Opposing Immigration might Strangle Social Security

By Richard Bergeon

When the Social Security System was established the average life expectancy was only 63 and there were about 40 workers supporting each retiree. If we were to use the same calculations used then to establish when eligibility should start today, SS would kick in at age 97. Today the worker to retiree ratio is only 3.2 workers and it is only getting worse. In about 10 years, if something doesn't change, there will be only 2 workers.

On June 9, AP reported (“Hispanics Now One-seventh of U.S. Population”, June 9, 2005) that the Census Bureau now estimates that Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic block with a 3.6% increase. Increases in Asian populations placed second, but only slightly less, with a 3.4% increase.

Immigration reform is a hot topic. Opponents claim the millions of new immigrants entering the U.S. take jobs away from legal residents and drain social services. As usual, these people are either ignorant or just choose to ignore the facts.

·  U nskilled service level jobs have increased. Most illegal immigrants take unskilled labor jobs that often go unfilled. It would be better to get them legalized so they pay into the system.

·  Elderly comprise only 13% of the population, but account for 60% of all social spending, and the number of retirees will grow from 40 million now to about 70 million in 2030. Most legal immigrants are skilled workers that are taking jobs vacated by retirees. These new employees earn less, keeping costs lower  and reducing the incentive to move jobs off-shore.

·  Immigrants tend to arrive when they are in their 20's and have more children. Thus immigrants are disproportionately young as opposed to old when compared with the current population. If legal, they are paying into the system and therefore entitled to its benefits and services. Even illegal immigrants pay taxes through rents, gasoline, sales taxes, etc.
·  Overall population growth for the U.S. was only 1%.- even factoring in the influx of illegal immigrants.

Reforms are not going far or fast enough to open the doors as wide as they are needed to sustain SS. According to the AP article referenced above immigrants play a vital role already in balancing our economy. The article quotes Goodman, dean of American University's School of International Service as saying, “Sometimes this is portrayed as a problem for the United States - that the ethnic composition of the country is changing and that new people are coming to take jobs. My view is just the opposite: increased fertility of young people makes the (social) structure one that is more sustaining of economic production and enables older people to be in a culture where their retirements can be financed.”

If the opposition is based on majority fears that they will lose their control of the U.S. it is time for them to face reality. The AP article quotes Audrey Singer, an immigration and census specialist at the Brookings Institution, “Looking toward the future, we see a different face of the U.S. population, but I don't think that's necessarily new. It's a confirmation that this [increase of people of non-white races] hasn't stopped or changed much.”

There will be no massive influx of White immigrants to balance the number of Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders that are growing rapidly. If it wasn't for the influx of immigrants the U.S. would already be in the same shape that Europe is in. European populations are graying even faster than ours is. This is endangering their productivity and their social security systems to a greater extent than ours.
The U.S. has always been a land of immigrants; perhaps God wants it to continue to be that way. The only difference between the U.S. of the 1900s and the U.S. of the 2000's is that it will soon be a tapestry made by people of different colors, but they will still have a common interest - achieving the American Dream!

© 2005 OCA-Greater Seattle

OCA - GREATER SEATTLE CHAPTER

EMBRACING THE HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS OF CHINESE AND ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES