“The reason that Americans are not getting a raise right now is because there are 20 million Americans unemployed”
–Heritage Foundation Economist, Stephen Moore.
First, let’s take a look at how much value the minimum wage has lost over the years. In 1964, the minimum wage was $1.25 per hour, at that time you could choose to take your hour’s pay in silver Quarters (1964 was the last year of silver coinage). As of this writing, coinflation.com place the melt-value of a 1964 Washington Quarter at $3.95. So the commensurate minimum wage today would be $19.75 per hour, or five silver Quarters. What the policy wonks are telling us is, that we cannot afford to bring your wages up to 51% of 1964 levels ($10.10) and we need to increase labor competition through increased immigration.
In January, Jennifer Moore, a former Hollywood labor attorney turned Washington Post blogger, vouches for Stephen Moore’s credentials as a fellow pro-Immigration Reform wonk. But what I really interesting today is a 1997 article co-written by, Moore, and former Cato Institute immigration propagandist, Stuart Anderson, “Cutting Immigration Myths Down to Size”.
The final myth: Immigration must be reduced because Americans say so in polls. When polled within the appropriate context, Americans favor immigration.
Bringing your attention to, “When polled within the appropriate context,…” is what these highly paid knuckleheads have been doing for the past seventeen years, designing poll questions that will not allow the majority of respondents to honestly answer due to an incomplete array of possible answers, and/or the question itself is not representative of the findings they will spin in the media.
Fortunately, NumbersUSA conducted a recent poll that was examined by the Washington Times, which allowed the 1000 likely voting respondents a complete access to a complete array of possible answers.
Americans want legal immigration cut in half: pollBy Stephen Dinan The Washington Times Friday, February 21, 2014
You won’t find a link to the NumbersUSA poll but it is published here: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/files/FEB2014_NationalPoll_0.pdf
NumbersUSA didn’t have to create questions “within the appropriate context,” straightforward questions and wide array of answers, I’ll leave you with a few findings.
- 59% want Legal Immigration reduced to 1/2 of current levels, 43% want Legal Immigration reduced to 1/10th of current levels. Only 11% are in favor of an immigration increase.
e* Currently the government allows one million legal immigrants each year. How many
legal immigrants should the government allow each year — two million, one million, a
half-million, 100,000, or zero?11% Two million
16% One million
16% Half a million
17% 100,000
26% Zero
14% Not sure
GROUPINGS
27% One million or more (keep same or increase)
59% Half-million or less (reduce by at least half)
43% Zero or 100,000
- On the question of controlling access to employment, social benefits and self deportation…
m* Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose proposals to encourage most illegal immigrants to go back home on their own by keeping them from getting jobs and public benefits here?
41% Strongly support
22% Somewhat support
14% Somewhat oppose
14% Strongly oppose
9% Not sureGROUPINGS:
63% Strongly or Somewhat SUPPORT
28% Strongly or Somewhat OPPOSE
- Dream Act
h* Concerning young adult illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — are
you very sympathetic, somewhat sympathetic, not very sympathetic or not at all
sympathetic to their request for lifetime work permits and legal status?28% Very sympathetic
35% Somewhat sympathetic
20% Not very sympathetic
14% Not at all sympathetic
3% Not sureGROUPING
63% Very or Somewhat Sympathetic
34% Not At All or Not Very Sympathetic
- Visa OverStay
i* Concerning adult foreign citizens who came here on vacation, as students or temporary
workers and then overstayed their visas — are you very sympathetic, somewhat
sympathetic, not very sympathetic or not at all sympathetic to their request for lifetime
work permits and legal status?6% Very sympathetic
21% Somewhat sympathetic
32% Not very sympathetic
38% Not at all sympathetic
3% Not sureGROUPING
27% Very or Somewhat Sympathetic
70% Not At All or Not Very Sympathetic
In closing, I suggest that the American voters insist that any adjustment for those who are out of status (illegal), decrement the count of future available (legal) visas on a one to one basis. Under a program where we sort out the mess first, before taking in new immigrants that will immediately need employment and housing. I contend we will get wages and spending up during a immigration moratorium and then re-examine job creation data to determine realistic legal immigration levels.
