"Importing poverty" (Robert Samuelson on Census report)

Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post supports an amnesty, but at least he's right about this:

The government last week released its annual statistical report on poverty and household income [PDF]. As usual, we -- meaning the public, the media and politicians -- missed a big part of the story. It is this: The stubborn persistence of poverty, at least as measured by the government, is increasingly a problem associated with immigration. As more poor Hispanics enter the country, poverty goes up. This is not complicated, but it is widely ignored.

...In 2006, there were 36.5 million people in poverty. That's the figure that translates into the 12.3 percent poverty rate. In 1990, the population was smaller, and there were 33.6 million people in poverty, a rate of 13.5 percent. The increase from 1990 to 2006 was 2.9 million people (36.5 million minus 33.6 million). Hispanics accounted for all of the gain.

...Only an act of willful denial can separate immigration and poverty.

[The government, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities didn't say anything about immigration at the press conference for the report]

...Among many analysts, journalists and politicians, it's politically or psychologically discomforting to discuss these issues candidly. Robert Greenstein, head of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says his group focuses on short-term trends, where immigration's role isn't so apparent. Conveniently, that avoids antagonizing some of the center's supporters.

Journalists are also leery of making the connection. Fifty-four reporters signed up for the center's briefing last week. With one exception (me), none asked about immigration's effect on poverty or incomes...

Immigration2007b · Wed, 09/05/2007 - 07:47 · · Importance: 1