As Congress debates the future of the 'DACA' program, the nation's former top economist told the Trinity Policymaker Breakfast that one of the worst things that could be done to damage the nation's surging economy would be to deport DACA recipients and impose serious restrictions on immigration, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Because that would drive out the work force and drive out the talent that we need to keep the American economy growing," said Jason Furman, who headed the Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2017.
Furman says many growing American industries, from tech to construction to manufacturing, are desperate for skilled workers, and many of those workers are young immigrants who have in many cases been trained and education in public schools and colleges.
"Immigrants would help with that, improving American education, getting more people with more skills out of out schools would help with that, and it wouldn't hurt if employers paid people a little bit more as well," he said.
Furman says if you want to see what happens to a First World economy without immigrants, look at Japan. He says Japan was booming in the 1980s, but a combination of an ageing domestic work force and almost no immigration has Japan struggling to keep GDP from falling over the past twenty years.
Furman warned that the soaring stock market has covered up some concerning problems in the U.S. economy. He says the percentage of people in the 'prime age' of 25-54 in the work force has fallen by 10% in the last decade, with one in five men in that age group and a growing number of women not working. He says the vast majority of these are people with only, and sometimes less than a high school degree, and he called on all levels of education and training programs to reach out to this group.
He also called on higher education to come up with ways to be more affordable, to encourage more people to get the education that today's and tomorrow's work force clearly requires.
He told the business leaders at the breakfast that while the American economy is strong today, one thing that bothers him is that whenever you ask why the economy is so strong, the reason most frequently given is 'optimism.'
"Whenever things are this much about psychology, instead of fundamentals, that should make you a bit nervous, because psychology can shift quickly," he said. "And if that happens, we could have a Wyle-E Coyote moment, where we look down and see nothing beneath us."
In addition to several immigration restrictions, Furman says something else that could seriously damage the strong economy would be to abruptly end key trade agreements, specifically NAFTA.
"This would take away something that has been important for the economy not just in Texas but for the nation as a whole," he said. "I think that would be a major economic mistake."
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