The Need for Workforce Growth
The U.S. economy loses billions of dollars a year due to the sharp decline in refugee admissions, economist says https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-economy-loses-billions-of-dollars-a-year-due-to-the-sharp-decline-in-refugee-admissions-economists-says-11663698920#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20sharp%20reduction%20in%20U.S.,Florida%20Gov
Our government estimates that there are about 11 million undocumented persons currently living in our country. Many of these people have been living here for generations. Despite what many think, most of these people did not come across our borders illegally. Two of the most preferred methods are to enter on a tourist visa and to come across on a temporary work visa. The way our system works is that it is very difficult to track down persons who overstay their visas if they do not want to be found. To complicate the issue of the shortage of workers willing to work for low wages it is easy for these immigrants to gain employment. Many enterprises knowingly hire illegals and I do not blame them as there is a demand for lower-wage employment that cannot be satisfied through traditional methods. What would our workforce shortage be like if we did not have these workers?
U.S. economy loses billions of dollars a year due to the sharp decline in refugee admissions, economist says
Last Updated: Sept. 22, 2022 at 1:10 p.m. ETFirst Published: Sept. 20, 2022 at 2:35 p.m. ET BY Zoe Han
For each missing refugee, it costs the ongoing GDP $30,962 per year, according to an Oxford Review of Economic Policy paper
Although the past refugee exclusion policy carries complex implications, it has ‘permanent, ongoing, annual costs’ to the economy, according to new research.
The decline of refugees arriving in the U.S. costs the overall economy over $9.1 billion a year, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy.
“The sharp reduction in U.S. refugee admissions starting in 2017 costs the overall U.S. economy today over $9.1 billion per year,” the paper concluded. It also cost public coffers “at all levels of government” over $2 billion per year, it added.
“Beyond claiming a need for protection, refugees and asylum seekers are economic actors. All are consumers, most are (or become) workers and many are (or become) investors,” the author Michael Clemens, director of migration, displacement, and humanitarian policy at the Center for Global Development, wrote.
The paper studied the impact of the more restrictive refugee admission policies from 2017 to 2020. The exclusion policy has blocked approximately 73% of the refugees that would have arrived in 2018, Clemens estimated.
The drop in international migrants costs the economy $30,962 per missing refugee per year on average, and costs the government $6,844 per year per missing refugee, the study found.
The report comes at a time of heightened tensions around refugees and migrants. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, sent two flights of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas last week. A Texas sheriff opened an investigation on Monday into the legality of the flights.
The amount of admitted refugees to the U.S. fell to 30,000 in 2019 from 84,994 in 2016. This has adverse economic consequences for the country, economist Michael Clemens said.
Julio Henriquez, an attorney who met with several migrants, said they “had no idea of where they were going or where they were,” the Associated Press reported.
The amount of admitted refugees in the U.S. fell to 30,000 in 2019 from 84,994 in 2016, according to Migration Policy Institute data.
“In short, the implications of prior, recent refugee-exclusion policy in the United States are complex,” Clemens wrote on Twitter TWTR. “Many are non-economic, obviously. But they include a large, ongoing, permanent economic cost to the average American.”
The problem stems from two facts: 1. Our aging population 2. Our negative “internal” population growth rate. We need to either document the current illegal workforce or deport them. This will allow them to pay taxes. We need to streamline the legal immigration process and make it easier, quicker, and more affordable.