CRISES BY DESIGN: Illegal Immigration ‘Surge’ Will Put ‘Downward Pressure’ On Wages For Years, CBO Says.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the ongoing surge in immigration, both legal and illegal, will put “downward pressure” on inflation-adjusted wages through 2034, according to a recently released report.
The downward effect on real wages will continue until 2027, at which point it will “partially reverse,” with immigration still expected to cause average real wages to be lower in 2034 than they otherwise would be, according to CBO. CBO did predict some positive impacts of immigration, as well, such as increased GDP growth and an expanded labor force.
(RELATED: Blue State Doled Out Over $330 Million From COVID Funds To Illegal Immigrants)
The surge in new workers is expected to reduce the amount of available capital, resources like factories or machinery, per worker, as well as work in low paying areas of the economy, both of which will exert a downward pressure on wages, according to CBO. The impact of these variables will decline over time as CBO expects additional capital to be built and workers to gain more skills.
Flashback: Jared Bernstein, member of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors: “One thing we learned in the 1990s was that a surefire way to reconnect the fortunes of working people at all skill levels, immigrant and native-born alike, to the growing economy is to let the job market tighten up. A tight job market pressures employers to boost wage offers to get and keep the workers they need. One equally surefire way to sort-circuit this useful dynamic is to turn on the immigrant spigot every time some group’s wages go up.”