Thread: Moron Ecomomist: Need for immigrants is touted

A graduate from Moron Economic University with a degree in EGOnomics thinks we are stupid and will believe any made up crap he doles out:

Need for immigrants is touted
W&M economist cites aging baby boomers, low birthrates and cost of Social Security

Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 12:08 AM
By JOHN REID BLACKWELL
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

The U.S. needs immigrants a lot more than today's political discourse might lead people to believe, an economist said yesterday.

"An aging native-born population needs migrants for economic reasons," said Eric R. Jensen, director of the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William and Mary. With baby boomers reaching retirement age, along with low U.S. birthrates, the nation needs immigrants to support the costs of Social Security and other services, he said.

"The U.S does not grow anymore because of native-born fertility," he said at a meeting of the Richmond Association for Business Economics.

Immigration rates "are not yet at the level that they were at the turn of the last century," said Jensen, referring to U.S. Census data showing that foreign-born residents were about 15 percent of the population in 1910, compared with about 13 percent today.

Jensen also questioned the perception that conditions in the poorest areas of Mexico and Central America drive only the most poorly educated immigrants to the United States.

"There is emerging evidence that they are of high ability" but have had less access to education and training, he said. "What we want to think about is not potentially exclusionary policies for immigration but policies that somehow make the most of what we have once we have people here."

Michel Zajur, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that while many immigrants from Mexico and Central America are less educated, they have other positive qualities. "A lot of the people that come here are risk-takers, and a lot of them are starting businesses."

Contact John Reid Blackwell at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com.

This is the dumbest thing I've read in a long time. And the worst part is it comes from someone from William & Mary.