6 ms·

we already have a large pool of migrant workers and it seems like there isn't enough. right now there is a lack of this 'underclass' labor for farms and other

we already have a large pool of migrant workers and it seems like there isn't enough. right now there is a lack of this 'underclass' labor for farms and other intense, low pay industries. they can't function with covid restrictions on that non-U.S. citizen migrant labor pool. So they aren't stealing jobs they doing jobs that otherwise go unfilled [1] your comment also just writes off an entire class of people and their contributions. America is built on the skill & labor of the 'underclass' and historically there has been movement up the economic ladder. This article and top comment points out that this economic improvement is currently lopsided against low income workers who are producing the net productivity gain for the owners/corps. Housing shortage doesn't have anything to do with immigration. But that's a separate and worthy policy change to discuss as well. There is a lot of research that shows current undocumented immigrants are a net benefit to the US purely economically speaking. Plenty of sources here [2]. I'm agreeing with parent comment in it would also solve our population growth & entitlement problems. another interesting point in this artificial distinction between skill and unskilled: there is a talk on HN of tech corporations exploiting the high skilled tech migrants which you seem to advocate for. using the really harsh immigration laws - for instance can't legally be unemployed or between jobs - to get lower than market price labor at the expense of US citizens on this board. Not as bad as holding passports but it is effective [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/business/economy/foreign-workers-shortage-hiring.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/business/economy/foreign-... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_immigrants_in_the_United_States#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20undocumented%20immigrants,benefit%20consumers%20by%20reducing%20the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_illegal_imm...

sokoloff 5y ago
> Housing shortage doesn't have anything to do with immigration. It does if immigrants want to live in housing. (And I say that as someone who is overall quite pro-immigration.)
- Nasrudith 5y ago
  Housing demand is highly location significant and immigration for the relevant jobs are in areas of the country where there is a demand shortage. So little in this context. Unless you are retired or a recepient of passive income chances are that if housing in an area is very cheap, you won't be able to afford it. That is the reason prices got so low is a lack of either income generation or demand from those well enough off (vacation homes do not need to be within commuting 'distance-factored-as-time').

sokoloff 5y ago

> Housing shortage doesn't have anything to do with immigration. It does if immigrants want to live in housing. (And I say that as someone who is overall quite pro-immigration.)

Nasrudith 5y ago
Housing demand is highly location significant and immigration for the relevant jobs are in areas of the country where there is a demand shortage. So little in this context. Unless you are retired or a recepient of passive income chances are that if housing in an area is very cheap, you won't be able to afford it. That is the reason prices got so low is a lack of either income generation or demand from those well enough off (vacation homes do not need to be within commuting 'distance-factored-as-time').