Who gets credit for booming economy?

The numbers are in from the Census Bureau. Americans are making more
money than at any time in our history. More people are employed, and
fewer people are poor, than at any time in our history. And in spite of
booming oil prices, our economy continues to expand.

An election of momentous importance is just around the corner. And
Democrats and Republicans are trying to take credit for the past eight
years.

Let me tell you this. The only people who cannot take credit for
what has happened are politicians.

Yes, the Clinton administration was in power during this incredible
economic boom. But did they help things grow or were they so
incompetent that they just couldn’t mess things up?

Yes, the Republican Congress forced through a major welfare reform
bill. But if the economy hadn’t been expanding at such a rapid rate,
would there have been jobs for untrained workers?

There is an answer for who is responsible for our economic success.
And it’s not what you read in the press.

First, part of the answer is found in the barren wombs of those of us
who have chosen not to have children. America’s birth rate is below
zero population growth. As a result, for the next 10 years, America will
see a 15 percent decline in the number of 25 to 45-year-olds who will
enter the job market because of low birth rates. At the same time, our
economy will continue to expand by 3 to 5 percent.

The net-net of these two phenomena is that every single employer will
be desperate to hire anyone who is trainable. That is why there are now
job fairs for ex-convicts and former welfare workers. We desperately
need new workers and will go anywhere to find them.

Second, let’s also give credit to two, often-ignored players, who are
also directly responsible for the growth of our economy: the INS and
illegal immigrants.

America is a magnet for those who want to work hard and make money.
Contrary to what liberals say, the American dream is to be able to
improve your standard of living during your lifetime by making more and
more money.

Immigrants are attracted to this dream like iron filings to a
magnet. They come here legally if they can, but come they will. The
INS works hard to prevent illegal aliens from entering or staying in
America. They have a reasonable level of success, but miss 80 to 90
percent of those who try to enter illegally.

In yet another case of unintended consequences, the INS improves the
quality of the illegal immigrant job pool by catching the unlucky and
the stupid. Some get caught and sent back many times before they
finally figure out how to get around the INS. Other get caught and
never try again. And then, sadly, there are those who die in the
process. The net result of the INS’s work is that it culls the gene
pool, so to speak, to increase the yield of those who are most
entrepreneurial, most hungry, most ready to work.

I know, this is not politically correct speech, but it is what is
happening. And if you go back to my first point — America desperately
needs more workers than she is producing if our economy is to continue
growing. And immigrants, legal and otherwise, are filling the gap.

Finally, let’s give credit to the men and women who are fueling the
“new economy” revolution. They aren’t your typical suspects.

We all know about the tremendous economic machine that we now call
Silicon Valley. But did you know that 40 to 45 percent of all of the
new companies in the Valley are created by Indian or Asian-American
entrepreneurs? This same community represents less than 10 percent of
California’s citizens.

At the end of the day, economies grow because entrepreneurs and
businessmen and women take the risk to create new businesses that hire
people. Economies grow because employees take the risk to join new
businesses and work their rumps off to make them successful. The best
thing that politicians can do to help companies grow is to ensure that
government does the least possible harm.

During the coming month and a half, politicians will try to take
credit for everything: even inventing the Internet. But the stark
reality is this: Politicians exist primarily to spend the taxes that you
and I pay. Only entrepreneurs, business people and workers create the
wealth that politicians tax and spend. So the only people who are not
responsible for our booming economy are politicians.