An Economic Crisis Worse Than Any Recession In History Is On Its Way?
US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said at a CNBC Work Summit that total immigration reform is needed to prevent an immense economic crisis because it would serve to fill much-needed positions as job growth continues to explode in the coming years.
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Marty Walsh, the US Labor Secretary, emphasized his belief at CNBC’s Work Summit that an economic crisis worse than any period of inflation or recession in history will occur if total immigration reform does not happen. At the summit, Walsh also addressed issues like accessible childcare and the need for a higher minimum wage. He explicitly highlighted the pertinency of the need for these issues to be addressed.
Speaking at the CNBC summit, Walsh explained that while the current inflationary situation is extremely important to get a handle on, he does not think that it will serve as the catalyst to create an economic crisis the United States has never known. This is because, despite recent layoffs, job growth is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Walsh’s concern is that the United States does not have enough qualified workers to fill all the positions that will likely burgeon in the coming years.
Not having enough workers to fill roles in an exploding economy will serve to perpetuate continued periods of inflation. For instance, one potential consequence is that worker shortages will cause supply chain deficits to persist thus fueling the potential for more periods of intense inflation as well as the possibility of giving way to a devastating economic crisis. Immigration reform could solve this by adding more viable employees to the US workforce.
“We need a bipartisan fix here. I’ll tell you right now if we don’t solve immigration … we’re talking about worrying about recessions, we’re talking about inflation. I think we’re going to have a bigger catastrophe if we don’t get more workers into our society and we do that by immigration,” emphasized Walsh.
Essentially, Walsh is saying that if you give people pathways to citizenship and make work visas easier to secure then you will create a viable solution to fill current and future disparities in the US workforce and prevent an immeasurable economic crisis. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this country was built upon individuals immigrating from other parts of the world, given certain partisan sentiments, it would take a small miracle for bipartisan collaboration on immigration reform to actually make any headway.
Although interestingly enough, Walsh observed, “One party is showing pictures of the border and meanwhile if you talk to businesses that support those congressional folks, they’re saying we need immigration reform.” This suggests a disconnect in communication between the Republican party leaders and the party’s members.
Furthermore, immigration reform isn’t the only thing that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later in order to avoid a future economic crisis of immense size and scale. Walsh highlighted that childcare in this country is far too expensive, citing that many families are paying over 50% of their income just to ensure their kids will be cared for while they are at work. This is not sustainable and it’s causing many parents, primarily women, to leave the workforce. “Childcare is a basic necessity to get millions of women back into the workforce on a full-time basis,” said Walsh.
Walsh also pointed out that the minimum wage in the United States is not at all livable, even going as far as to call out the people who seem to think just over $7/hour in 2022 is acceptable. “It shocks me that there are members in the building behind me, if you can’t see the building behind me it’s the Capitol, that think that families can raise their family on $7-plus, on the minimum wage in this country,” criticized Walsh.
When you pay individuals that low of a salary not only would they be forced to work multiple jobs to support their families, but you’re essentially preventing those individuals from climbing above the poverty level. This only serves to further widen workplace disparities in the United States.
Ultimately, Walsh touched upon some extremely pertinent issues that could fuel an intense economic crisis. It’s clear that something needs to be done and that is seemingly something that can be agreed upon at the bipartisan level. Hopefully, that’s not the only thing that can be.
