AMNESTY provisions in Senate Compreh. Immigration Bill

[unlawflcombatnt]

Here's the link to the 790-page ‘‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007’’

http://www.govtrack.us/data/us/bills.text/110/s/s1348.pdf

Below is a copy of pages 466-468, which (apparently) pertain to the near immediate legalization of all 12-20 million illegal immigrants already here:

page 466

"
(ii)(I) demonstrates that the alien did not receive notice of removal proceedings in accordance with paragraph (1)or (2) of section 239(a);

(II) establishes that the alien’s failure to appear was due to exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the alien; or

(III) the alien’s departure from the United States now would result in extreme hardship to the alien’s spouse, parent, or child who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

(c) TREATMENT OF APPLICANTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien who files an application under subsection (a)(1)(A) for adjustment of status, including a spouse or child who files for adjustment of status under subsection (b)—

(A) shall be granted employment authorization pending final adjudication of the alien’s application for adjustment of status;

(B) shall be granted permission to travel abroad pursuant to regulation pending final adjudication


page 467

of the alien’s application for adjustment of status;

(C) shall not be detained, determined inadmissible or deportable, or removed pending final adjudication of the alien’s application for adjustment of status, unless the alien commits an act which renders the alien ineligible for such adjustment of status; and

(D) shall not be considered an unauthorized alien as defined in section 274A(i) until such time as employment authorization under subparagraph (A) is denied.

(2) DOCUMENT OF AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide each alien described in paragraph (1) with a counterfeit resistant document of authorization that—

(A) meets all current requirements established by the Secretary of Homeland Security for travel documents, including the requirements under section 403 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note); and

(B) reflects the benefits and status set forth in paragraph (1).


page 468

(3) SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CLEARANCE.—Before an alien is granted employment authorization or permission to travel under paragraph (1), the alien shall be required to undergo a name check against existing databases for information relating to criminal, national security, or other law enforcement actions. The relevant Federal agencies shall work to ensure that such name checks are completed not later than 90 days after the date on which the name check is requested.

(4) TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS.—An alien in removal proceedings who establishes prima facie eligibility for adjustment of status under subsection (a) shall be entitled to termination of the proceedings pending the outcome of the alien’s application, unless the removal proceedings are based on criminal or national security grounds.‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, no Federal agency or bureau, nor any officer or employee of such agency or bureau, may—

(A) use the information furnished by theapplicant pursuant to an application filed under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a)
for any...."

This sure sounds like amnesty to me.

[Tom Joad]

1. Should be total amnesty, of course. Protect workers rights.

[unlawflcombatnt]

2. American Workers

I'm more concerned about the rights of American workers, and the wage suppression caused by business and Corporate America's hiring of 7 million illegal immigrants, instead of hiring American workers.

[Lasher]

31. There are about 12 million illegal aliens living in the US today.

Are you basing your estimate of 7 million on an assumption that not all are workers?

There were about 7 million foreign-born unauthorized residents (AKA illegal aliens) living in America as of 2000. This was twice as many as there were in 1990. Assuming these estimates are accurate and that the rate of growth has remained the same, there are about 12 million illegal aliens living in the US today.

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/Ill_Report_1211.pdf

[unlawflcombatnt]

41. Yes, at least 12 million

"Are you basing your estimate of 7 million on an assumption that not all are workers?"

Sort of.

I'm basing it on the last BLS estimate I saw about the number of illegal immigrants known to be working in the United States. Due to the "off-the-book" status of so many, that estimate could be way off. I've also seen the statement: "5% of the workers in this country are illegal immigrants." With 145.7 million workers currently employed in the United States (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), that would make the number of employed illegal immigrants about 7.3 million.

However, if we used the current employment-to-population ratio of 63% from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and applied it to 12 million total illegal immigrants, that would result in 7.5 million employed illegal immigrants. If the total number of illegal immigrants was 20 million, that would give 12.6 million employed illegal immigrants.

Based on all of this, I'd say there are at least 7 million illegal immigrants employed in the United States, and maybe a lot more.

[Lasher]

42. Yes, I think that's a good conservative estimate

But if you look at the last couple of years in the decade ending in 2000 you will see that the rate of influx accelerated. It is therefore lilely that the number of illegals living in the US grew since 2000 at a faster rate than 2X 7M devided by 10 multiplied by 7. But I usually cite the 12M number and point out that it is a conservative estimate. Pretty much like you do, it appears.

[pnwmom]

7. I'm not sure how that protects the rights of citizens who are workers?

[Critters2]

13. I was thinking the same. nt

[PsycheCC]

3. Thanks for the link. Sounds like amnesty to me too.

I agree that wage suppression is a main problem with amnesty for illegals. Ultimately, American workers are hurt.

[Double T]

4. The Amnesty immigration bill is another assault on the American worker.........

by the corrupt greed mongering corporations and their corporate serving minions, formerly known as representatives and senators. The American worker will be heard and will STOP this subverting legislation.

[AZBlue]

6. I hope so! But how will they find out?

They've really spun this completely!

[Deja Q]

9. Not just the American worker. But Americans. Even the wealthy ones.

Illegal immigrants, and let's remember that someone can be here illegally from ANY country*, could be terrorists, could be bringing in a communicable disease (which would more likely be found via official channels - at least in theory), or other undesirable things. These are real issues, period. They'd be treated with more gravitas if more attacks or disease outbreaks had occurred. I'd rather see the level of attacks and outbreaks to as minimal as possible. Wouldn't you?

I wish the lawmakers would be more consistent with the laws they are sworn to uphold and create; it's not pleasant knowing that legal immigrants worked hard to get here and all of a sudden, illegal ones getting a free passage... that bothers me. Also bothersome is the tangent of media (DVD, software, et al) piracy - we seem to offshore a lot of jobs to countries with embarrassingly large piracy rates; why not give a fox the lock to the henhouse's front door too?! Meanwhile we make draconian laws for US citizens in the US about the penalties for piracy. In short, the mixed messages being sent are doing nobody any good at all. They talk of respecting law and upholding the rule of law, but then they break it whenever it suits them. I should imagine that drunkie Paris and underage drunkie Lindsay (who also may (or may not) be snorting coke, but regardless she can't be bothered to pick good friends) will undoubtedly get special treatment despite being petty little bleached brats.


* so anyone who wants to change the issue of ILLEGAL immigration into a Mexican-centric one, remind them how racist they are and they'll hopefully quiet down. It's sad that the WHOLE issue of immigration is warped into one tangent for political convenience but reality isn't like that, even if the stats show Mexico is currently the #1 infringer. BTW, do these folks who claim all those against allowing "amnesty" are racist have any stats proving without a shadow of a doubt that 100% of illegal aliens are solely from Mexico and therefore we are racist and they are as clean as freshly fallen snow? Hmmm, thought not... It transcends one country; the world is sadly too large to accommodate such simpleminded certainties.

[Gold Metal Flake]

12. Nicely done, sir.

:toast:

[Critters2]

14. HT, you need to let it out. Sitting on your emotions like this

can't be good for you. How do you really feel?




Kick-ass post, btw!!

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. The other thing...

"Mexican" is no more a race, than "Canadian" is.

[AZBlue]

5. If that's not amnesty, I don't know what is!

Maybe giving them a lollipop too???

Nice spin has been done on this - good work for finding this, unlawflcombatnt!

[acmavm]

8. Oh well hell, let's get down to the bottom line, shall we? They might as

well do away with all immigration law and just fire every god damn last American blue collar worker in the country.

I had to laugh my ass off a few days ago. There was a post whining about the 400,000 H1-b visas for 'professionals'. Now ain't that just like the American public? As long as it don't affect them, their jobs it's 'LET 'EM ALL IN'. People who have theirs are real damn free with other people's livelihood. But just let it come down to their livelihood and you know what the friggin' excuse is, they're trained, they're educated.

Screw everbody evenly. Let in 12 million lower class, unskilled workers? The let in 12 million friggin' doctors, lawyers, CPAs, cripple the entire economy EVENLY AND FAIRLY.

[Deja Q]

10. If they want to lower the cost of wages, that's fine and dandy.

But keep in mind the wages in these so-called "developing" nations - it may be $10/hr for a programming job that would be $90/hr here, but their economy allows it so that $10/hr is a friggin' gold mine. Pennies from heaven.

Never mind they're getting low-cost or free training from our employers; either flown in directly as H1Bs or with educational centers built in their homelands. How's the US progressing? Well, all I know is that Mitt Romney wants America to be the world's military superpower. Obviously he doesn't give a rat's buttocks about anything else; so rest assured he'd help the giveaway of our country too. Of course, even John McCain has a better chance to win and we all know he doesn't have a chance!

If the talk of "globalization" is even remotely true, we'd have seen the corporate execs leveling the playing field completely and on both sides. Along with wages, cost of living MUST be equal across the board if globalzation is supposed to be truly competitive. We're told America needs to become competitive. Well, I just gave the only solution that's viable, because we all know it's about money. Period. Nobody else has given one that I've yet found.

Do you think all that's going to happen anytime soon?

Or maybe I'm missing something from the proverbial big picture which renders my current mindset meaningless? But I think America can be more than just killing terrorists who neighbor India because there's nothing else we can do. That's rubbish. Especially when India and Iran have been friends since nearly the dawn of time... (but India's recent nuke decision that hurt Iran shows change is possible. Like I said; the big picture.)

[acmavm]

11. Seriously, do you see the corporate rulers of America ever lowering

the cost of anything? This is a war on the American worker. On the American people.

They have the 'Let them eat cake' mentality. That mindset has always worked out so well. :sarcasm:

[IndyJones]

26. Those jobs are exported to India already.

[medlakeguy]

15. Somebody's been wacthing too much lou dobbs

Lets face it illegals don't all have leprosy, they don't all wanna rape your daughter, and unless you pick oranges for a living their not gonna take your job.

[Critters2]

16. What an elitist response.

I've lived in places with packinghouses. Guess what...some American workers HAVE lost their jobs due to illegal immigration. No one you know, I realize, but some people. Real working people with families to raise and bills to pay. You should get out where you might meet these people.

[medlakeguy]

18. whats your point?

so im sure some people have lost their jobs to illegals, just like some people lose their jobs to blue collar white people and for the same reasons, if someone is willing to work harder than you and they get somewhere that IS the American dream.

[Critters2]

19. It isn't about whether people are willing to work harder

that's just a Repug corporatist talking point. The issue is wages. American workers are not willing to work for less than the work is worth, nor should they be. Illegal immigrants are brought here by the corporations to work for less than minimum wage, and less than the work is worth. In doing so, they contribute to union-busting and the loss of jobs for citizens. They also lose out on the protections available to legal workers--OSHA protections, the opportunity to organize, and yes, a fair wage. All so you can have cheap orange juice. :eyes:

[medlakeguy]

20. Drinkin OJ, still cheaper than gas

well if we made them legal they could have protection and we could go after the slave driving corporations that are making them work for pennies.

[Critters2]

28. Better yet, enforce the existing labor laws, so that employers

pay workers a fair wage. This way, there'd be no advantage to hiring illegal workers, wages would go up, and pressure would be placed on Mexico and other nations to solve the problems for which emigration acts as a pressure valve.

It's a win-win! Except for the corporations.

[AzDar]

35. Have you actually READ any provisions of this legislation?

'Make them legal, and they could have protection' simply won't work here.
This legislation provides 'z-visas' which basically allow for an ever-present LEGAL pool of slave-labor with NO Federal wage or standards protections.
The most efficient way of solving this problem JUST MIGHT be actually enforcing the laws we already have.

Amnesty was a disaster 21 years ago, and according to census figures, would be 3 times (!!) the disaster this time around.

[LBJDemocrat]

36. Bingo.

The Amnesty Bill doesn't want to make citizens of the illegals but only to legalize their status as a slave-labor class.

[unlawflcombatnt]

40. yes

The Corporatists want to expand the size of the work force by legalizing illegal immigrants' work status, but without expanding the size of the electorate by giving them citizenship.

[RaleighNCDUer]

33. So who's at fault, the worker or the corporation that hires him?

Grant amnesty, make all of them legal, and they will have to work within the prevailing wage structure. You think the immigrants want to work for less than everybody else? You think they don't know they are being exploited? Employers only get away with it because of the workers' illegal status which makes them vulnerable to blackmail. IOW, if some wetback gets uppity the bossman can drop a dime and that night the missus and kids are wondering why Manuel never came home.

This is a two-step process - bring the workers into the legitimate workforce, then force the employers to treat with them fairly. All else being equal then, who is going to be hired first? The native-born American or the immigrant who barely speaks the language?

If the immigrant workers have legal status they can be a valuable asset to the labor movement - most other countries have stronger unions than we have here in the states. These people are not scabs - they're just people who want to work who can be blackmailed into being scabs under threat of arrest and deportation. Remove the threat, and you remove the power the employers have over them. Unionists should be reaching out to them, not bashing them.

Solidarity should be more than a nostalgic phrase from the 80s.

[unlawflcombatnt]

32. It's about low wages, not about who'll "work harder"

Americans are the hardest working people on the planet. However, unlike a lot of their foreign counterparts, Americans expect to be paid well when they work hard.

As it stands now, if American employers want someone to work hard, but don't want to pay them, they can illegally hire illegal immigrants who'll work for less. In so doing, they undercut the wages of American workers.

This undercutting is illegal, and the employers should be prosecuted for the illegal activity.

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. If an illegal foreign worker will work harder than the US citizen...

It's still the job of the US elected officials to represent the interests of the US citizen.

There's always someone who's more desperate than you, and corporations like it that way.

[unlawflcombatnt]

22. Exactly

The wage stagnation since Bush stole his first election is well documented. Real wages have increased only a little over 1% since January of 2001. The workforce is expanding faster than the demand for workers. The employment of 7 million illegal immigrants is a big factor in keeping wages down-- it adds 7 million more workers to the participating labor force and suppresses wages as a result of the increased supply of workers.

[medlakeguy]

23. Glad we agree

If we legalize them, we can unionize them and they can be allies to the working class. And i mean legalize them, not give them some visa for indentured slavery. Immigrants have families to feed too and no one likes working for pennies.

[unlawflcombatnt]

29. Not quite

The underlying power of unions comes from limiting the amount of workers available to a company, forcing the company to pay them more to hire them.

Instantly making 12-20 million more people available to work does not help unions any. It weakens them, because it increases the supply of labor available, and increases the number of non-union workers available.

Union power increases as the percentage of the labor that is unionized increases, not when just the number of union members increases without a percentage increase. And union power declines if the percentage of unionized workers declines, even if the total number of unionized workers actually increases.

[IndyJones]

27. Clearly, you don't live in a border state where they have taken

fast food jobs, construction jobs, retail jobs, etc. No, they don't all work in the fields. And yes, they have jobs Americans will do, but paying them cash is cheaper than hiring Americans LEGALLY.

[unlawflcombatnt]

49. Construction Wages

Illegal immigrant employment has had it's most measurable effects on Construction Wages. A boom, such as the one in housing, normally creates a huge increase in demand for labor. The increase in demand normally increases wages. However, the most recent boom actually resulted in a DECREASE in construction wages. That's because the supply of labor STILL increased faster than the demand. And that supply increase was the result of the massive increase in illegal immigrant construction labor.

[Robson]

51. Dobbs does a pretty good job exposing what needs exposed - don't you think?

Do you not agree that Lou Dobbs hits the proverbial nail on the head on most issues? He hits both sides from pork barrel politics, to rigged elections, to Katrina incompetence, to Bush's Iraq War, to importation of massive numbers of illegal workers, etc. Dobbs does a good job at exposing issues that need exposed.

[unlawflcombatnt]

54. That's my opinion, at least

Dobbs has done an excellent job of exposing most issues that are harmful to American workers, as well as the middle class.

He's definitely encouraged and increased the discussion of globalization and outsourcing.

[Jim Warren]

21. Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Bill

“If you want to scare the American people, what you say is the bill’s an amnesty bill,” Mr. Bush said at a training center for customs protection agents and other federal agents here in southeastern Georgia. “That’s empty political rhetoric trying to frighten our citizens.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/washington/30immig.html?hp

[Jim Warren]

25. Take a chance?

"My answer to the skeptics is, 'Give us a chance to fix the problems in a comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with decency and respect. Give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to kill this bill before it gets moving,'" Mr. Bush said.

Oh yeah, I'm really into giving this gang another chance at fixing something. NOT!
I get the same feeling as when he did his road trips for social security.

I know it's impossible for this moron to be sincere in anything he says, so I wonder the reason he's spending political capital on the stump in the south where this bill is not being well received by his base? Is it just simply payback to his corporate class cronies, right in the face of his base?

[Lasher]

30. Junior is a corporatist, not a conservative.

He only cares about the wealthiest 1%. This is payback to them, exactly as you have wondered. Now that he's used all the rest of his supporters to get what he's wanted, they're out of luck.

[LBJDemocrat]

37. LMFAO!!!!

Your cartoon is goddamn hilarious!

[Lasher]

38. And wouldn't you like to know where I ran across it?

Why here at DU of course. I love those toons!

Lasher

[Jim Warren]

39. priceless

Amazing how a political cartoon is worth a thousand words.
Andy Singer, a name I want to remember.

[unlawflcombatnt]

46. That's excellent

I'm going to post that elsewhere.

[Lasher]

47. I got it here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=876507

Sometimes I use the DU search feature just to make sure I don't miss any toons.

[unlawflcombatnt]

50. Bush should know about "empty political rhetoric"

since that's all that ever comes out of his mouth.

[w4rma]

24. This bill is bad in every way. (nt)

[unlawflcombatnt]

43. More from the bill: pages 448-454

http://www.govtrack.us/data/us/bills.text/110/s/s1348.pdf

page 448

"
TITLE VI—WORK AUTHORIZATION AND LEGALIZATION OF UNDOCUMENTED INDIVIDUALS
Subtitle A—Access to Earned Adjustment and Mandatory Departure and Reentry

SEC. 601. ACCESS TO EARNED ADJUSTMENT AND MANDATORY DEPARTURE AND REENTRY.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the ‘‘Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007’’.
(b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title II (U.S.C. 1255 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 245A the following:
SEC. 245B. ACCESS TO EARNED ADJUSTMENT.
(a) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—
(1) PRINCIPAL ALIENS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 244(h) of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, an alien who satisfies the following requirements:
(A) APPLICATION.—The alien shall file an application establishing eligibility for adjustment



page 449

of status and pay the fine required under subsection (m) and any additional amounts owed under that subsection.
(B) CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL PRESENCE.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—The alien shall establish that the alien—
(I) was physically present in the United States on or before the date that is 5 years before April 5, 2006;
(II) was not legally present in the United States on April 5, 2006, under any classification set forth in section 101(a)(15); and
(III) did not depart from the United States during the 5-year period ending on April 5, 2006, except for brief, casual, and innocent departures.
(ii) LEGALLY PRESENT.—For purposes of this subparagraph, an alien who has violated any conditions of his or her visa shall be considered not to be legally present in the United States.
C) ADMISSIBLE UNDER IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The alien shall establish that the alien



page 450

is not inadmissible under section 1 212(a) except for any provision of that section that is waived under subsection (b) of this section. ‘‘(D) EMPLOYMENT IN UNITED STATES.—‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The alien shall have been employed in the United States, in the aggregate, for—(I) at least 3 years during the 5-year period ending on April 5, 2006; and
(II) at least 6 years after the date of enactment of the Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007.
(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—
(I) The employment requirement in clause (i)(I) shall not apply to an individual who is under 20 years of age on the date of enactment of the Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007.
(II) The employment requirement in clause (i)(II) shall be reduced for an individual who cannot demonstrate employment based on a physical



page 451

or mental disability or as a result of pregnancy.
(III) The employment requirement in clause (i)(II) shall be reduced for an individual who is under 20 years of age on the date of enactment of the Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007 by a period of time equal to the time period beginning on such date of enactment and ending on the date on which the individual reaches 20 years of age.
(IV) The employment requirements in clause (i) shall be reduced by 1 year for each year of full time post secondary study in the United States during the relevant period.
(V) The employment requirement under clause (i)(I) shall not apply to any individual who is 65 years of age or older on the date of the enactment of the Immigrant Accountability Act of 2007.
(iii) PORTABILITY.—An alien shall not be required to complete the employment



page 452

requirements in clause ( i) with the same employer.
(iv) EVIDENCE OF EMPLOYMENT.—
(I) CONCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS.—For purposes of satisfying the requirements in clause (i), the alien shall submit at least 2 of the following documents for each period of employment, which shall be considered conclusive evidence of such employment:
(aa) Records maintained by
the Social Security Administration.
(bb) Records maintained by an employer, such as pay stubs, time sheets, or employment work verification.
(cc) Records maintained by the Internal Revenue Service.
(dd) Records maintained by a union or day labor center.
(ee) Records maintained by any other government agency, such as worker compensation



page 453

records, disability 1 records, or business licensing records.
(II) OTHER DOCUMENTS.—An alien who is unable to submit a document described in subclause (I) may satisfy the requirement in clause (i)by submitting to the Secretary at least 2 other types of reliable documents that provide evidence of employment for each required period of employment, including—
(aa) bank records;
(bb) business records;
(cc) sworn affidavits from non-relatives who have direct knowledge of the alien’s work, including the name, address, and phone number of the affiant, the nature and duration of the relationship between the affiant and the alien, and other verification information; or
(dd) remittance records.
(v) BURDEN OF PROOF.—An alien applying for adjustment of status under



page 454

this subsection has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the alien has satisfied the employment requirements in clause (i). Once the burden is met, the burden shall shift to the Secretary of Homeland Security to disprove the alien’s evidence with a showing which negates the reasonableness of the inference to be drawn from the evidence.
(E) PAYMENT OF INCOME TAXES.—
(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date on which status is adjusted under this section, the alien establishes the payment of any applicable Federal tax liability by establishing that—
(I) no such tax liability exists;
(II) all outstanding liabilities have been paid; or
(III) the alien has entered into an agreement for payment of all outstanding liabilities with the Internal Revenue Service.
(ii) APPLICABLE FEDERAL TAX LIABILITY.—For purposes of clause (i), the term ‘applicable Federal tax liability’....."

So if illegal immigrants can not supply the required documents, they can supply alternate documents, which can include documents that can easily be falsified, such as "sworn affidavits" from non-family members (like maybe their illegal employers).

[Brassballs]

44. K & R

[Jacklyn75]

45. K&R!

[unlawflcombatnt]

48. Payroll Employment

It's also worth mentioning that the actual counted number for Payroll Employment was calculated at -229,000. (The total came out to +88,000, due to the addition ("imputation") of 317,000 phantom employees from the government's business birth/death model. Which, by the way, didn't exist before 2000.)

Employment "imputation" is discussed further on my forum at Wage/Employment Deception

The decline actual payroll employment indicates there is no "labor shortage" whatsoever. There is only a "job" shortage, and a shortage of employers willing to pay enough to hire American workers.

[Robson]

52. Government statistics and indexes - True or False?

It's been said and demonstrated more than once that the Bush administration has used and manipulated politics as the basis for ALL its policies and decision making. CEOs have manipulated their corporate books to increase their compensation and standing, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility our government statistical reporting is compromised to increase political standing of the administration. Obviously you can only fool the people so long as anecdotal observations will begin to have an impact. You've probably seen this web site. http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs .

I do believe that the numbers of illegal workers in this country are significantly understated as the politics require it. It could be we have 24 million instead of 12 million.

[unlawflcombatnt]

53. Employment Lies

Yes, I've seen the Shadow Government Statistics site. I've actually saved it to my "Favorites" and posted it as a link at my forum. I don't know if how correct all of their information is, but I trust them a lot more than I do the Bush-controlled government's statistics.

There are many, MANY methods the government uses to manipulate the calculated unemployment rate. The biggest one is to put a truly unemployed worker into the "not-in-labor-force" category. Workers classified as such are then removed from the total unemployment count. There are almost 79 million working age Americans in this category at present.

The Shadow Statistics has some interesting input on this subject. They've done some of their own calculations, showing a much higher unemployment rate than the one published by the Bush plutocracy. Below is a quote from a 2004 article:

"Up until the Clinton administration, a discouraged worker was one who was willing, able and ready to work but had given up looking because there were no jobs to be had. The Clinton administration dismissed to the non-reporting netherworld about five million discouraged workers who had been so categorized for more than a year. As of July 2004, the less-than-a-year discouraged workers total 504,000. Adding in the netherworld takes the unemployment rate up to about 12.5%."

Another mechanism the government uses to overstate employment is the business birth/death model. In theory, it's a method used to add in jobs that are a result of new businesses formed that are not counted in the monthly payroll numbers. Many believe the addition of these "imputed" numbers grossly overestimate employment. (The explanation of how they arrive at the "imputed" number is complicated, and beyond what I can explain here.)

I did read some very interesting commentary on the business "birth/death" concoction at the site nakedcapitalism. The first point of interest was that the birth/death adjustments to BLS employment numbers didn't take full effect until 2001. (Just in time for the Bush Deceptocracy). Below is a copy of the additional jobs added to the payroll employment report by the birth/death model. This actually comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.



This model added 964,000 jobs to the calculated job total in 2006, it added 865,000 in 2005, and 836,000 in 2004. The numbers added for this year are not widely available. However, the number added to the April's total payroll employment number was 317,000, the highest since January 2004. And with the addition of this "imputed" employment number, the total number of jobs created was only 88,000. Which means the number of jobs actually counted by the BLS was -229,000.

Again, here as elsewhere, much of our current economic "growth" is simply a fabrication by the government. Of the total number of jobs that were actually counted for the month of April, the number DECLINED by 229,000. Little wonder real wages are declining.

[unlawflcombatnt]

55. GDP down to +0.6%

With the latest downward revision of GDP to +0.6%, it's difficult to see any reason to believe there is an increased demand for workers. And the decline in real wages over the last 6 months doesn't suggest any increase in demand for workers either.

Manufacturing employment is declining. Construction employment is declining. Where is there any unmet demand for labor?

[sadiesworld]

56. kick