There is nothing we like better than ending the week with a post sure to inspire multiple rants comments from our favorite misanthrope, Patty Cake. So we throw down the gauntlet with this article from the Economist: it seems Los Angeles' illegal immigrant population is beginning to dwindle. Oh no! Who will Patty Cake have left to hate?
According to the article, LA has lost some 15,000 illegal immigrants between 2002 and 2004, as the population starts to bypass traditional urban gateways (including New York and Chicago) in favor of midwestern and southern states with construction and meat-packing job opportunities. In addition to Ohio and Texas stealing all of our illegal immigrants, you can add San Bernadino to that list. Why the migration? Same reasons anyone else chooses to leave the city: cheaper housing, better schools, and less gang violence. The difference is their neighbors aren't exactly welcoming them to live out their version of the American Dream.
So why does the Economist believe this is bad for LA, and other cities experiencing the same phenomena?
Illegal immigrants are the canaries in the economic coal mine, sensitive to the slightest changes in the job market. Their presence in a city may cause problems, but their departure suggests that a place is losing some of its economic dynamism.So if we experience a devasting market crash, don't blame the illegal immigrants. They saw it coming long ago.
· Escape from LA [The Economist]