New Report Warns the Sky Will Fall and Social Security Will Collapse if We Reduce Immigration



Okay, maybe the sky falling is a bit of an exaggeration. But a new report from the Urban Institute’s Damir Cosic and Richard Johnson does predict doom if we move to the leaner, more skills-based immigration system proposed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue’s (R-Ga.) RAISE Act.

Here’s what they say will happen if the RAISE Act were to become law:

  • The Social Security Administration’s unfunded obligations would increase by $1.5 trillion over the next 75 years.
  • The fund would go into the red sooner (in 2033, instead of 2034).
  • The U.S. labor force would shrink by 2 million workers in 2030, 6 million in 2050, and 8 million in 2070. Fewer workers = fewer people paying into the trust fund.

The first thing to know about economic projections 75 years into the future is that they are as reliable as projections about who will win the World Series in 2093 (although the Cubs will be about due to win another one by then). The world in 2093 will be as unrecognizable to us as 2018 was to people who were making important political and economic decisions in 1943.

Cosic and Johnson’s projections for 2030 is a more realistic time frame. They forecast that our labor force will be 2 million workers smaller than it otherwise might be if we left the current immigration system in place. Assuming that their projections are accurate, it still leaves out other important economic trends. Many economic forecasts predict that we will need many fewer workers, as automation, E-commerce, and globalization eliminate many jobs. A report by Forrester Research last year, predicts that the United States will see a net loss of 10 million jobs by 2027.

Moreover, as Cosic and Johnson concede in their doomsday forecast, the workers who would enter the country under the RAISE Act would likely be more skilled and better prepared to fill the jobs that remain and those that are created. Higher skilled workers tend to earn higher wages and pay more into the system over their careers, thus offsetting some of the loss in revenues that would come with fewer workers.

Finally, the Urban Institute report avoids the point that the Social Security system is an unsustainable Ponzi scheme that needs to be reckoned with. Fewer workers will mean fewer people paying into the system. But it also means there will be fewer people collecting benefits in the future. Conversely, the more immigrants we import to extend the solvency of the trust fund from 2033 to 2034 will mean more people who will expect to collect benefits in 2050.

Reckoning with the structural problems of the Social Security system is a valid concern for policymakers and everyone else. But perpetuating a dysfunctional immigration policy is not the solution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a07e0h2xfFg

About Author

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Ira joined the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 1986 with experience as a journalist, professor of journalism, special assistant to Gov. Richard Lamm (Colorado), and press secretary of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. His columns have appeared in National Review, LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and more. He is an experienced TV and radio commentator.

3 Comments

  1. avatar

    Well if the population is 330M……illegals 5% or so and a fraction on the books…I think if it fails…..it fails because we did it

  2. avatar

    If labor is the problem, you can always adjust the quota as needed. Stop illegals from drawing my children.s tax money. We do not need more law breakers that drive up the government cost in every aspect from local to federal programs.And yes California is virtually becoming a sh** hole.

  3. avatar

    It’s the typical game of claiming that some small tax contributions somehow outweigh all the other very large costs of immigration. If immigration of low skilled low income workers were some gigantic economic plus, then California would be the shining example of that theory since it has the largest number of immigrants, both by absolute numbers and percentage wise. Instead the state raises taxes every year and has massive unfunded retirement programs. Few movies are made there now because it’s too expensive.

    That’s beside the fact that California is a dump. It’s on the verge of running out of water and the only option will be expensive desalinization plants. The freeways are parking lots morning to night. Every large city has huge homeless populations, 60,000 in LA alone. San Francisco streets are covered in used needles and human waste. This is what the Democratic party wants to do to the whole country. And you’re a racist if you object.

    And anyone saying that automation is not going to reduce jobs is simply in denial or lying. Retail stores are going down the drain because of online shopping. Cashiers are being replaced at hardware stores, fast food restaurants and innumerable other jobs. Even things like engineering are being outsourced.