Cutting Immigration in Half Would Make Americans Wealthier
The bill to curb immigration supported by President Donald Trump would add to the wealth of Americans...
Immigrants are responsible for about half of the population growth in the U.S. This population growth contributes to the growth of the labor force and therefore to Gross Domestic Product. According to Joel Prakken of Macroeconomic Advisers, the reduction in the labor force from immigration curbs would “take two to three tenths of a percentage point off GDP growth every year over the next decade.”
As a result, economic growth is likely to be lower than it would be under current law...
But that larger GDP would be shared among U.S. population of 359.4 million, according to Census Bureau estimates, compared with 325 million today...
Using Prakken’s higher estimated drag of three-tenths of a percentage point, lower immigration would result in a GDP of $21.5 trillion in 2030. But if overall immigration were reduced to 600,000 per year, from the current 1.1 million, the 2030 population would be 350.2 million. GDP per person would be around $61,500...
Cutting immigration in half will grow GDP per person in the U.S.
What’s more, it’s likely that more of that additional wealth would accrue to the benefit of working class and poor Americans...