Some financial experts dispute the White House argument a bill halving legal immigration will add to the economy — asserting growth depends on expanding the workforce, not shrinking it, Politico reported.
Politico notes economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), marks an increase in the quantity of goods and services produced by workers: the more workers, the more goods they can produce.
"For the past half century, the twin engines of rapid population growth [expanding the number of workers] and a brisk increase in labor productivity powered the expansion of gross domestic product," a 2015 McKinsey report declared. ". . . This demographic tailwind is weakening and even becoming a headwind in many countries."
Politico noted U.S. population is growing at its slowest pace since the Great Depression.
The White House has embraced the legislation, and senior adviser Stephen Miller on Wednesday cited the downward pressure immigration placed on wages for native-born Americans, as found in a study by Harvard economist George Borjas.
Politico reported, however, Borjas, who looked at the economic effect of the Mariel boat lift in 1980, found a "substantial" decrease in wages only for high school dropouts.
And Berkeley economist David Card found no wage effect from the boat lift, Politico noted.
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