July 11, 2007
Malevolent Aspirations
Bryan CaplanAs the Tick might say, this modest proposal from Reihan Salam is "just plain... plain wrong! And no-one should do it, ever!"
[T]here is a way to sharply reduce immigration. It just so happens that most of us, on the right and left, will find the solution unpalatable. This despite the fact that the solution is broadly in consonance with the key aspirations of egalitarian liberals and social conservatives alike: the solution, of course, is to reverse the steady shift from household production to market production.So the "key aspirations" of egalitarian liberals and social conservatives are "broadly in consonance" with ruining the lives of poor immigrants in order to cut native-born yuppies down to size? I'm afraid Salam may be right - and relieved that he doesn't really favor his modest proposal.[...]
If we sharply increased marginal tax rates, second-earners on the margin would be a lot less likely to engage in market work, and they'd have less disposable incomes... Jobs that have been "outsourced" to immigrant labor would dry up.
HT: Jane Galt.
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