Domestic Policy

Illegal Immigrants Form Underground Economy

December 12, 2005 ⋅  E-Mail Article ⋅  Print Article ⋅ Post a comment

Many vehemently oppose the Bush plan to give illegal immigrants a unique worker I.D. card that would allow us to moderately tax them for their work, and also document there whereabouts. However, the underground economy is becoming so large it is starting to affect the very fabric of our working society, something must be done.

The illegal immigrant workforce has become a devastating force threatening to derail our economy. What can realistically be done?

Many consider what Bush is proposing nothing short of a sell out, the opposition to the Bush immigrant worker program feel our President is selling us out to cheap labor, thus hurting hard working, tax paying, American citizens.

To keep a proper perspective on the situation we must remember that a large portion of manual labor is now being performed by illegal immigrant workers who pay nothing into the social security system of America, these individuals also supply no tax revenue for any domestic federal programs. Thus American tax funded programs are beginning to feel a budget crunch throughout the country. What can be done?

This situation rips at the social fabric of our country. The situation has created a competition amongst businesses to see who can get the lowest living wage workers available. The businesses who play by the rules are penalized, they pay a higher wage to legal workers while also suffering the tax burden put on them by the government, not to mention any providence of health benefits. The illegal immigrant economy has become a predatory system that feeds on itself. The lowering of the living standard goes lower and lower, it becomes a race to see who can hit bottom the fastest.

According to A.P. writer Angie Wagner, “Illegal immigrants hold about 12 million to 15 million jobs in the U.S., or about 8 percent, … That may seem a small percentage, but the pressure of its presence helps keep wages for unskilled jobs low. And many of the jobs are off the books, meaning the government may be forgoing $35 billion a year in income tax collections…An analysis by Barron’s estimated the size of the shadow economy at $970 billion, or nearly 9 percent of the goods and services produced by the real economy.
The service sector employs the most illegal immigrants with 33 percent, followed by the construction industry, production and food processing and farming, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.” (Wagner, 2005)

So do we give in and accept the Bush program or do we demand that our elected officials in congress help enforce stricter immigration laws while also reinforcing our border crossings? Either way a decision needs to be made soon, otherwise our economy will become so erratic it could potentially destabilize the American modern market place as we know it.

Underground Economy

Related Posts