Simple Immigration Economics: Bigger is Better
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of immigrants to the U.S. economy and challenges common misconceptions about their impact on wages and jobs.
(Originally aired 6/24/2025) One in five workers in the United States was born in another country. Without them, the country’s prime-age workforce would be shrinking, and thus so would our economy. So the calumny (Terms & Conditions) directed at immigrants is at odds with the basic fact that the U.S. needs them. What about depressing wages? Research finds such a mixed bag of results that the overall effect is about zero. Indeed, if the goal is to save “American jobs” or help American workers, there are a lot more effective ways to spend $185 billion than on a massive crackdown on immigration rules. Chapters : 00:02:34 Announcements 00:05:55 Retcon 00:10:43 Terms & Conditions 00:12:21 Big Pilcrow 00:43:07 Executive Orders 00:49:12 Spiritual Sponsors Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel . We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy . Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com
People in this episode
Hosts: Kathryn Anne Edwards, Robin Rauzi
Topics covered
- immigration
- economics
- workforce
- wages
- American jobs
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Optimist Economy
Places: United States
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