Wall Street Journal (June 2)
“As some 75 million baby boomers prepare to retire, immigrants will be crucial to keeping the federal pension program afloat.” Without immigration, the U.S. social security program faces an estimated 75-year social security shortfall of over $8.5 trillion (net present value). “Immigration won’t solve all of Social Security’s financial problems…. But immigrants unquestionably narrow the funding gap. More generous immigration is a wise step toward solving the entitlement crisis in Washington.”
Tags: Baby boomers, Entitlements, Immigrants, Pensions, Retirement, Social security, U.S.
New York Times (November 27)
With popular support, Alabama adopted a strict law to cut down on illegal immigrants, who constituted over 4% of Alabama’s work force. The results have been costly and support is waning. The price of intolerance is proving too high. “Farmers can tally the cost of crops left to rot as workers flee. Governments can calculate the loss of revenues when taxpayers flee. It’s harder to measure the price of a ruined business reputation or the value of investments lost or productivity lost.”
Tags: Farmers, Illegal workers, Immigrants, Law, Tax, U.S.
