Immigrants now make up 17% of the U.S. labor force

Pigs oink - they do not "work" ...

 

Some people think that the US is the home of the free and the brave. Well, perhaps that is an outdated perception.

Economically (and this IS an economics forum) America is a participator in a huge World Economy where countries decide their own internal economic affairs. That World Economy needs to be as fair as humanly possible to generate world-trade. But, internal to the economy has at present human prejudice playing a very large part in both elections, laws and governmental decisions.

It would be nice - but likely will not be any time soon - that there be an rule for Economic Justice. That is, that markets and government spending as well as taxation be as fair, honest and impartial as is humanly possible.

Only then will we resolve "class issues" that divide country populations today and affect political-outcomes. Communisim has shown that "equal charing" of the gains in GDP simply will not work. For a variety of reasons, human nature has to be rewarded according to both needs and market-dispositions. Competition is the core to any market-economy - and thus its fairness is key to sharing the Income&Wealth it generates.

That is by far not the case in most Developed Economies to date and most certainly not the US ...

 

what you are trying to say is they don't care to do it as long as wages are very very low, thanks to illegal immigrants, and as long as there are welfare entitlements that largely free them from the need to work at all.

 

My dad's family emigrated from Germany in the late 1800's and I have no idea if or what type of immigration process they followed? They went straight to Minnesota and were farmers. From a family of 10 kids, my father was the only one to further migrate and live in Los Angeles where I was born. Am I an immigrant or a family member of immigrants? I assume tens of millions other immigrants followed similar paths. So what did WE do about it? We welcomed them, let them work, let them be members of society, let them be productive, let them pay taxes and let them fight and die for the nation. I ask; What is different today except for a moron president?

 

I will argue that the US could not have grown to where we are today, and cannot grow much in the future, without immigrants...immigrants from all parts of the world with all capabilities. If we are to believe that unemployment is 3.7%, we should know this number cannot go any lower because either some people don't wish to work, or are unsuitable for work, and much of this 3.7% is actually the flux of workers moving in and out of jobs...it's mostly noise. Therefore, unless we depend mostly on automation, without access to lots more labor, the US economy cannot grow much. From my own personal situation to nearly every business owner I know today, the primary business problem is labor. We can transfer all the costs associated with Trump playing golf all the time to immigration to be able to qualify and process immigrants in a humane and beneficial and timely fashion...

 

It's the "kind of labor" that matters.

Because Uncle Sam (and the EU) face the same dismal fact - that it has a high-percentage of unskilled labor. And that is going to hit different countries differently.

Here's a simple good-example of that fact:
*France has it's principle means of Foreign Trade from Tourism. It's a Very Nice Place to visit. (And the food is "great".)
*Germany derives most of its economic wealth from Industry that exports. Its car industry has learned to run factories in different lower-cost countries to reduce production costs. It's labor in Germany, however, is Highly Skilled.

That fact in France has pushed people out of Industrial production and off Unemployment Lines into flexible-employment. Meaning odd-jobs that are paid in cashed and therefore not declared for income-tax purposes. Both the US and France have the same retirement age (around 65) - but a much larger percentage of the French population (from 60/66 years of age) are "unemployed".

 

SO WHAT DID HILLARY PROPOSE?

What's happening? Fundamental economic disruptions are due to the Change of Ages - that is, we have exited the Industrial Age and we are entering the Information Age. Clearly, different skill-levels are a necessity to find decently paid work.

Meaning America must get its Post-secondary Schooling to attract more people into a higher educational-degree level.

And it can only do that if States and the Federal Government spend money to make a tertiary-level education as low-cost as humanly possible.

We really-'n-truly did a Great Disservice to our children by electing Donald Dork. Hillary had included in her platform free post-secondary education for the children of all families below the Gross Income of $125K. The details of her proposition were (from here):

See why Donald Dork obtained so much funding for his election? And that will happen again if we let it happen ... !

 

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Who is also the offspring of migrants who became immigrants. Like you. Like me.

What's the difference? His father made a BUNDLE of money in real-estate transactions, and he has benefited from that very good luck. He has proven nonetheless to know the profession very well having made some very good "deals" - and I must credit him for that.

A PotUS who avoided military duty was GIVEN at least 40/60 megabucks (my guess) by his father. Which allowed him to playboy the ladies and make yet another bundle of money in real-estate. The American Dream!

MY POINT

Evidently, 63 million voters who voted for Donald Dork thought he was "up-to-the-job". (He won the presidency due to an "eff-up" in Electoral College. The sixth in 200 years! Bad habit!)

He DID NOT bring about the present economic correction that put people back to work. That correction was self-initiated during the last two years of the Obama Administration!

Because the Replicants controlling the HofR REFUSED all Stimulus Spending to get out of a Great Recession as of the midterms of 2010 in order to stymie Obama's reelection in 2011. Thus incarcerating a very large part of the American population in a needless recession for over 5 years.

Note the history of the Employment-to-population Ratio here. Note also that the ratio got better as of Dec. 2013. Donald Dork took office in 2016 when already it had improved considerably under the Obama administration.

DD himself did absolutely nothing-whatsoever to restore the economy that reduced acute unemployment - except take the credit for the "turnaround". And who had created the factors that sprung the Great Recession?

Yet another Replicant called Bush-the-Son and his silly-war over in the Middle-east ...

 

Lower skilled labor should be a temporary issue since we're supposed to educate people. And lower skilled people are beneficial, and can be quite capable, when we connect them to technology and automation and solid training. The private and public sectors need workers of all levels...

 

From my perspective, I can deal with a moron president IF we have an effective Congress...but today we also have a moronic Congress. US government today is an 80% failure so any concept whatsoever about 'what's in the best interest of the USA' is taking a back seat to crude and biased politics, special interests, and personal gains. I often wonder 'what does Congress do all day'? And exacerbating my frustration is zero transparency from the Executive and Legislative branches. Immigrant are just pawns in this game...

 

We've had this debate before. (in another thread)
Other developed countries are able to have agriculture without relying on an immigrant workforce.
Some of these countries, like New Zealand, are even able to export their produce to other countries.

 

What about the Americans without skills and knowhow? They do exist.

You don't presume all Americans have college degrees or high level skills do you?
How about teens looking for a summer job? Or elderly people looking for some extra work and fresh air, because other employers are reluctant to hire them. (Elderly people are out in the fields doing harvest work in Japan) Maybe a homemaker who is suddenly thrust into the workforce for the first time in several decades. Maybe persons with mild mental disabilities, or even just certain unsuccessful life people really down on their luck.

There are still remote parts of the country far up North where teens work in the fields picking berries as a part-time job during the Summer.

 

No other country has the agricultural spread of the US. Russia's total farmland is a fraction of the US, and yet its total surface area is twice that of the US.

 

Any nation elects its representatives to Congress that are similar in nature to the electors. It's human.

Yes, we certainly need better representatives to Congress. And it would help if we had a two, three or four-party system. Our two party system prevents any real change of governance because both parties are wed to opposing political points-of-view.

This stifles political debate and thinking. Nothing changes because no one challenges the present. And the present is not nearly good enough. A 3% unemployment rate is encouraging but it in no way addresses the real necessities of the nation.

Time will tell. But more empty executive-heads like Donald Dork will not be sufficient to the great task that lies ahead ...

 

In other words; the US federal government is a broken system! How do we put Humpty-Trumpty back together again?

 

Kind of irrelevant. Most of that acreage is wheat, almost entirely harvested by machine.

 

Yes, which is an advantage of the US in terms of cost-of-production. Few other countries have such an advantage. (Maybe Argentina somewhat.)

After all, what nation is able to feed its people without "wheat"?

 

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What America exports is of such limited economic value compared to the overall economy that it doesn't really matter to most average people.

Well, except of course for those worried about reducing the trade deficit. But you're not one of those people.

Yes, there are vast acres of wheat out in remote spaces in the middle of the country, but the prices of that wheat are low, and the profit margins even lower.

 

True enough:

But every little bit helps - from here: EMPLOYMENT AND TRADE