Today's Senate vote on immigration could be non-event

immigrant.jpgHouse Republicans have made it clear that they do not intend to consider the Senate bill - that whatever action they take, if any, will be their own. That could be a problem, considering their proposals are far less sweeping than what's contained in the Senate package. This is more a story about politics than economics - most studies conclude that immigration reform would help lower the deficit and grow the economy (albeit modestly). In L.A., the value of recently arrived immigrants is well established, as I bring up in this week's Business Update on KPCC:

Mark Lacter: The Congressional Budget Office says that immigration reform will reduce the federal deficit by $175 billion over the next 10 years - that's from additional tax revenue and that's enough to offset additional spending for things like tax credits and Medicaid. Frankly, the question is less about economic benefits for the nation than it is about benefits for undocumented workers. You know, 20 or 30 years ago an immigrant with limited educational skills could come into this country, this area, and still have opportunities to move up the economic ladder, to buy a home, to send his kids to college.


Steve Julian: Sure, L.A. had lots of higher-paying manufacturing and construction jobs that formed the basis of a middle class workforce.

Lacter: Well, many of those jobs no longer exist. The recession was a killer in that regard, but it was happening even before the downturn. So, what you have are lots of recent arrivals who remain stuck with low-wage jobs and modest educations (you should know that almost half of all undocumented immigrants have either no school at all or less than a high school education).

Julian: Does that explain why the numbers of people entering this country actually have been slowing?

Lacter: That's part of it. Now, if you're looking for legislation that would be worthwhile for the economy, there's the Dream Act, which would give legal status to immigrants who were brought into this country before they turned 16. These are people who are in the sweet spot of their career development, but House Republicans are so opposed that they recently blocked efforts by the Obama administration to keep these people in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Again, these are not economic issues - they're political, cultural, and social issues. But, if you're the owner or potential employee of a business, it doesn't much matter - it's still hitting you hard.



More by Mark Lacter:
American-US Air settlement with DOJ includes small tweak at LAX
Socal housing market going nowhere fast
Amazon keeps pushing for faster L.A. delivery
Another rugged quarter for Tribune Co. papers
How does Stanford compete with the big boys?
Those awful infographics that promise to explain and only distort
Best to low-ball today's employment report
Further fallout from airport shootings
Crazy opening for Twitter*
Should Twitter be valued at $18 billion?
Recent Business Update on KPCC stories:
Naysaying emerges in wake of LAX shootings*
Holiday shopping: On your marks, get set... spend!
What to do with all that bad chicken?
Why it's hard to gauge progress of health care programs
Why L.A. isn't being hit too hard by shutdown - for now

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Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
 
Mark Lacter, business writer and editor was 59
The multi-talented Mark Lacter
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