'They' Are Not Taking 'Our' Jobs
By John Feffer
September 21, 2010
In an interview with Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) senior analyst Mark Engler, economist Giovanni Peri explains that supply-and-demand doesn't quite capture the reality. "If you have workers who do jobs that are not the same, and if they specialize in types of tasks that are complementary, this can increase wages and productivity for both," he argues. "An extreme example of this would be if you have an engineer and you add a construction worker. With the engineer by himself you're not going to do much. But with an engineer plus a construction worker, you can build a building. Therefore, the productivity of the engineer goes up a lot. And the wages for both workers increase."
When it comes to the contributions of immigrants, Peri goes on, "for the economy as a whole there is a positive effect on productivity, employment, and wages."
So, if you're upset about the unemployment rate, don't blame immigrants. For starters, blame the U.S. companies that are sitting on a record $837 billion in cash. "That's enough to pay 2.4 million people $70,000-a-year salaries for five years," writes Matt Krantz in USA Today. Blame the Obama administration for shelling out a million bucks per soldier in Afghanistan, which could go instead toward creating good jobs at home. Blame those in Congress who refuse to support further stimulus spending.
I'm definitely upset about the unemployment rate, so I'm planning to turn out for the One Nation Working Together mobilization here in Washington on October 2. It won't just be union activists hitting the streets. Also there will be organizations like the National Immigrant Solidarity Network and Immigration Equality. After all, those concerned about jobs and those concerned about immigrant rights are learning to work together. Even if the slogan has lost some luster in the Oval Office, the "yes we can" spirit lives on at the grassroots. Or, as my neighbor might say: We have met the new immigrants, and they are us.
Read the full article at:
http://www.fpif.org/articles/they_are_not_taking_our_jobs