Immigrants are US
May 3rd, 2010 | Bob Rosner
I’d like to raise a few topics that I don’t think got discussed nearly enough.
First, the economy has changed quite a bit over the decades.
Here is a question: What was the year that for the first time service workers and white collar workers outnumbered blue collar workers? 2001? 1990? OK, we’ll go out on a limb here — 1985?
Nope. The first time that blue collar workers were outnumbered in the economy was 1956 (from “Revolutionary Wealth” by Alvin and Heidi Toffler). I know that was a really long time ago, because that is the year I was born.
So much of the complaining about the loss of jobs to immigrants overlooks one important fact. the economy has changed dramatically.
With millions of illegal immigrants assumed to be working in the United States, you would think that there would be a huge backlash against them. Think again. According to the New York Times only a minority of Americans want tougher laws against illegal immigrants.
But we’ve all got to stop pining over the lost manufacturing jobs and deal with the economy that we have, not the one we wish we had. And immigrants play a huge role in keeping our current economy moving forward.
The second point: you’d be in the streets too.
If you think about it, this issue should be personal to everyone.
Sam, Lena, Joseph and Fay. Those names might not jump off the screen to you, but they have a lot of meaning for me. They’re my grandparents.
They were born in Hungry, Russia and Germany before they took that long trip to America. Each one has their own precarious story of their journey out of Europe. And it wasn’t necessarily a walk in the park once they got here. Each had to take his or her place at the bottom, mostly figuratively, but sometimes literally — living in the ghettos, working for the bare minimum and having to fight for their place at the table.
And they were all lucky enough during their lifetimes to achieve their little piece of the American dream — owning a home, becoming leaders of their community, being able to take a vacation. But to a person, all would probably say that the point when they’d realized they’d really made it was when their kids didn’t have to start at the bottom — and this group of elementary school dropouts saw their kids graduate college and even graduate school.
Now it’s your turn. How far back do you need to go to find people who fled their homelands to come to America? One generation, two, three?
Third, drawbridges don’t work.
In a land of immigrants, it’s remarkable to hear people screaming to pull the drawbridge up, now that they’ve landed in the “land of opportunity.” It’s remarkable that people want to kick out all illegal immigrants currently working in the country, or that so many complain about all the resources these immigrants are using.
I think it is important to remember something that my grandparents all knew by heart: “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! Cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” The poet Emma Lazarus wrote these words that we all associate with the Statue of Liberty.
I think that this is the classic case of people who live in a glass houses throwing stones. We are all the descendents of immigrants. Let’s all seek to honor our relatives by appreciating the latest batch of people who struggled to come here so that they could create a better life for their family.
Fourth, this debate isn’t going to end any time soon.
Given the turbulence of the economy, there will always be people who try to blame our problems on people who aren’t in a position to fight back. So get prepared to hear this debate over and over again in the coming years.
About the Author: Bob Rosner is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. For free job and work advice, check out the award-winning workplace911.com. Check the revised edition of his Wall Street Journal best seller, “The Boss’s Survival Guide.” If you have a question for Bob, contact him via bob@workplace911.com.
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Tags: Bob Rosner, immigration, Jobs, manufacturing
May 8th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Bob,
Like so many others, you misuse the term imigrant, the term you should be using is Illegal alien. My great grand parents did come here from some where else. They did not run accross a border,(a clear violation of Federal lae), have a baby, hide for years, and then claim that they should be legitimate US citizens. What your article conviently over looks is that these people feel they should be allowed to break US laws and gain the benefits that legally naturalize citizens deserve. You make light of what previous legal citizens have fought for. That is NOT to let illegals take what true US citizens deserve, the freedoms and benfits that have been achieved in this country. Their first act in our country was to violate the law. I’m sure by the tone of your article that you have no problem over looking that! I disagree with your article completely, kick them out now!
May 13th, 2010 at 1:56 am
Tracy,
It is asserted both as fact and as argument: the United States needs a constant flow of immigrants to perform jobs Americans will not stoop to do. See, immigrants or for your sake, “Illegal Aliens,” play a major role in our economy, whether you like it or not. Without them, our market would see a massive decline in revenue because they hold a powerful position at 4.7% of our economies’ consumers. Hence, if you completely erased that 4.7% of consumers, it would cause even more inflation then there already is in America. In fact, our economy might even collapse. But in your opinion, you say get rid of one the most important factors of our economy, just so you don’t feel exploited, however. Also, most of these “Illegal Aliens” don’t capitalize on the benefits that are available to US citizens, they may illegally enter their children into our education system, but is that such a crime? America, giving free education to children who come from low-income families? I think not. A more complete analysis must also consider these workers’ contributions beyond payroll and income taxes. Undocumented immigrants are consumers who contribute to both the economy’s overall growth with their purchases and to state and local sales taxes. Many undocumented immigrants also pay real estate taxes, either directly as homeowners or indirectly as renters. Those taxes are a prime source of funding for state and local governments. So, what you fail to comprehend is that our economy is the way it is, and if you decide to take a whole demographic of consumers out of the picture, you’ll see a rapid downturn in our economy which would ultimately lead to our demise as a free-country. Overall, Bob has a great points and is also deemed high in regard in my heart. Honestly, it’s just sad to hear what some heartless Americans have to say about other human beings like themselves.