Under free-enterprise, all critical jobs will pay enough for people to live a life and raise a family. If it didn’t, there would be no one to do the job because people can’t spend their time doing things that don’t pay enough to meet their basic needs. If the job is critical, people will pay more for it until there is someone willing to do the job. People can’t live without a job being done if it’s critical.

Illegal immigration, bringing in migrant labor, and outsourcing to other countries short-circuits this system. People can work for little if they live 15 to a room, which they can do for a few years when they are desperate. Difference in currency value where someone could buy the same things for $5.00 US that would require $15 US in the United States can also break the free-enterprise system.

Another issue is payroll taxes. When a company hires a US worker, they need to pay about 15% for Social Security and Medicare taxes, plus unemployment. They might also need to pay benefits. Provisions must also be made for worker safety. Jobs that are outsourced have none of these expenses. This puts US workers at a further disadvantage.

If there are truly not enough people to do basic labor or seasonal jobs, bringing in migrants makes sense. But first, make sure everyone who wants a job (or is able-bodied but on welfare) is working and let wages for these jobs rise until that is the case. And make employers pay the full cost of migrant workers rather than dropping healthcare, housing, and childcare/education costs on communities. Likewise, yes, if there are Albert Einsteins out there, let them immigrate and come work. But don’t just let companies bring in programmers and engineers who will work at half of existing wages to save money. I guarantee there will be plenty of people taking math and science courses if the pay for these jobs is high enough.

Free-enterprise works great if it is truly free and fair. Government created distortions and allowing employers to game the system is not free-enterprise. The whole system breaks down when people are allowed to bend the rules. Then, bad things happen.

Joseph Sheeley

Tullahoma