I'd argue Obama's main effort on immigration would, in fact, have made the
inequality problem at the bottom worse. A "comprehensive" bill would almost
certainly have attracted new illegals, but the efforts to stop them at the
border might well have failed, as they failed after a similar 1986 bill. The
result of that failure has been a looser labor market at the bottom. Lower
unskilled wages. Even the emergence of favela-like shantytowns in California. You want
Brazil? Obama's 2009-2010 immigration plan would bring us Brazil. Obama was
putting coalition politics--pleasing Latino voters, and especially Latino
politicians--over economics, at least egalitarian economics.
Exposes the hollowness of the President's concerns about income inequality. Very thoughtful and well written. Mr. Kaus, by the way, is a Democrat.
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