[sfnhltb]

Except for every immigrant that comes in taking a job, they also come with an indivisible consumer unit that makes other people jobs. Strangely almost always in an average $1:1 ratio.

This probably explains things like why the population of the US roughly trebled over the last 100 years and yet unemployment didn't rise to 66%+ of the working population during that time.

[codexon]

I don't understand this.

There is no proof that immigrants spend nearly all the money they earn. In fact, I would argue that they are frequently more frugal so the money is locked away from the economy.

And I would also not attribute immigrants as the main factor to why unemployment did not rise to 66%. The main reasons that the number of jobs grew rapidly can be attributed to the auto and computer industry.

[yummyfajitas]

Don't forget about remittance. Lots of immigrants send a chunk of their income back home. Think of the ads, Can I send money to {[India, Mexico, ...]|random} and get free cell phone minutes?

Incidentally, the point is not that immigration prevented unemployment from rising to 66%, but simply that the number of jobs tends to be proportional to the size of the population. New people == new jobs.

[codexon]

"Don't forget about remittance."

Remittance doesn't help the US dollar. It hurts the US dollar. As foreign exchange banks need to make a profit, for every USD -> Rupee exchange, they are giving you less rupees for your dollar. Its just like buying gold. If a bunch of people start buying gold, the price will skyrocket against the currency you are buying it with.

" but simply that the number of jobs tends to be proportional to the size of the population. New people == new jobs."

Sorry but I don't believe that. More people does not necessarily equate more jobs. If you have a city that has food and water for 500 people, you are bound by that restriction. Adding another 500 people to it would not increase any jobs.

[wynand]

>> I would argue that they are frequently more frugal so the money is locked away from the economy.

The money is typically locked away in the country where they're residing. That money can work as investment money.

You're also forgetting about the taxes they pay.

[codexon]

> The money is typically locked away in the country where they're residing. That money can work as investment money.

Investment money isn't as good as money spent for goods. There is limited demand for loans and stocks without a corresponding rise in productivity.

Try making an economy where people don't spend anything and simply save. Or you can save yourself the trouble and see how well that worked out for Japan in the 90's.

> You're also forgetting about the taxes they pay.

Many illegal immigrants don't pay taxes. Immigrants as a whole are paid less (very few are unique geniuses that are paid more), which means that they are actually netting less tax money than if a native was hired. They are also on a lower tax bracket so that is a double whammy.

I really don't see how anyone could be arguing otherwise unless they were trying to exploit H-1B labor themselves.

[lupin_sansei]

Exactly. It's because immigrants spend close to 100% of their money in the US, and any they send overseas either gets converted to a local currency (which brings the dollars back to the US since you can't usually spend them overseas), and the few countries that do use US dollars contribute to reversing inflation ;)