Tag Archives: immigration

America’s Competitive Advantage: How Economists View Immigration

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For three years I worked at Tacoma Refugee Choir, a choir composed of refugees, immigrants, and community members, who write and perform original songs. While the choir generated primarily positive feedback and comments, there were moments when the choir experienced xenophobia rooted in fear and misconceptions surrounding immigration. Since many of these misconceptions surround immigrants’ effect on the economy, I felt it was important to view immigration through the lens of an economic student. Immigration is a long-debated topic in American society that divides and polarizes conversation. Common misconceptions surrounding immigration have caused many Americans to support building a wall Continue reading America’s Competitive Advantage: How Economists View Immigration→

US Immigration: “The Best and Brightest to the Front, Please”

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Immigration is one of the most talked about political topics in the US and seems to dominate every speech around election time. Political figures have tried to find the “perfect” immigration system (the newest one being a $15 billion wall). But what do economists think about this issue? NPR’s Planet Money asked three different economists for their ideal immigration system for America’s borders. One of these economists came up with a plan titled, “the best and brightest.” The first plan was given by Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. His “dream system” for American Continue reading US Immigration: “The Best and Brightest to the Front, Please”→

Seasonal workers and the ever-sensitive immigration debate

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A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discusses the recently released seasonal worker visa program, or the H-2B.  While the purpose of the program is to enable seasonal staff to do jobs that American citizens typically don’t want, there has been significant backlash. Immigration is an extremely sensitive and controversial issue across the nation.  So really any program dealing with migrant workers, even if their visas are temporary, is bound to get attention (and some backlash). The WSJ article points out that new H-2B applies primarily to certain industries (landscaping, forestry, amusement, tourism and construction), and clarifies that many Continue reading Seasonal workers and the ever-sensitive immigration debate→