Low Skill Immigrants Are a Net Loss to U.S.

Kate O'Beirne, writing in the National Review Online, does a nice job of showing how low skilled illegal immigrants on average cost the U.S. way more than they ever produce. She is basically summarizing the findings of a Heritage Foundation study done by Robert Rector. She is also debunking a Wall Street Journal critique of the study. She concludes:

Robert Rector’s careful analysis demonstrates that low-skilled immigrant households consume far more in government benefits than they pay in taxes. The Wall Street Journal’s careless editorial demonstrates that his critics are unable to credibly disagree.

One cannot reasonably accuse the WSJ of being ignorant of basic economics. If the supply of something in demand is great, the price of that thing is correspondingly low. Conversely, things with more rarity have higher prices. This is as true of labor as it is of goods. The Wall Street Journal has been consistently in favor of unlimited immigration, and very holier-than-thou about it too. Of course, their real motive is an unlimited supply of people willing to work cheaply. In this they represent their primary constituency, namely, the nation's employers.