This kind of division within the party is never a good thing. Unfortunately, `party regulars' have demonstrated during the past week that they are quite clueless as to how it might be possible to get these factions on the same side. Although both sides are guilty of missing opportunities to resolve their differences, I put slightly more blame on the Pro-Immigrant Democrats for not allowing themselves to fully appreciate the concerns of Labor Democrats.
Who can really blame Labor Democrats for not wanting to see the bargaining position of America's working poor deteriorate even more than it has during the past couple of decades? It's not difficult to see the root of their concerns. In a Market Economy, workers will only see real gains in their wages if the demand for labor becomes greater than the supply. Given this reality, Labor Democrats are rightfully concerned about immigration because it brings more job-seekers into an economy where real wages have been in decline for quite a while.
Instead of addressing this fundamental concern, Pro-Immigrant Democrats have typically fallen back on sympathy arguments and on borrowing the "it's not so bad" arguments that have been generated by Republican Corporate Interests to downplay the consequences of immigration on the domestic labor market. Not surprisingly, it's an approach that hasn't won over too many Labor Democrats. If PID's want to gain the support of LD's to their cause, then they are going to have to support measures that would completely eliminate the concerns that LD's have about low wages. Do that one thing and they will find Labor Democrats eager to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in opposing harsh restrictions on immigration.
Instead of being viewed as a threat by LD's, PID's could easily transform themselves into The Best Friends of Labor. All they need to do is start putting the blame for Labor's predicament where it truly belongs. The problem is not too much supply in the labor market, it's too little demand. Unemployed people should be seen as an opportunity, not a problem. They provide society with an opportunity to produce more real wealth---Public Wealth---that would improve the quality-of-life of ALL Americans.
It's an opportunity that is exploited whenever the Government increases the amount of money that it spends on infrastructure---highways, sewers, education, etc. Increased government spending on these Public Wealth Initiatives immediately translates into job creation. You see, all jobs are ultimately dependent on the spending of others (of consumers, firms, governments). Any time there is any level of unemployment, it is because insufficient spending is taking place. This is a problem that Congress can correct at any time by simply choosing to spend more on Public Wealth creation.
Of course, in order for Congress to spend more money, it needs to obtain it from some place. Are there any citizens in our country who could afford to be taxed more in order to increase the nation's production of Public Wealth? As a matter of fact, there are. You don't want to tax those who are already spending all of their income; if you did, the total amount of spending would just end up being the same. Government spending would increase but consumer spending would drop by the same amount. There would be no net increase in spending or jobs.
If, however, the government were to tax the wealthiest of savers, then we would experience a real drop in unemployment, and a real gain in Wealth Production. When the government taxes savings, it takes money that was removed from the economy (not spent or received by anyone) and puts it back into the economy by spending it. The net increase in aggregate spending creates jobs. If Congress increases spending enough through this method, it will be able to eliminate unemployment and bring about an End To Poverty As We Know It.
This is the kind of economic agenda that Pro-Immigrant Democrats could embrace and promote that would virtually guarantee an end to the rift that currently exists between the them and LD's. Their position should be: "Put the blame for America's declining real wages where it belongs. It's not the supply of labor that is the problem; it's the insufficient demand for labor that has been hurting both America's poor and the poor of all other countries.
Pro-Immigrant Democrats need to tell America: "Look, forget about immigration. That's not the problem. The problem is not having a party in control of Congress that will act to eliminate the problem of unemployment in America. If Congress were to commit itself to creating and sustaining a chronic Labor Shortage in America, it wouldn't matter how many immigrants cross the border, we'd still see improving real wages because the demand for labor across America would still be greater than the supply."
Ultimately, this is an economic agenda that could be exported to other countries. The reason why Mexico has a big problem with unemployment is because its political leaders have not been willing to tax the savings of Mexico's richest citizens. If they did that and spent the money on a vast improvement of Mexico's infrastructure, then Mexico would leap into a better economic future. With full-employment in Mexico, you'd find very few native Mexicans wanting to cross the border into America.
Once we've fixed our own unemployment problem in America, we could begin to put pressure on countries like Mexico to eliminate their own unemployment problems just like we have. The result? The immigration issue completely disappears from the American political scene.
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