Friday, March 7, 2008

We Need More Legal Citizens

According to a November 2007 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US will have 167 million jobs to fill in 2016.  Today we currently employ about 151 million people.  So where are these 16 million new employees to come from exactly?

The civilian labor force is only expected to grow by 0.8% while the overall participation rate in the labor force is expected to drop from 66.2% to 65.5% through 2016.  These numbers are being driven by retiring baby boomers and a reproductive rate that is basically flat.  Therefore the only way we can meet the future demands of the labor market and produce economic growth is to encourage immigration.

The real problem with immigration is not immigrants but rather the government programs that provide financial aide to immigrants.  Financial aide is a real cost to the tax payers and should be a concern for all of us.  Whether it is medical care, education, food stamps, welfare, or any of a host of programs, our citizens are not prepared to pay for these services.

We must eliminate the government programs that provide aide.  The incentive to come to the US should be to find good jobs, not receive government handouts.  Of course all of this immigration needs to be done legally.  We need to know who is coming into this country given the security of today's world.  Open borders are a threat to our safety and security.

As Americans we do not need to feel threatened by immigration.  There is really no choice but to embrace it.   What we need are fewer government programs that provide financial support and burden the tax payers.  Our great country must continue to attract legal immigrants who are tax-paying, law-abiding citizens and are contributors to society, not takers.  

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