacity to employ the new arrivals. If we are only absorbing millions of consumers, the economy will not grow. It will falter.
To stabilize the economy, we need to have jobs for immigrants and migrants AND have the domestic stay-at-homes return to the workforce – return to producing. When a person comes to America as a consumer/producer, they create a new job. Giving them jobs vacated by an able-bodied American does not.
In order to not have the economy overrun, we need to admit only ELIGIBLE asylum seekers – which is only about 15 percent of those crossing the border seeking asylum. That means that millions of folks who have been allowed to enter and remain in the country are not eligible for asylum. Many are deported, but many are not – creating a pool of people who are consuming … not producing … and should not be here.
The simplistic solution of giving some of the current asylum seekers the jobs that should have been filled by the stay-at-homes is more progressive snake oil. It sounds good. Comes with grand promises – but cures nothing.
So, there ‘tis.