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Written by Simon
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Saturday, 25 July 2009 |
In response to the review we wrote of Aviv Chomsky’s book They Take Our Jobs we received from a reader named "Chaos" a list of what he claims are myths from the pro-immigrant side of the argument. Although we don't agree with each of these myths we have addressed the key part of each of them in green below. In the original the myths are followed by “chaos’s" rebuttal. To improve readability I have put that rebuttal in a link behind each myth.
Chaos writes: Advocates for allowing more aliens to immigrate illegally and legally to the USA have a battery of myths, bad arguments and outright lies -- in a word propaganda -- that they use to further their cause.
Myth #1) Aliens do jobs that Americans won't, therefore there is no harm to Americans.
Radical Immigration: The world economy is very complex. When people move around they do take each other’s jobs. Why is this a problem when people come from Mexico and take jobs in California but not when people come from Ohio and take jobs in Florida?
In classical economic theory and in the reality that we all observe every day wages are lower where there is a labor surplus. But labor supply is not a static situation. When wages rise, in order to compete, an employer can move production, automate or even totally redesign the product. Restricting the flow of goods, capital and labor have long-term bad consequences and yet they remain politically popular. At Radical Immigration we listen to the economic arguments and then we make the case that responsible people should be able to live where they choose. The economics will work themselves out.
The economic arguments for and against immigration are not conclusive the moral arguments clearly favors allowing responsible people to live where they choose.
Myth #2) Illegal workers are good for the US economy.
Radical Immigration: This is another economic argument. A growing store with more customers is a positive thing. A growing country with more citizens is also a good thing. If resources that are now used to keep people out were used to teach people how to be good citizens, including how to speak English, we would be growing our country.
One economic argument in favor of more immigration is that many labor intensive industries like garments will continue to move to China if there is not a supply of immigrant labor to keep them competitive.
Myth #3)
All aliens work hard in the USA therefore they deserve citizenship via amnesty.
Radical Immigration: When times were good we, with a wink and a nod, allowed 10 to 15 million undocumented people to enter the USA and intertwine in the fabric of the country. Trying to undo this fact will cause more problems than it will solve. Yes if we have an amnesty some “undeserving” people will be allowed to become citizens. On the other hand if we don’t have an amnesty many more deserving people will be made to suffer at the margins of our society. The vast majority of these “Illegals” are our next door neighbors we have to let them stay and we have to work with Mexico to improve the neighborhood.
Myth #4) US workers are just too lazy to take hard jobs.
Radical Immigration: Jobs aren’t just about money. They are also about status. Many good paying jobs go unfilled, plumbers and nurses come to mind, because they are low status. At the same there is a surplus of graduates in high status fields like communications and sports management. Why not let the labor market work it out?
Myth #5) Americans do not even apply for jobs that aliens take.
Radical Immigration: “Exploitable workers” is a big problem. The solution is to increase the number of legal workers, have a real national ID card that must be presented at the time of employment and to allow more labor mobility. Then workers could leave bad jobs and go to ones that pay more. We have to compete in the world economy and the best way to make that happen is to allow workers to compete for jobs.
Myth #6) Illegal immigrants work hard and therefore deserve free health care and their children deserve free education and citizenship (upon birth).
Radical Immigration: This is the burden argument. But it is not true. A growing population makes a country healthier. Immigrants are the best way to keep our country growing.
Myth #7) Illegal aliens are an unseen benefit: working only in the shadows.
Radical Immigration: By saying that moving to a new place is “illegal” we cause the new immigrants to live in urban ghettos for safety. We cause the problem that you then blame the immigrants for.
Myth #8) If you send the aliens away then the tourism and agriculture industries will collapse.
Radical Immigration: Exploiting workers is wrong. The best way to decrease exploitation of workers will be to allow reasonable levels of immigration by eliminating the immoral “illegal” status. If the undocumented workers who now work in a tourism and agriculture are sent away the industries will change dramatically but not collapse.
Myth #9) I support the free movement of labor across borders. I would like to work in another country without being limited.
Radical Immigration: We support the idea of free movement of people. We believe that if people can leave bad governments there will be competition and that all governments will over time have to treat people better or vanish. Think about North Korea if South Korea would take in all refugees from the North in a few years the only people left in North Korea would be Kim Il Jong and the General in the bad uniform. We also believe that the rights of the settled people in the destination countries have to be respected. We have proposed a One Percent Solution that would get the world on the path to more human rights and better governance without “massive chaos and suffering.”
Myth #10) Illegal aliens are just coming here to work and want to go home afterwards.
Radical Immigration: We are a settler nation. We are mostly people who came from many places to form a nation. We are not a tribe that grew into a nation like Germany or Thailand. People are willing to leave their homes and walk through the desert to be part of our country. It seems that we should be welcoming them to there new homes and helping them become productive members of our growing society.
Myth #11) The English and Irish came here illegally so send them home to Europe.
Radical Immigration: This argument is made by opponents of today’s restrictive immigration laws to point out the irony of the current situation. People who are the descendents of immigrants pass laws to keep out the next wave of immigrants.
Myth #12) You are cruel! You would deport parents and separate them from their American-born children!
Radical Immigration: Our immigration laws are not “very reasonable.” We have the space and the resources to welcome many more immigrants. We also have a great need for many more workers to support all of the baby boomers who are going to retie in the next twenty years.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 25 July 2009 )
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