Alan Greenspan promotes massive skilled immigration, opposes immigration enforcement

There was massive immigration Kabuki theater today as former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan testified before the Senate's Homeland Security Committee (transcript via thinkprogress.org/2009/12/17/greenspan-immigration-economy; video at peekURL.com/vljut3c)

LIEBERMAN: Forget all the politics of this — if we had a significant increase in America of legal immigration that would be one way to grow the economic pie?

GREENSPAN: It would be... We have a very large number of immigrants who are high school or less educated, a significant part of whom are illegal. And then we have a remarkably large number of Ph.D.’s and better who have come to this country and contributed immensely to our economic success. I argue that both groups are affecting the economy in a positive way. If we try to send all our illegals home…speaking as an economist, I will tell you, we would have a very serious problem. There are 12 million of them.

LIEBERMAN: I am not suggesting we increase legal immigration as a way to deal with the national debt. But it does have those positive economic implications.

GREENSPAN: Oh it certainly does, Mr. Chairman.

Note that Greenspan was misleading Congress and apparently with Joe Lieberman's connivance: we couldn't send all 12 million (or more) illegal aliens home at once. If Lieberman weren't simply putting on a show, he'd ask Greenspan about the impact of attrition; instead, both are engaging in a strawman argument related to the deportations false choice.

Comments

Yes, wasn't it Greenspan that said that Americans are overpaid? One way of achieving the objective of reducing pay is to inundate us with massive numbers of foreigners who would easily accept lower pay. And why should we listen to that clown, anyway, as he an Bernanke are the ones who failed to take pre-emptive action to prevent the recent collapse.

And notice that none of these people are interested in promoting the education of home grown PhDs? I would think that Congress would advocate that its constituency, the people who put them in office, have their posterity considered first as replacement citizens, rather than the foreigners. Remember that the preamble of the Constitution of the U.S. refers to the citizens of this country as posterity, not foreigners. Apparently the philosophy of our Founding Fathers is lost upon our Congress, who often wax romantically about the days of the periods of mass immigration. If our Congress had ever done a review of the initial social upheavals and corruption that resulted from the mass immigration of Irish and Italians, maybe they'd be more circumspect about the affects of massive immigration. Latino illegal aliens and their supporters talk arrogantly about the dwindling native's demise, somewhat like the thankless child who taunts his aged parents on their death beds. Fortunately in the case of the current majority in this country, this pronouncement is premature and there is still time to frustrate these horrible people. Economists are not required to show an interest in the welfare of citizens, only the growth of business, regardless of how that growth occurs. To them, human labor is fungible and the entire citizen population could be displaced and replaced by foreigners who work for peanuts. Productivity wouldn't have to increase with the payment of a good living wage, but by reducing wages and keeping the same production rate. It is for this reason that economists should not lead this country politically.

George would be right if this was really a government by the people and for the people but it is a government that is owned by our enemies. you really need to take it back in the old way with a river of blood.

Not surprising; whiny Joe Lieberman has a terrible anti-American worker record on this issue and Greenspan's open borders stance is well known. And we all know how right Greenspan was before he left the Fed.

The only people they are looking out for are looking back at themselves in the mirror. They are presenting a terrific opportunity for the mexican cartels to set up more shops in this country. It's fairly obvious they do NOT care what happens to their country, their grandchildren or anyone else. That's why the majority of these pathetic excuses for Americans need to be tossed out . Makes one long for that 911 aircraft to have met its target.

Not just Lieberman, everybody in the room except David Walker was in on the act.