Evaluate the claim that migrants represent a threat to the UK economy - Essay Example

?Does Immigration Threaten the UK Economy? According to __________________, immigration is important because it entails key aspects like who makes upa population, who has claims to rights and privileges and who are valuable and dispensable, among other issues concerning identity, citizenship and consumption. (p160-161) In the United Kingdom, this issue is controversial with a significant portion of the populace increasingly becoming averse to diversity and the idea of more foreign migrants. In a radio interview, for instance, Seimon Glynn, a rural British resident commented: “We are faced with a situation now where we are getting tidal waves of migration, inward migration into our rural areas from England, and these people are coming here to live to establish themselves here, and to influence our communities and our culture with their own. (____________________, p167) This state pretty much summed up the prevailing attitude towards immigration in the UK. It was made in reference to "inward migration," the influx of new inhabitants that are actually British subjects themselves. With the issue of foreign migration, the resentment and general negative opinion about alien workers are certainly more antagonistic and hostile. With Glynn's point of view, the two general claims against immigration were highlighted: first is that immigration takes away jobs and drain resources; and, secondly, they influence and change communities. This paper will examine if immigration, indeed, harms the UK economy in the context of these two areas. Effect on Cultural Homogeneity A fundamental consequence of immigration is multiculturalism and diversity. There is a persistent notion that they erode and threaten social cohesion and solidarity in Britain. It is not unlike a case about “they” and “us” or the concept of “otherness” that is quite at home with the British society’s imperial past and tendency to side with unity instead of diversity. What this circumstance contributes in the economic discourse of immigration is to reinforce and legitimize the view that diversity taxes obligations behind good society and the welfare state. As wave upon wave of immigrants arrive on British soils, more and more citizens are becoming concerned about the way the state would be obligated to support their needs. Hayes, for example, quipped that “refugees have begun to look like beggars at the gate, or even thieves” establishing the argument about how immigrants are becoming costly, burdensome, needy, and, hence, undesirable for the kingdom. (cited in Cohen, Humphries and Mynott 2002, p30) Indeed, as a welfare state, Britain is forced to support immigrants with benefits, usually in the form of services as well as cash through a national dispersal system. The prevailing perspective is that this would be unfair to citizens who have to share with the foreign population the services and benefits that their taxes have paid for. Then there is the issue of whether the state of the government’s finances could bear the brunt of these additional mouths to feed. As has been demonstrated in the way foreign workers were perceived to be a burden, the influx of immigrants to the United Kingdom, for some sectors, is seen to have a negative impact on the value of rights and privileges of the British citizens. For instance, the right to buy land of citizens may rightly be infringed or that as the government grants access to the labour market without any effective mechanism that regulate the way employers hire foreign workers by ensuring that it there is no available or suitable workers available in the country. (International Organization for Migration, p50-51) This aspect in the immigration controversy is quite complicated because it is tainted by bias and prejudice. The fact is that immigrants are highly restricted by the government. The stringent procedures and requirements for migrant workers ensure that those accepted into the country are only those desirable and those that could contribute to the UK economy. Cohen, Humphries and Mynott highlighted this when they explained that once immigrants are settled and start working, they are inevitably required to make financial contribution to the state that, in the end, far outweighs whatever demands and needs they would require. (p99) This is also in addition to the general trend that points to how migrants are almost always driven to better their plight and it is simply illogical to say that they would immigrate and settle just to receive state support. ______________’s emphasized that migrants’ contribution can be counted, categorized and valued while those who attack their worth are reduced to conflicting accounts and arguments, without any credible or coherent evidences. (p199) With this theme in mind, immigrants can be catalysts in Britain’s drive to open itself up to multiculturalism, which is an important character of robust economies and communities today. Implications to the UK Labour Market In the context of the economic dimension of immigration, it is inevitable to discuss the issue of employment and job opportunities. In the UK and elsewhere, foreign workers are often blamed for loss of job opportunities. Foreign workers who are skilled and competent are employed with significantly lower wages than British citizens. This is the fundamental reason why some believe that migrants are competing with the citizens unfairly, disadvantaging British subjects in the process. The argument that raises the question about foreign workers' encroachment on the UK labour market appears to be unfounded. The fact is that the country has a certain degree of labour shortage making it necessary to encourage immigration of skilled foreign workers. In 2004, according to David Blunkett, the then Secretary of State for Home Department, the UK "currently has more than 500,000 vacancies and will benefit from the skills, flexibility and willingness to work of those new migrant workers. (Currie 2008, p34) This is underscored by the Accession Monitoring Report released by the Home Office, which found that, "the vast majority of workers are young and single, and many are doing key jobs to support public services." (Home Office 2005, p2) The labour shortage in UK is aggravated by the fact that the country is facing a declining and ageing population. According to Uhlenberg: The United Kingdom is projected to decline in overall size from 58 to 56 million. The labor force size would decline in all areas and faster than population decline over the 1995-2050 periods. These are the results of expected below replacement fertility and increased longevity. (p401) The ageing population also means that UK has an increasing number of old retiring citizens and less people who can work. Encouraging migrant workers to come is actually a boon for the economy because these people are, as cited elsewhere in this paper, are mostly young. It is an accepted economic fact that a country needs a whole bunch of workers in order to pay for the welfare services and benefits of its people. Without their taxes, public welfare services will be extremely jeopardized for lack of funds. As early as 1938, observers have already warned policymakers about this issue. The UK can just look at the case of Japan, which is starting to experience the adverse effects of its ageing population. In a study, it was stressed that it has formed part of the policy concern for the country today since it figured prominently in the “problem for sustainability of pensions, health insurance and other aspects of the social security system.” (Coulmas 2007, p9) Unskilled An underlying issue that is entailed in the area of the labour market theme is the accusation that immigrants are not skilled enough to significantly contribute something to the UK economy. For example, it was put forward that 13 percent of migrants report no qualifications or skills and that as much as 32 percent of these migrants may have skills that can be equated to low qualifications in terms of UK standards. (UK Parliament 2009, p215) This issue, however, is addressed by the strict immigration policy of the UK. Through the years, the country has perfected the mechanisms that would ensure the approval of desirable migrant candidates. No less than the Home Office cited this fact. In a study, the agency confirmed that a high percentage of migrants have skilled or professional backgrounds, highly educated and qualified according to the British standards, noting that some of these foreign migrants have high entrepreneurial potential for the host community. (Cohen, Humphries and Mynott, p99). Conclusion Again, there are two prevailing reasons why there are people who believe that migrants threaten the UK economy: how they strain the British socio-economic environment and how it impacts the UK labour market. These points, however, appear to be unfounded and, worse, seem to be clouded by prejudice and intolerance. The evidences cited by this paper point to an opposite phenomenon – that immigrants could actually help boost the UK economy both in the short and long term. The bulk of foreign workers are skilled and educated and could enhance the country’s economic efficiency. Moreover, the immigrant workers could also revitalize the economic environment by addressing labor shortage and the ageing population. It is in this respect that migrants connect and repair institutions in the British society. The economic variable is just one of its dimensions. This must be what ____________ meant, when it was stated that migrants can help build institutions that are important to national identity and the story of the nation. (p199) References Cohen, S, Humphries, B and Mynott, E 2002, From immigration controls to welfare controls. London: Routledge. Coulmas, F 2007, Population decline and ageing in Japan: the social consequences. London: Routledge. Currie, S 2008, Migration, work and citizenship in the enlarged European Union. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. International Organization for Migration 2006, World Migration 2005 Costs and Benefits of International Migration. Geneva: Academic Foundation. Uhlenberg, P 2009, International handbook of population aging. Berlin: Springer. UK Parliament 2009, Globalisation and Its Impact on Wales: Second Report of Session 2008-09. London: The Stationery Office. Read More