Comments on: Milton Friedman’s Argument for Illegal Immigration

By: Positive Illegal Immigration Articles - City-Data Forum

Positive Illegal Immigration Articles - City-Data Forum — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:55:56 +0000

[...] | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle The Daily Cougar – Illegal immigrants good for US economy Milton Friedman’s Argument for Illegal Immigration Benefits of Illegal Immigration Offset Costs on the U.S. Economy – Associated Content – [...]

By: Club Penguin Cheats

Club Penguin Cheats — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:37:15 +0000

There is something right in the idea that it's bad to have different castes of residents, especially when one group is a perpetual under-caste. For this reason a good guest-worker program will have to include some mixture of incentives for workers to return home and an eventual path to full membership for those who do not but who have contributed for a long enough period of time.

By: DWAnderson

DWAnderson — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:23:51 +0000

Gee, I'll try to think outside the narrow confines of my prejudices! Obviously the some unjust laws aren't worth of respect, just because they are laws. Perhaps less obviously (to you) some unjust laws are not SO unjust that they merit disobedience.

By: andrew

andrew — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:47:56 +0000

what many forget about 'illegal immigrants' is that prior to the tightening of immigration quotas most of the 'illegals' were coming to america legally yearly as seasonal workers and so on. has it ever occurred to the 'anti-immigration' folk that perhaps something being a law doesn't make it right? perhaps the immigration laws are unjust or illegitimate, as friedman would view the laws that established the federal reserve as unjust and illegitimate. please, think outside the narrow confines of your prejudices, and be consistent! if you're for free markets you can't be for it only in some cases, but all. otherwise, you're just a hypocrite.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:17:09 +0000

Will, this is an interesting article. I would be curious to know how you would define a Guest Worker Program.

Almost all proposals for Guest Worker Program that I have seen do not allow free and competitive markets with respect to labor (by contrast free labor markets do exist with respect to the illegal immigrants). In other words, all of the proposals for such programs have details about length of stay, wages, taxation, etc. Some have even insisted that an immigrant under a Guest Worker Program would have to be paid the same as a legal American citizen. With such restrictions the employer no longer has the same incentive to hire the immigrant. So it is still the case that the employer and worker are better off operating outside of the legal framework. Another downside to a GWP is that a bureaucracy will have to be created to administer it.

I wonder if we are just better off just ignoring the problem of immigration for jobs so long as we have a welfare state.

By: Greg N.

Greg N. — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:50:12 +0000

Oh, Ida. You are a gift that, hopefully, keeps on giving.

By: ida b

ida b — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:35:11 +0000

what i don't like about the illegals the women have babies to get benefits here and they gey benefits they would not be here if they wasn't getting government help they gets welfare and social security, while many american citizens names are put on backlog list who apply for social security,and ssi benefits i am one of those person who social security and medicaid are not helping yet they won't hestiate to give big fat checks to the illegals they gets foodstamps, wic, medicaid, free housing, and schooling and this is wrong.

By: Club Troppo » The rise of welfare feudalism?

Club Troppo » The rise of welfare feudalism? — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:01 +0000

[...] Will’s solution to is to allow foreign workers access to the labour market, but deny them access to welfare entitlements. And if that isn’t possible, then he argues that the next best solution is to promote illegal immigration. [...]

By: Club Troppo » Missing Link Daily

Club Troppo » Missing Link Daily — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:16:03 +0000

[...] Wilkinson plays the Milton Friedman card in arguing for a more open US immigration policy (sans social welfare entitlements – he must have been taking notes from John Howard’s wildly [...]

By: ignacio pijije

ignacio pijije — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:38:49 +0000

Why don't discourage immigrants' reproduction, as it was done with slaves? The cost of reproduction is much greater than bringing new young, healthy, ready-to-work immigrants. In fact, illegality, by restricting welfare to immigrants does just that: makes it more difficult for immigrants to reproduce. I think it is a wonderful idea, encouraging illegal immigration. It just honors Friedman's legacy.

By: Links: June 2008 « Consider the Evidence

Links: June 2008 « Consider the Evidence — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:37:37 +0000

[...] Milton Friedman’s argument for illegal immigration, by Will Wilkinson [...]

By: social security limit

social security limit — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:04:54 +0000

[...] most misused utterance riffing off Bryan Caplan??s also outstanding post which I thought washttp://www.willwilkinson.net/flybottle/2008/06/11/milton-friedmans-argument-for-illegal-immigration/Social Security urging use of debit cards The News JournalFor millions of Americans, accessing their [...]

By: Greg N.

Greg N. — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:06:17 +0000

I have a sinking feeling that a hell of a lot more people think the way “Jer” does, and not the way Milton Friedman did.

By: mghertner

mghertner — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:43:03 +0000

Painful to read.

By: JER MYNOR

JER MYNOR — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:00:50 +0000

THERE ARE TWO SIDES OF EVERY STORY. IT SEEMS ON THIS PAGE THE MAJORITY SEEM TO THINK THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS OK.

HOWEVER, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PAGE, YOU WILL FIND MANY STRONG POINTS THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS TERRIBLE.

THE MAIN REASON IS THAT ANYTIME A DEMOCRACY HAS THE FREEBIES, OR 'GIMME' ATTITUDE....IT IS SHOWN THAT IN THE YEARS BACK, THIS TYPE OF DEMOCRACY BECOMES DESTROYED IN AROUND 200-250 YEARS....

AMERICA IS NOW IN ITS 232 YEAR, AND EVERY ONE THINKS PAYING FOR UNFORTUNATES IS MORALLY NICE, BUT IN REALITY ,IT IS SURE DEATH.

THE ECONOMISTS AND HISTORIANS HAVE PROVEN THIS FACT VERY STRONGLY AND STATE THAT UNLESS AMERICA GETS ITS ILLEGAL PROBLEM HANDLED WITHIN 4 YEARS...THIS COUNTRY IS SERIOUSLY DOOMED.

THIS NATION IS NOW OVER 9 TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT, BORROWING 866 BILLION FROM ONE OF OUR FRIENDS(?) CHINA TO STAY AFLOAT.....
ADDING MORE TO THE WELFARE ROLES, OR THOSE UNDER OUR OWN POVERTY LEVEL, AND THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER IS AT ITS END WITH HIGH GAS PRICES,HOUSING LOSSES, OUTSOUCING JOBS TO OTHER COUNTRIES, AMERICA IS AN INCH SHORT OF TOTAL BANKRUPTCY......

AND IN A SHORT 4 YEARS , BRINGS US CLOSER TO THE HISTORIANS WARNING THAT DEMOCRACIES ONLY LAST FOR A CERTAIN LENGTH OF YEARS, AND THEN CRASH AND BURN.....

I FAVOR RETURNING ALL ILLEGALS OUT OF THE COUNTRY, ( IT REALLY CAN BE DONE ) AND RESUME IMMIGRATION AS IT WAS CONTROLLED BEFORE WE WERE INVADED BY THESE ILLEGALS AS WAS ROME....!!!