lougoblawg

Much debate revolves around the impact of immigrants on the U.S. economy. Some argue that immigrants are a burden to public resources and the U.S. economy at large. But what are the hard facts behind this debate?

Stephen Moore, Senior Economics Writer at the Wall Street Journal and Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Ohio University, provide some hard numbers in a forthcoming Immigration Policy Center report. The report is based on data from the 2005 Census Bureau Reports and other sources. Quoting from the Immigration Policy Center, immigrant households and businesses paid close to “$300 billion in federal, state and local taxes.”
Further, “depending on skills and level of education, each immigrant pays, on average, between $20,000 and $80,000 more in taxes than he or she consumes in public benefits.” According to the report, this is attributed to the fact that immigrants come to the U.S. after they obtain education abroad and they benefit the Social Security system by entering the U.S. in their prime wage-earning years. See the report for more information.

Personally, I am a first-generation immigrant. Anyone who says immigrants are a burden to the U.S. economy has no clue. My tax bill this year alone speaks for itself! (Joking…..kind of). Most immigrants that come here are highly educated, disciplined and self-sufficient. They don’t mooch off the public benefits or strip equally qualified employees of jobs. Some of our youths should look to immigrants for an example of self-discipline, work ethic and core values. Our immigrants are what makes the American Dream a hard-earned reality.

But, this is my opinion, look for the report and judge for yourself! After all, it is a free country, and we are all entitled to our opinions, however ill-informed some of them may be.