I know, I know, there’s just too much out there to read. And it’s too hard to figure out the “slant” of what you are reading anyway. But I’m going to give this one a recommendation anyway because I’m guessing there is a lot being said, aloud or quietly, about immigration and the workforce in your communities.The Cato Institute is a self-described libertarian think tank funded largely by the Koch Brothers – maybe you know that but I have to look these things up all the time, that’s part of the burden of media literacy.
They have researched the economic contributions and impact of immigrants (all status) and they do not mince words in their conclusions. The whole report is linked in the image and here
This is also a link to a Marketplace interview with one of the authors
A few highlights:
- “Every year from 1994 to 2023, immigrants have paid more in taxes than they received in benefits.
- Immigrants generated nearly $10.6 trillion more in federal, state, and local taxes than they induced in total government spending.
- Without the contributions of immigrants, public debt at all levels would already be above 200 percent of US GDP—nearly twice the 2023 level and a threshold some analysts believe would trigger a debt crisis.”
Note that this report, released in February 2026, was based on a data set up to 2023. The update, and I hope there will be one, should be interesting.