Thread: 'Cheap Labor' Costs Taxpayers Plenty

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'Cheap labor' costs taxpayers plenty

By RICHARD D. LAMM
Richard D. Lamm is a member of the Board of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He served three terms as governor of Co.

It is easy to see why illegal immigrants are attractive to employers. These are generally good, hard-working people who will quietly accept minimum wage (or less), who don't generally get health or other benefits, and if they complain, they can be easily fired.

For some employers it is an abused form of labor. Even minimum wage is attractive to workers from countries whose standard of living is a fraction of ours.

But it is not "cheap labor." It may be "cheap" to those who pay the wages, but for the rest of us it is clearly "subsidized" labor, as we taxpayers pick up the costs of education, health and other municipal costs imposed by this workforce. ...

For decades, illegal immigrants were single men who would come up from Mexico or Central America alone, pick crops or perform other low paid physical labor and then go home. But starting in the 1960s, these workers either brought their families or smuggled them into the country later. They become a permanent or semi-permanent population living in the shadows but imposing immense municipal costs.

Illegal immigration today isn't "cheap" labor, except to the employer. To the rest of us it is "subsidized labor," where a few get the benefit and the rest of us pay. These costs ought to be obvious to all, but the myth of "cheap labor" and "jobs Americans won't do" persists.

It is hard to get an exact profile of the people who live in the underground economy, but the average family of illegal immigrants has 2 to 4 school-age kids. It costs U.S. taxpayers more than $7,000 a child just to educate them in our public schools. No minimum-wage workers, or even low-wage workers, pay anywhere near enough in taxes to pay for even one child in school. ...

The dilemma is compounded by the fact that approximately 50% of illegal workers are paid in cash, off the books. Go to any construction site almost anywhere in America, and you will find workers paid cash wages. ...

The health care cost of this "cheap" workforce is also significant and subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. ... A few benefit, many pay.

Americans pay in more ways than taxes. Cheap labor drives down wages as low-income Americans are forced to compete against these admittedly hard-working people. Even employers who don't want to wink at false documents are forced to lower wages just to be competitive. In many ways it is a "race to the bottom," fueled by poor people often recruited from evermore-distant countries by middlemen who profit handsomely.

Professor George Borjas of Harvard estimates that American workers lose $190 billion annually in depressed wages caused by the constant flooding of the labor market from newcomers.

Let me suggest that correctly analyzed, the fight against illegal immigration is both a liberal and conservative cause. There is no moral or legal justification for this abused form of labor.


Originally published August 1, 2005

In New England, a lot of these brazillian/hispanic hair salons pay people their credit card sales in cash. I guess it is a way for the salon owners to not claim the labor because the employees are there illegally. I always thought that beauty licenses etc could not be forged but I am starting to wonder. Also, the nail salons, I find it funny that most of those vietnamese owned nail salon owners as well as employees can hardly speak english and still persist in using the electric drill on peoples nails(the natural nail which chips away layers of the nail) which I believe is not legal. As an esthetician, I have heard horror stories also regarding their methods of facials, waxing etc. Well, I of course go to american owned and operated hair and nail salons. However, I have heard stories about some of their practices. Many people go to those places because, "it's cheap". Well, cheaper is not always better. My opinion is you get what you pay for. I have been treated horribly in latin salons just for being chilean.

Sonali!

We've been worried about you!! It's great to know you are well. I have to run, but will carefully read these two posts asap.

yeah, have been away for a while. Was quite upset over CAFTA. However, I hear that since it has passed, that our government is wanting to now inforce the deportation of illegal mexicans-obviously because they can't compete with central american slave labor wages. I saw some lady on the news in Mexico crying about how on $8.00 a day(same wage the chileans live quite good on while investing in high return private accounts) saying that because of CAFTA, she could not buy fruit etc.(she was big and did not look hungry) and her family was having a difficult time surviving. GEE!!! I wonder if she and her family ever thought of that when they allowed themselves to be exploited by the government that they so blindly think loves them - and taking jobs from americans as well as causing our hospitals to go bankrupt etc. In a way, as much as I hate CAFTA, it is going to give many of the criminal illegal aliens of Mexico and their government exactly what they deserve. AFter all, look at how they have treated central americans who crossed their borders looking for work. How dare they!!! I do hate CAFTA and dispise the exploitation of central americans and what it will do to us, but how dare the illegal mexican immigrants who never cared about our feelings, laws, culture, etc, talk about their suffering due to CAFTA.