Sample by My Essay Writer
Are Undocumented workers causing a strain or Benefit to the Economy
A country’s economic situation depends on several factors, all which determine whether performance will be good or bad. Employment is an important aspect of an economy and is affected by different factors. Immigration has a direct effect on the economic performance of countries, but it is unclear whether the inflow of immigrants hurt or benefits the economy. Different arguments have been placed on whether undocumented workers benefit or strain the American economy.
The Benefits of Undocumented Workers to an Economy
The high population of undocumented workers usually translates to lower expenses for Americans. This is the case because the undocumented workers usually take work that does not require high skills or qualifications. Some of the sectors that benefit from the cheap labor include the hotel industry, agricultural sector, and construction sector. The persons managing such operations usually consider the services of undocumented workers as ideal because they are cheaper and more reliable. In addition, very few citizens are willing to engage in such jobs, and that makes it the best option. [“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
The undocumented workers also contribute towards the economy by paying taxes. Studies show that the undocumented workers contribute up to $12 billion annually through transactions such as income tax, sales, and property purchases (Soergel). In many cases, the workers have been known to provide cheap labor for construction sites and farms, and the employers usually insist that they pay tax. Even though this is not always the case but the contribution still makes an impact on the United States economy.
Another benefit of undocumented workers to the economy is they stimulate growth of small businesses (Roth). Since the immigrants provide cheap labor, the citizens usually find it cheaper to startup businesses, as they will be guaranteed cheap and professional labor. The use of such labor will mean higher profits for the business owners, which also increases the tax generated to the government. It would also be significant to note that the increased labor would stimulate business expansion as well by large corporations such as Apple that has a factory in China due to the presence of cheap labor and favorable government policies. With this situation in America, Apple Corporation has been able to expand more branches within the country while still enjoying higher profit margins (Roth).
The presence of undocumented labor is highly complementary to the American system (Davidson). This is the case because large populations of the American citizens are skilled with educational backgrounds, unlike most undocumented workers. That means that there is rarely any competition among the undocumented workers and the native workers for any work, and even if there is, it occurs in very rare circumstances. That makes it an addition to the economy as it serves to increase revenue in addition to the reduction of unemployment in different sectors. It also aids in saving time when dealing with different sectors of an economy. For instance, the fact that most undocumented workers offer their services at lower rates means that employers can hire more employees for different tasks. For instance, in construction, the contractors find it convenient to rely on a bigger labor force that will reduce the amount of time taken for the entire project. When such projects are completed within a shorter period, the economy grows faster, and living standards are raised for all citizens.
The Strain of Undocumented Workers in an Economy
The presence of undocumented workers in an economy also poses more risk than good in different ways. Based on the description of these workers, they are undocumented, and that means the government is unable to impose on them taxes. The fact that they are not taxed but still benefit from social services provided by the government makes it harmful to an economy (Davidson). An example includes the undocumented workers at a construction site that are paid in wages without tax taking their children to school and hospitals. This way, they get to benefit from the government without actually making any financial contribution towards the economy. The long-term effect of this is that the government will be unable to incur the high costs of providing social services, and make changes that reduce the quality or even increase taxes on the existent documented workers. In addition, the children of these workers usually benefit from the investments made by the state to equip people with high-quality knowledge and skills. Afterwards, most of them leave and go back to their countries, a situation that affects the economy of the United States.[Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
The undocumented workers are known to rely on low-grade jobs that are equivalent to what the locals with diplomas would choose (Wallace). This means that their services might be complementary to the skilled workers within the United States, but they still compete with the low skilled locals for jobs. This fact might be overlooked on many instances because it only affects a section of the native employees. Therefore, many native employees are unable to find jobs because these undocumented workers are willing to take up the jobs for lower pay. This increases unemployment rates among the native employees, who would have made a meaningful contribution towards the economy.
Likewise, the presence of cheap labor from the undocumented workers is likely to lower the wages in the respective fields (Wallace). This is based on the aspect of demand and supply. When there is more labor, the employers can take advantage and lower the wage rates to make more profits. The laborers will have no choice but to take up the jobs because if they do not others would be willing to work for the specified lower rates. This cheap labor will also mean that people move away from embracing technology in work. Many companies have been investing in technology with the aim to make production cheaper and efficient, but the undocumented workers are also willing to offer people the same. The use of machines is associated with lower expenses and time saving, which is also common with the high presence of undocumented workers.
The fact that many undocumented workers are often immigrants means that they have obligations in their countries of origin. For instance, America has a larger percentage of immigrants from South America, and the involved persons usually send remittances back home. When this happens, the economy loses money as it has resources moving across the border to benefit another state at its expense. For instance, in 2010, remittances sent by undocumented workers in the United States accounted for 2.1% of the Mexican GDP (Smith). [Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
Conclusion
Based on these findings, it is evident to state that the undocumented workers bring more benefits to the US economy than harm. Even though they also pose their threats to the economy, it would create more harm if the contribution of the undocumented workers were to be eliminated from the economy. It would be recommendable that the US government invests more in the education sector to reduce competition for jobs with the undocumented workers. This way, it would be possible for the government to enjoy the benefits of undocumented workers while at the same time ensuring the native employees have jobs. An additional move would be for the government to ensure all these undocumented workers are taxed.
Works Cited
Davidson, Adam. “Do Illegal Immigrants Actually Hurt the U.S. Economy?” The New York
Times, 12 Feb 2013,
Smith, Yves. “Negative Effects of Immigration on the Economy.” Naked Capitalism, Angry
Bear, 21 Sep 2016,
Soergel, Andrew. “’Undocumented’ Immigrants Pay Billions in Taxes.” U.S News. 1 March
2016,
Wallace, Andrew. “Economic Impact.” The Immigration Debate. Team Global, 2013,
