08/03/2017: When an immigration raid sets off economic crisis
Aug 3, 2017

08/03/2017: When an immigration raid sets off economic crisis

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President Trump has thrown his weight behind a bill that would fundamentally change American immigration policy. It would make immigration skills-based and cut in half the number of people legally allowed to come here. Put another way, it's a bill that would make the labor force smaller in an economy already pretty near full employment. We'll talk about it, then look at wages: The tight labor market is making it harder to hire without (finally) raising pay significantly. Plus: In Postville, Iowa, hundreds of workers were arrested in an immigration raid and virtually disappeared overnight. The small town's economy still hasn't recovered.

Segments From this episode

Wanted: qualified people who will work for yesterday's wages

Aug 3, 2017
The tight labor market is making it harder to hire without raising pay significantly.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How an immigration raid threw a small Iowa town into economic crisis

Aug 3, 2017
Postville's recovery has been slow after hundreds of workers were arrested and virtually disappeared over night.
Signs are displayed in Postville in 2009, a year after an immigration raid crippled a meat processing plant. “It cratered the Northeast Iowa economy,” says Aaron Goldsmith, a local business owner.
ERIK CAMAYD-FREIXAS/AFP/Getty Images

Congress needs to pass tax reform. Or else.

Aug 3, 2017
The senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says lawmakers have to compromise to make it happen.
The Senate side of the U.S. Capitol. The Senate is scheduled to return from summer break on Sept. 5.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Economists think immigration boosts growth. So why does Trump want to cut it?

Aug 3, 2017
President Trump threw his weight behind a massive change to U.S. immigration policy this week, supporting a proposal that would cut legal immigration to the U.S. in half during the next decade. The bill would limit the ability of legal residents and American citizens to bring family members to the country in favor of highly […]

Fedex says it won’t add surcharges to regular holiday period packages, unlike UPS

Aug 3, 2017
The weather outside may be sweltering, so it might seem an odd time to be thinking about the holiday season, but that’s exactly what shippers are doing. Today FedEx announced it won’t be adding holiday surcharges to regular packages it delivers over that period. That’s significant, because in June, UPS announced it will add an […]

Ex-Im Bank sparks fight over its role and leader

Aug 3, 2017
There’s a sharp division in the Republican Party between libertarians, who believe in free markets without government interference, and more mainline, pro-business Republicans, who want the government to intervene in markets to help U.S. businesses. The latest example of this? The Export-Import Bank, which provides loans to foreign businesses or governments so they can buy U.S. […]

President Trump has thrown his weight behind a bill that would fundamentally change American immigration policy. It would make immigration skills-based and cut in half the number of people legally allowed to come here. Put another way, it’s a bill that would make the labor force smaller in an economy already pretty near full employment. We’ll talk about it, then look at wages: The tight labor market is making it harder to hire without (finally) raising pay significantly. Plus: In Postville, Iowa, hundreds of workers were arrested in an immigration raid and virtually disappeared overnight. The small town’s economy still hasn’t recovered.

Music from the episode

Stress Me Out Bibio, Olivier St.Louis
Pop It Anamanaguchi, meesh
Canyons Chris Pickering