Economics play a big role in the immigration debate. Opposition claims that immigrants, both legal and illegal, hurt our economy, while immigration's advocates claim that immigrants serve as a boost to our economy (Borjas230-231; Topolincki 225-227; Kinsley 215). Immigration's opposition often points out that immigrants are more likely to be on welfare or other social-assistance program (Borjas 233), but they fail to mention that high use of theses programs is almost exclusive to refugees from war-torn or Communists nations (Topolincki 226). In fact, few immigrants come to the US to get on welfare. Non-refugee immigrants are less likely than native-born Americans to go on welfare and risk deportation if they do so in their first five years in America (226).
This make it lucrative for companies to finance with internally generated cash, which is the most liquid asset. A drawback is that Apple earned a mere 0.77% on its cash and investments in fiscal year of 2011 [5]. The disadvantage is that the rate of return is close to the inflation rate. Apple has not debt and therefore no apparent reason to pile up cash, if they cannot invest it at a higher return than their current interest rate allows. Though another way of looking at it is that Apple is only waiting for the really good investments, and that opportunity offset the lost revenue of hoarding cash at a low interest rate.
The credit card companies take this nearly free money from the government and loan it out to us as consumers at a 7 percent rate if you have a good credit standing. If you fall under the category of bad credit like most Americans they charge you 18 percent or more depending on your credit standing and how often you pay your bill. Credit card companies are entitled to a fair percentage but not the excessive earnings they receive from charging us the consumers. Lastly the spending habits of Americans are poor because almost all Americans live out of their means. With poor spending habits passed down from generation to generation, and family to family all we learn and know is how to borrow and dig a hole deeper in
Loans issued to people with poor credit history, limited or no collateral, required no proof of income and they sold those issued loans to other investors with AAA rates. This created massive amount of securitized loans. This caught lenders attention because they were able to require high interest rates. Also most of these loans were issued as adjustable rate mortgages which initially required no down payment and as low as 1% APR. The other reason was adjustable mortgage rates.
In fact the opposite is the truth; there is evidence that immigration helps the economy in boosting the amount of jobs and that wages are altered in a positive way for everybody who works legally. Illegal immigrants come into the US from all over the world, and they all have one thing in common, they all come for a better life. The truth is, many immigrants do achieve a better life. They’re not millionaires or anything of the sort, but a lot of people live a decent regular life in the states and the pet peeve to the majority of Americans is that immigrants do not contribute to the economy and they only hurt the economy by not paying taxes and sending the money to their families in need in other countries. “An increase in immigrants would lower the wage of native workers, and raise the wage of non-recent immigrants and capital, but these effects are
In his article, “Keeping the Dream Alive,” Meacham mentions this issue in today’s economy. “The widening gap between the rich and the poor suggests the dream is becoming more elusive for more people than at any other time in our history” (Meacham 6). Income inequality has grown significantly since the 1970’s in America, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, resulting in shrinkage of the middle class. “PARADE surveyed more than 2,200 Americans, 84% describe themselves as belonging to the middle class…by international standards, they live a life of prosperity. Yet behind this prosperity is a growing unease... 39% have had cuts in their overtime, raises or bonuses… 47% say that no matter how hard they work, they cannot get ahead.
There is a failure to realise that long term better economic welfare also means general higher standards of living, as people have enough money to buy everything they need and some of what they want, competition is rife so drives quality up and prices down, and the government are able to take in more taxes from firms who are much healthier financially. This mass employment may lead to more jobs, but the workers themselves or the way they’re used is hugely inefficient. Another reason that labour production in the UK is so low is the lack of competition. There is a strong body of evidence that competition enhances productivity. So, with a lack of one there is a lack of the other.
Although many others believe the American Dream has ceased to exist, King feels that “The ideals and values of the American Dream are still very much alive… I would redefine the American Dream today as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future”(King 572-3). The rise of the middle-class lifestyle has caused this transition in the Dream. Because of the high-income gap, along with the Great Recession, more Americans strive for this new goal of economic stability. By taking a look at one of
Most people immigrants who are undocumented don’t pay taxes because they are paid under the table. Edward P. Lazear, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, stated, “Immigrants not only help fuel the Nation’s economic growth, but also have an overall positive effect on the income of native-born workers”. Immigrants are a critical part of the workforce (1 in 7 workers) and contribute to productivity growth and technological advancement. Without the immigrants, we would have a decline in labor force of 3 to 4 percent, we could not have grown nearly as much as we did in the ‘90s and in the last few years our growth would have been slower. Edward Lazear also says that immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs than native-born U.S. citizens.
Isn’t today’s “American Dream” to also be comfortable with elaborate and fancy material possessions? Both decades had many concepts and techniques towards accomplishing their dream, but they were both aiming for the same goal: to live the high life prosperously. In the 1980s the incomes for many middle-class people stayed stagnant, but high prices began to rise. This affected families financially. Wealthier families could afford to pay the rising prices, but the middle-class society started to have problems with ascending rates.