New York Times' immigration editorial is so obviously absurd they must think their readers are four years old

Andrew Rosenthal of the New York Times offers the editorial "Immigration and the Unions" (link). He makes the usual mistakes and smears, and then shows that he thinks his readers are all four years old:

"Workers don’t depress wages. Unscrupulous employers do," said Terence O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers' International Union of North America. Unemployment in his industry is above 21 percent. Nearly two million construction workers are out of work. So what does Mr. O’Sullivan want? Reform that allows immigrants to legalize. "If we can free them so they can come out of the shadows, we can not only improve their lives, but all workers' lives," he said.

1. Apparently Sullivan has never heard of supply and demand; an excess of workers (such as from massive immigration) will indeed depress wages.

2. With two million construction workers out of work, O'Sullivan and the NYT want to increase the swamping effect on that labor market by legalizing millions of potential construction workers rather than supporting enforcement of our laws in order to encourage those illegal aliens to return home over time.

Wed, 04/22/2009 - 05:25 · · Importance: 4