Comment blog 6

I agree with Vanessa; families should not be torn apart by deportation, after all, this would only harm our country's economy. An article in the U.S News called “undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes,” by Soergel Andrews, backed up her point after it affirmed that, “A study from The Institute of Taxation and Policies...found that illegal immigrants contribute with [the counties economy by] nearly 12 billion each year in incomes, property, sales and taxes.” This means that even with Trumps new plan of deporting only 3 million immigrants, we would still see dramatic changes in our country’s economy. It would be better if instead of deporting immigrants they where given a permanent residence or citizenship to the United States. She mentioned a comment made by Raul Hinojosa, professor of UCLA stating that “undocumented  population typically gets about 20% less wage”(Vanessa). She also pointed out the benefits the companies had, but not the reasons why the immigrants get less wage. I personally think it might because most immigrants work in jobs where the salary is illegally below the minimal wage. They have jobs that most Americans consider a waste of time,money, and effort. Immigrants have long shifts, yet they have no insurance or benefits. This is better for the companies but not the for people. However, if the undocumented people were given a residency or a citizenship, they would be treated fairly, they would not fear being deported if they claimed their rights. They would be paid more, and they would have to pay their taxes if they never have. Tearing families apart and building a wall is not the solution for immigration problems, but giving more opportunities to people from other countries with visas and punishing only criminal is. After all, the great America is built upon immigrants.

comment on Hani's "Raising Minimum Wages" blog

In reference to Hani's "Raising the Minimum Wage" blog, with all due respect of course, the question I ask myself regarding our greedy corporations is will paying employees better wages increase the economy and boost productivity? 

Who will be actually be courageous enough to start the ball rolling? The most obvious choice is our government. But the current Congress has been paralyzed.

Business leaders know what to do. But do they have the will to do it? Are they willing to control the excessive greed so prevalent in our culture today and divert resources to better education and the creation of more opportunity?

Business has the most to gain from a healthy America, and the most to lose by social unrest or punitive taxation. In my opinion, business can start the process in two steps. First, invest in the actual value creators which are the employees. Start compensating fairly, by which I mean a wage that enables employees to share amply in productivity, increases and creates innovations.

The fact that real wages have been flat for about four decades, while productivity has increased by 80 percent, shows that obviously has not been happening. Before the early 1970s, wages and productivity were both rising. Now most gains from productivity go to shareholders, not employees.

Second, businesses must invest aggressively in their own operations, directing profit into productivity and innovation to boost real business performance. According to The NY Times, today, too many corporations reduce investment in research and development and brand building. As a result, we see a general decline in the value of their brands and other assets. To make up for those declines and for anemic revenues, businesses buy back their stock (now at record levels) and thus artificially boost earnings per share.

Someone must break the ice; someone must lead. Companies including Home Depot, Costco Wholesale, Whole Foods, Publix, Qualcomm, Starbucks and Gravity Payments are taking small steps, and compensating employees more. These are the green shoots we need. Similar changes must be made by many more businesses in order to see an impact on the economy.

So while we celebrate those who do the right thing but how can we move more businesses and chief executives to act now? We really don’t want civil unrest or an 80 percent tax rate to jar us into action.

I believe there is a way to start. Government can provide tax incentives to business to pay more to employees making $80,000 or less. The program would exist for three to five years and then be evaluated for effectiveness.

The benefits would be huge. People would have more money to spend, and many would no longer need government help. That would mean a reduction in entitlements.

Finally, that other America, the one that hasn’t been able to climb out of debt, will know that help is coming — not as an increase in government support, but as a fairer way to share in the hard work and incremental value a business generates. As has been proved again and again, shareholders also win, because satisfied employees produce better results.

Senator Mark R. Warner, Democrat of Virginia, is working on a somewhat similar bipartisan plan to introduce in Congress. I don’t know yet what it would cost. But not acting would be far more costly. The urgency is clear. A fair and responsible free enterprise system is still the best engine ever invented to create opportunity and a higher standard of living.