How to Stop Inflation: Allow Mass Immigration
Rising costs in the economy increase the risk of a wage-price spiral. To curb inflation, an open immigration policy is needed. The more people work in a free market, the more wealth is created.
Wealth cannot exist without labor. Even if you are living on top of a gold mine or an oil field; only labor can turn these resources into wealth. Every brilliant idea of how to get more of something wanted for less cost requires labor.
The value of labor is different in virtually all cases. The economic value of work of a field hand, maid, house wife or house husband, clerk, medical professionals, lawyer, accountant or politician are all different. But all that labor creates wealth.
I define wealth as the ability to create what is needed and wanted by the laborer and the recipient of the labor. Obviously different types of labor create different amounts of monetary wealth.
Money is a societally agreed upon medium of exchange with which to purchase either the labor or the fruits of the labor.
The Oldest Profession is Not What You Think
The oldest profession is slavery. If labor is wealth, then owning laborers creates wealth to the slave owner. Consider this: What funded the creation of the Roman Empire was slavery. The more territory the Roman Army conquered, the more people were enslaved (slaves were created) and sold to fund the empire.
By 300 AD there were very few population centers near enough for Rome to keep growing slavery. And without new slaves and tax proceeds there was not enough new wealth to pay the Roman Army to protect the Emperors.
In order to stay in power without enough new money to pay bills, the Roman Emperors started debasing the Denarius – the global Roman currency which originally had about 4.5 grams of silver. The less silver in a coin, the more coins could be issued.
What followed was a 1,000% inflation, and the Roman Army demanding gold for salaries. Shortly thereafter Rome began to be successfully invaded.
Controlling Labor is Slavery by Every Other Name
Believe it or not: Slavery is still widespread on this planet. Whether it is called migrant labor, or socialist ownership of employee’s actions and activities, or being subject to a local warlord, slavery still exists.
Every society not subject to election by the governed is maintaining some form of slavery. The key distinction of slavery is whether the government, a war lord or a bureaucrat has the ability to control laborers actions.
Controlling the free movement of labor is another form of slavery. Whether being forced off a Chinese farm or not allowed to move to the US or fleeing Ukraine or the Middle East to avoid warfare, that control is a form of slavery.
Inflation Caused by Restrictions on Labor Supply
Prior to the prior US President, inflation had been relatively minor. The first act of the past administration was to restrict immigration; dramatically limiting the number of new workers.
Four years of restricting new labor – also called illegal aliens – has resulted in a massive labor shortage in the US leading to much higher wages and limiting the production of wanted goods and services.
The only non-racial issue against allowing immigration is that the newcomers will be a costly burden on government services. Yet they’re not. The truth is to get a job, almost all so-called illegals use a phony social security card and never get any benefits in return.
Up until recently, one of the biggest growth areas of tax payments to the US Treasury was revenues from non-existent accounts. In other words, illegals paid taxes and never got anything back.
The millions of so-called illegals picked the produce, swept the yards and took on any and all demeaning jobs, raised families and prospered. The amount of tax received by the US Treasury was greater than the existing government services used by immigrants.
Bottom line for today – to lower inflation we have to open our borders to new immigrants.
My economic prediction: Central Europe and other parts of the world that received millions of displaced people from the Arab world and Ukraine will experience faster growth and more wealth creation than countries like the US and Japan that restrict immigration.
Charles Biderman
