“We need it [immigration] badly from a purely—purely economic point of view,” Biden said to the National Association of Manufacturers . . . . Biden said the key to the country’s solid economic footing is ‘the constant, unrelenting stream’ of immigrants that has come to the United States of America for generations. “Not dribbling,” Biden explained. “Significant flows.” – The Hill 6/10/14
Fact Check: Vice President Joe Biden has long distinguished himself as one who makes stupid, ignorant, and dishonest statements. This latest remark about immigration as our economic salvation most certainly continues this dubious legacy.
The constant and unrelenting flood of immigration we’ve had since 1965 has hardly placed us on “solid economic footing.” Take the case of California, our state most heavily impacted by immigration, both in terms of numbers and its percentage of foreign-born population. In 1965, the state had a strong economy that abundantly provided well-paying white collar and blue collar jobs. Back then, Americans from other parts of the country moved to California to take advantage of those opportunities.
Today, California has witnessed a long trend of native-born citizens moving out as immigrants have moved in. Decently-paying jobs have sharply declined, and the state has begun to take on the character of a Third World society, with a relatively few number of rich people at the top and masses of low-income people beneath them.
If immigration is the source of economic enrichment that Biden and other immigration enthusiasts claim, then why has California become much less prosperous after two generations of mass immigration? And the problem is not just in California. Since 1965, America as a whole has declined economically in many significant ways. Back then a single wage earner could provide a decent living for a family. Now it commonly takes two wage earners to do so. The percentage of middle income Americans is declining as the gap between rich and poor increases.
Immigration is not the only reason for our economic problems, but it makes a significant contribution. How could it be otherwise, when immigrants on average are less skilled and educated than natives? As Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation noted, our immigration policies essentially “import poverty.” Consequently, we have increased wage and job competition for lower-income Americans, thus harming their economic prospects.
At the same time, companies are bringing in skilled foreign workers to take middle income jobs, even though many Americans are available to do them. The outcome for middle-income Americans has been the same as for lower-income citizens.
So what makes Biden so passionate for endless “significant flows” of immigration, aside from ignorance of our country’s economic realities (or perhaps just indifference)? One reason no doubt is that he, as a leader of the Democratic Party, sees mass immigration as a means of building a powerful bloc of impoverished and alienated voters who will support his party. This is the political game plan openly endorsed by prominent Democratic strategist Robert Creamer. Assisting this strategy through their shortsighted greed are some Republicans who promote immigration as a source of cheap labor.
Thus we have a bipartisan sellout of our country’s interests. The wealthy and well-connected of both parties can well afford to spin yarns about the economic benefits of mass immigration. The realities of unemployment and wage depression don’t harm them in the least.