Immigration Is Practically a Free Lunch for America

Tax cuts are well and good, but the surest way to spur economic growth is to let in more people

By Neel Kashkari. Excerpts:

"Long-term economic growth comes from two sources: productivity growth and population growth. Productivity growth means the same number of workers are able to produce more goods and services. Increased productivity comes from better education (equipping workers with better skills) and technology development (giving workers more sophisticated tools). Productivity growth has been very low during this recovery, averaging only 1.1% per year, down from 2.1% from 1960 to 2000."

"Immigration has boosted U.S. economic growth throughout history and can continue to do so if the country remains committed to openness and opportunity. Some immigration opponents fear immigrants will compete with native-born Americans for jobs, but the bulk of economic research shows immigration has led to faster overall growth and a higher per capita standard of living."

"Immigrant inflows to the U.S. are relatively low by postwar standards. If Congress and the administration can deliver reforms that boost legal immigration by one million people a year and tailor the policy to prioritize workers who meet the needs of our economy, the Minneapolis Fed estimates growth would increase by at least 0.5 percentage point a year under the most conservative assumptions, with no corresponding increase in the deficit. This would close almost half of the growth gap between our postrecession recovery and the late-20th-century norm. And if some of those immigrants or their children turned out to be the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, we might solve our productivity woes, too."