Migrant Cash Is World Economic Giant (True cost of Hosting Illegals?)

[Blaze Diem]

Migrant Cash Is World Economic Giant
By WILLIAM J. KOLE,AP
Posted: 2007-08-18 14:11:13
TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Josif Poro pats his new sofa, points with pride to his carpets and runs a wrinkled hand over a gleaming white refrigerator.

He and his wife barely scrape by on their $220 monthly pension. They'd have to do without many of the items in their cramped apartment if their son, a factory worker in Greece, didn't faithfully send home part of his earnings.

"We call him our golden boy," said Poro, 83, a retired textile mill worker.

Around the world, millions of immigrants are sending billions of dollars back home.

One sweaty wad of bills or $200 Western Union moneygram at a time, they form what could be called Immigration, Inc. - one of the biggest businesses on the planet.


The U.S. lost $41.1 billion in 2005, according to the World Bank, while Switzerland watched $13.2 billion trickle out of the country that year.

But Giuseppina Iampietro, a Swiss Economics Ministry spokeswoman, says little can be done: "Immigrants have no obligation to invest their money in Switzerland."

Meanwhile, from Poland to the Philippines, remittances are throwing lifelines to families combating poverty and helping to keep some national economies afloat:

Across Latin America, remittances hit $62 billion last year and are projected to top $100 billion by 2010, the Inter-American Development Bank says. Mexicans wire home the most cash - nearly $22 billion - most of it earned in the U.S.

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http://news.aol.com/story/_a/migrant-cash-is-world-economic-giant/n20070818141109990004




Why many illegals have no intention of becoming citizens.

This is a World issue but when one understands the effects on our Nation, it is no surprise that US citizens are pissed. Enough is enough..I am amazed at the grand scale of $ leaving this Nation.

[rudeboy666]

1. Earned money.

[Blaze Diem]

5. Some is..BUT I know many illegals who are paid cash

and paid under the table, fake i.d.s Drivers licenses, SS #'s , it all contributes to the Money that is not returned to the Country.

Dont enev tell me that all illegals are earning their $$ up fron and honest.
If they were interested in "honesty" they wouldn't be living illegally in a foreign country.

________________

will be back later to continue this post.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

7. I suspect most of the "illegals" are more interested in survival

than in honesty.

I am in awe of illegals who send money home on a regular basis. It takes a lot of commitment and honor to continue to send money to one's family when there is nothing other than one's own morality between sending the money home and keeping it oneself.

To stand with your nose pressed against the glass of the gigantic store which is America's consumer culture and yet to continue to deny yourself full engagement in that culture speaks of a high degree of commitment to family and morality.

Would that more American citizens could bring themselves to resist our consumer culture in such a direct fashion.

[rodeodance]

10. nicely said

[arcos]

8. That is all very simple to say for someone who is not in the situation...

Millions of Mexican farmers who were left without a job after NAFTA was signed really haven't got much of a choice: immigrate (illegally), or starve to death.

[varun]

2. Why shouldn't they?

They earned the money and should be able to use it any way they like.

[Deja Q]

3. I wonder how many corporations that offer intl. money wire services keep track of terrorists...

And why some places offer international transfer rates for a fee lower than domestic transfer rates, plus allow larger caps on international transfers...

[Gormy Cuss]

4. The article is about immigrants. There are three types: permanent immigrants who become citizens,

legal immigrants who intend to return home some day, and illegal immigrants who may have either path in mind but are constrained to only the latter because of their status. Half of all legal immigrants become naturalized citizens but that doesn't exclude them from the subset who are supporting their poorer relatives abroad.

I don't know how much of the outflow of dollars from the U.S. comes from permanent residents/citizens and legal immigrants, but to the extent that the money is flowing to poorer countries I would hazard a guess that the net result is that those in the homeland have better standards of living and less incentive to attempt illegal immigration.

[madrchsod]

6. there are some who use

diplomats to carry their money back home.....

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. oh we skim lots on the way out,

While remittances are theoretically a significant leakage from the economy - the financial services industry fucks migrant workers over significantly with massive service charges and fictional exchange rates. This is especially true of illegal migrants who have no access to the legitimate financial institutions.

[treestar]

11. This is not money that is "lost"

If people are lifted from poverty, they create a market for goods.

Economic activity is not one sided and is not limited by country and is not a zero sum game.

The hatred of undocumented immigrants leads people into irrationality. The U.S. is not hurt by anyone sending their money abroad, citizens or not. Many of us spend money on imports, too. Some of us make money by exporting things. There would be a bigger market for whatever we're selling if other people have more money.

[1932]

12. The huge disparity between wealth in the US and poverty abroad comes

from US exploiting labor and natural resources of foreign countries, which is what drives immigration to US. This exodus of US cash is tiny fraction of wealth US makes exploiting poor countries. And if we exploited them less, and there wasn't a huge difference in wealth across countries, fewer people would want to leave their home nations.