Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Illegal Aliens: A New Job Growth Strategy
Local politicians have been looking for the next new growth industry, ever since the decline of the steel industry, that will propel the Pittsburgh area into prosperity. They have focused on computer technologies and biomedical sciences as areas to focus their efforts and subsidies. While there have been some successes, economic growth in these sectors has been slow. But they have missed on a sure-fire job growth strategy: illegal aliens. Instead of throwing millions of dollars in subsidies at businesses that have shown little or no real job growth, why not shift the focus toward illegal aliens?
Immigration boosters have always looked favorably upon illegal aliens as people who will do jobs that Americans will not, such as agriculture, custodial, and other service sector jobs. But what they fail to mention is the myriad of spin off jobs that illegals create. For example, it has been well documented, by border states such as Arizona and New Mexico, that illegals increase the demand for health care at local hospitals. While those states bemoan the strain illegals put on health care resources, local officials can use this opportunity to increase the number of people on hospital payrolls.
Last month’s tragic accident on the PA Turnpike, that involved an illegal alien hired as a truck driver, has immigration opponents clamoring for tougher laws to prevent this sort of occurrence. If illegal aliens were to locate to the Pittsburgh area, communities can take the opportunity to hire more police to patrol the streets and investigate accidents.
Illegal aliens tend to move into areas with their families in tow, which often means more children. An influx of children will mean that more teachers will be needed for our public school system. As it is, for every one public school opening in Allegheny County, there are hundreds of applicants. As illegal aliens and their families move to the Pittsburgh area, many of these applicants can finally land jobs as public school teachers.
If area leaders would devote more time and energy into recruiting illegal aliens—who by some estimates number more than 10 million in the United States and growing daily—they could easily boost the region’s employment numbers. Of course the downside is that most of these jobs are public sector government jobs which are supported by tax dollars. It is unlikely that these illegals would pay enough in taxes, if any at all, to cover the increased costs to government entities.
Immigration boosters have always looked favorably upon illegal aliens as people who will do jobs that Americans will not, such as agriculture, custodial, and other service sector jobs. But what they fail to mention is the myriad of spin off jobs that illegals create. For example, it has been well documented, by border states such as Arizona and New Mexico, that illegals increase the demand for health care at local hospitals. While those states bemoan the strain illegals put on health care resources, local officials can use this opportunity to increase the number of people on hospital payrolls.
Last month’s tragic accident on the PA Turnpike, that involved an illegal alien hired as a truck driver, has immigration opponents clamoring for tougher laws to prevent this sort of occurrence. If illegal aliens were to locate to the Pittsburgh area, communities can take the opportunity to hire more police to patrol the streets and investigate accidents.
Illegal aliens tend to move into areas with their families in tow, which often means more children. An influx of children will mean that more teachers will be needed for our public school system. As it is, for every one public school opening in Allegheny County, there are hundreds of applicants. As illegal aliens and their families move to the Pittsburgh area, many of these applicants can finally land jobs as public school teachers.
If area leaders would devote more time and energy into recruiting illegal aliens—who by some estimates number more than 10 million in the United States and growing daily—they could easily boost the region’s employment numbers. Of course the downside is that most of these jobs are public sector government jobs which are supported by tax dollars. It is unlikely that these illegals would pay enough in taxes, if any at all, to cover the increased costs to government entities.
