Kendall on immigration

Found this online while looking for a paper by Todd Kendall, economist at Clemson. He writes into the Christian Science Monitor about something they'd reported on immigration and the taxes they pay. This is a good point I thought.

Regarding the March 19 article on the economic impact of illegal immigrant workers: Relying on figures from the Heritage Foundation, the article argues that low-skilled undocumented workers "cost the government much more than they pay in taxes."

That may be true, but it misses entirely the primary benefit from increased flows of low-skilled workers, which accrues to consumers, not the government. More low-skilled immigrants mean lower prices for consumers on goods produced with low-skilled labor.

Consumers then have more disposable income left over to spend on their children's schooling, their retirement savings, charitable donations, or whatever else makes them happy.