By Jeremy Beck
Worker power, loose borders: pick one (hat tip, Oren Cass) WORKER POWER LOOSE BORDERS Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (on Substack): “Here’s the truth: There is no labor shortage. There is, however, a shortage of jobs paying sufficient wages to attract workers to fill job openings.” Current U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh (in Davos): “One … Continued
By Lisa Irving
Earlier this month, Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh declared that the November Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report (which showed that the U.S. added 263,000 jobs with unemployment at 3.7 percent) was good news for working families.” However, as media analyses outline, November jobs and unemployment data show in many ways how the economic … Continued
By Andrew Good
We are constantly bombarded by (elite-money-backed) economic messaging pimping demands for “more innovation,” “more growth,” and “more productivity” in neatly-packaged pleas for more immigration (e.g. Marketwatch, Cato, Brookings, CFR, Forbes). In fact, there seems to be an ongoing campaign of “more immigration!” op-eds. So what’s Congress doing during their “lame duck” session while the rest … Continued
By Jeremy Beck
“Are you earning too much money?” Briahna Joy Gray asks on a recent episode of Rising. Real wages have been stagnant since the 1970s, but Gray notes (as we have) that the conventional wisdom among the policy elite is that “the real problem here is that workers aren’t working enough and that wages … Continued
By Lisa Irving
Wages Are Still Not to Blame for Inflation Earlier this year, I wrote a blog based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics February reports explaining how stagnant wages were not causing inflation, as some Democratic leaders were alleging in order to promote their immigration-increasing policies. BLS September reports further show how inflation is outpacing wages. … Continued
By Jeremy Beck
During the loose-labor period after the Civil War, European immigrants banded together in unions to stifle competition from Freedmen. But during the tight-labor market of the mid-20th century, unions played an important role in securing the success of the Great Wave and the Great Leveling. Federal immigration policy was an important factor during both periods … Continued
By Lisa Irving
Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked if she discouraged Democratic members of Congress from expressing concern over the historic crisis at the border. Pelosi answered by bringing up a presumed “shortage of workers in our country,” and, as an example, said Florida agriculture needs illegal workers to “pick the crops.” Pelosi’s comments were … Continued
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal of U.S. tech workers desperate for a fighting chance for a job today in the latest chapter of a 14-year lawsuit. The workers challenged the power of the Federal government to allow foreign students in the United States to work, while being exempt from Social Security … Continued
By Jeremy Beck
An employer may argue – and many do – that his or her business would be better off by bringing a foreign worker into the country rather than hiring an American with little work history and few signs of a good work ethic. The foreign worker, the employer argues, will be more productive and reliable. … Continued
