Blog of Q\’s

IMMIGRATION CHALLENGE: Some have argued
that immigration could help solve fiscal problems related to an aging
work force — notably shortfalls facing Medicare and Social Security.
But Stephen Camarota, of the Center for Immigration Studies, has looked
at some census data and concluded that immigration doesn’t make much of a difference
on these issues, according to an article in the Christian Science
Monitor. Mr. Camarota found that, according to the census data, the
average age of an immigrant in 2000 was 39, about four years older than
the average age of a native-born American. In fact, Mr. Camarota found
that without the 31 million post-1980 immigrants and their U.S.-born
children, the working-age population would be virtually unchanged at
66. He also concluded that immigrants aren’t the driving factor behind
the U.S. fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman; without immigrants,
the nation’s fertility rate would have dropped to only about two
children per woman. Mr. Camarota notes that immigrants also earn
significantly less than U.S.-born citizens, which means they pay less
into payroll taxes to support Social Security.