Reconstructing Immigration: Prices, Payroll, and Stalled Growth: The True Cost of Broken Immigration and How to Fix It en Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire podcast series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. How can we fix it? https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/57d09062-c65d-11f1-b7dc-a7d945849d25/image/54037a6148fbb56ca3a550f475122cc3.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Reconstructing Immigration: Prices, Payroll, and Stalled Growth: The True Cost of Broken Immigration and How to Fix It episodic Loren Steffy Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire podcast series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. How can we fix it? Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire podcast series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. How can we fix it?

]]> Thomas R Fox tfox@tfoxlaw.com Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 4 - What It Costs at the Register Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is really a question of labor supply, and the people most directly affected are those trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In this episode 4, we look at the costs at the cash register for Americans. Summer 2022: chicken breast at four dollars a pound, heating bills doubling, childcare past $2,000 a month, inflation at 9.1 percent, and the most aggressive rate increases in modern history. Everyone argued about supply chains and stimulus. Almost nobody noticed that the largest labor-supply shift in decades was quietly draining pressure out of the wage-price spiral from below. Steffy explains why immigration restriction is now the most underpriced inflation risk in the economy. Key highlights: Walk through the shock-absorber argument. Which prices does this actually move? Be specific. What is the risk running the other way, right now? Does any other country give us a control group? “Immigrants drive up housing costs—that’s why my rent is high.” Soundbite: “The Federal Reserve can control interest rates. It cannot conjure workers out of thin air.” Close: Watch two series over the next year: services inflation excluding housing and residential construction employment. That’s where this shows up before anyone announces it. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 4 Loren Steffy How does our current immigration policy drive up costs? Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is really a question of labor supply, and the people most directly affected are those trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In this episode 4, we look at the costs at the cash register for Americans. Summer 2022: chicken breast at four dollars a pound, heating bills doubling, childcare past $2,000 a month, inflation at 9.1 percent, and the most aggressive rate increases in modern history. Everyone argued about supply chains and stimulus. Almost nobody noticed that the largest labor-supply shift in decades was quietly draining pressure out of the wage-price spiral from below. Steffy explains why immigration restriction is now the most underpriced inflation risk in the economy. Key highlights: Walk through the shock-absorber argument. Which prices does this actually move? Be specific. What is the risk running the other way, right now? Does any other country give us a control group? “Immigrants drive up housing costs—that’s why my rent is high.” Soundbite: “The Federal Reserve can control interest rates. It cannot conjure workers out of thin air.” Close: Watch two series over the next year: services inflation excluding housing and residential construction employment. That’s where this shows up before anyone announces it. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is really a question of labor supply, and the people most directly affected are those trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.

In this episode 4, we look at the costs at the cash register for Americans. Summer 2022: chicken breast at four dollars a pound, heating bills doubling, childcare past $2,000 a month, inflation at 9.1 percent, and the most aggressive rate increases in modern history. Everyone argued about supply chains and stimulus. Almost nobody noticed that the largest labor-supply shift in decades was quietly draining pressure out of the wage-price spiral from below. Steffy explains why immigration restriction is now the most underpriced inflation risk in the economy.

Key highlights:

  1. Walk through the shock-absorber argument.
  2. Which prices does this actually move? Be specific.
  3. What is the risk running the other way, right now?
  4. Does any other country give us a control group?
  5. “Immigrants drive up housing costs—that’s why my rent is high.”

Soundbite:

“The Federal Reserve can control interest rates. It cannot conjure workers out of thin air.”

Close:

Watch two series over the next year: services inflation excluding housing and residential construction employment. That’s where this shows up before anyone announces it.

Resources:

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 1021 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 2 - The Talent We Train and Then Turn Away Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel it most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication shop. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In episode 2, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy examine the talent we train and turn away. The bottom line is that immigrants don’t only fill American jobs; they disproportionately create them, and current policy is systematically routing that capacity to Canada, Germany, and Singapore. Key highlights: The immigrant-entrepreneur story. Immigrant inventors raise everyone else’s output. How do you measure that? What is actually blocking the US employment of all this talent. Where does that talent go instead? Does the H-1B visa program undercuts American engineers? Key takeaway: “We give them the education and then hand them the exit. The United States has become the world’s best-funded training program for its competitors.” Listener Challenge: For employers: audit which functions in the company depend on a visa holder, and how substitutable each one is. Most companies are carrying that risk without having priced it. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 2 Loren Steffy Why do we train them and then send them away? Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel it most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication shop. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In episode 2, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy examine the talent we train and turn away. The bottom line is that immigrants don’t only fill American jobs; they disproportionately create them, and current policy is systematically routing that capacity to Canada, Germany, and Singapore. Key highlights: The immigrant-entrepreneur story. Immigrant inventors raise everyone else’s output. How do you measure that? What is actually blocking the US employment of all this talent. Where does that talent go instead? Does the H-1B visa program undercuts American engineers? Key takeaway: “We give them the education and then hand them the exit. The United States has become the world’s best-funded training program for its competitors.” Listener Challenge: For employers: audit which functions in the company depend on a visa holder, and how substitutable each one is. Most companies are carrying that risk without having priced it. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel it most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication shop. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.

In episode 2, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy examine the talent we train and turn away. The bottom line is that immigrants don’t only fill American jobs; they disproportionately create them, and current policy is systematically routing that capacity to Canada, Germany, and Singapore.

Key highlights:

  1. The immigrant-entrepreneur story.
  2. Immigrant inventors raise everyone else’s output. How do you measure that?
  3. What is actually blocking the US employment of all this talent.
  4. Where does that talent go instead?
  5. Does the H-1B visa program undercuts American engineers?

Key takeaway:

“We give them the education and then hand them the exit. The United States has become the world’s best-funded training program for its competitors.”

Listener Challenge:

For employers: audit which functions in the company depend on a visa holder, and how substitutable each one is. Most companies are carrying that risk without having priced it.

Resources:

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 1065 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 7 - The Fixes That Don’t Need Congress Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this penultimate Episode 7 we move from diagnosis to blueprint; starting with the reforms that can move without a comprehensive bill, because comprehensive bills keep dying. Key Highlights 1.  What does legalization actually do economically? Not morally — economically. 2.  You devote a chapter to one employer’s proposal — Stan Marek’s ‘ID and Tax.’ Why does it deserve that? 3.  Move up the skill ladder. What’s the architecture fix? 4.  You can’t sell any of this without enforcement credibility. What does that look like? 5. “This is amnesty with a new name.” Key Takeaway “Every one of these can be done without a grand bargain. We have spent forty years waiting for a comprehensive bill because waiting is easier than choosing.” Listener Challenge One concrete ask for business listeners: the reforms with the best cost-benefit ratio — the registry date, an extended H-1B grace period, certified payroll on private projects — are small enough to fit in a single meeting with a member’s staff. That’s the scale of what’s being neglected. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 7 Loren Steffy What can we fix without Congress Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this penultimate Episode 7 we move from diagnosis to blueprint; starting with the reforms that can move without a comprehensive bill, because comprehensive bills keep dying. Key Highlights 1.  What does legalization actually do economically? Not morally — economically. 2.  You devote a chapter to one employer’s proposal — Stan Marek’s ‘ID and Tax.’ Why does it deserve that? 3.  Move up the skill ladder. What’s the architecture fix? 4.  You can’t sell any of this without enforcement credibility. What does that look like? 5. “This is amnesty with a new name.” Key Takeaway “Every one of these can be done without a grand bargain. We have spent forty years waiting for a comprehensive bill because waiting is easier than choosing.” Listener Challenge One concrete ask for business listeners: the reforms with the best cost-benefit ratio — the registry date, an extended H-1B grace period, certified payroll on private projects — are small enough to fit in a single meeting with a member’s staff. That’s the scale of what’s being neglected. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. 

In this penultimate Episode 7 we move from diagnosis to blueprint; starting with the reforms that can move without a comprehensive bill, because comprehensive bills keep dying.

Key Highlights

1.  What does legalization actually do economically? Not morally — economically.

2.  You devote a chapter to one employer’s proposal — Stan Marek’s ‘ID and Tax.’ Why does it deserve that?

3.  Move up the skill ladder. What’s the architecture fix?

4.  You can’t sell any of this without enforcement credibility. What does that look like?

5. “This is amnesty with a new name.”

Key Takeaway

“Every one of these can be done without a grand bargain. We have spent forty years waiting for a comprehensive bill because waiting is easier than choosing.”

Listener Challenge

One concrete ask for business listeners: the reforms with the best cost-benefit ratio — the registry date, an extended H-1B grace period, certified payroll on private projects — are small enough to fit in a single meeting with a member’s staff. That’s the scale of what’s being neglected.

RESOURCES

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 1047 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 6 - The Shadow Payroll Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this Episode 6 we look why the broken immigration system is not an accident that persists despite business. It persists because a segment of business profits from it, and the employers who follow the rules are the ones being punished. Key Highlights 1.  What happened to Marke Brothers in Houston TX in 2009? 2.  Explain the labor broker model to someone who’s never encountered it. 3.  What does that do to the workers inside it? 4.  Enforcement is supposedly aimed at this. Is it helping? 5. “Business wants cheap labor. Isn’t this book just carrying water for employers?” Key Takeaway “We built a labor market where the employers willing to cheat thrive and the workers willing to endure anything survive. The exploitation isn’t incidental. It is the business model.” Listener Challenge For any general contractor or developer listening: ask your subs who is actually on the crew, and whether the certificate of insurance in your file covers four people or fifty on scaffolding. You are carrying that risk whether or not you’ve priced it. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 6 Loren Steffy Why the broken immigration system is not an accident. Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this Episode 6 we look why the broken immigration system is not an accident that persists despite business. It persists because a segment of business profits from it, and the employers who follow the rules are the ones being punished. Key Highlights 1.  What happened to Marke Brothers in Houston TX in 2009? 2.  Explain the labor broker model to someone who’s never encountered it. 3.  What does that do to the workers inside it? 4.  Enforcement is supposedly aimed at this. Is it helping? 5. “Business wants cheap labor. Isn’t this book just carrying water for employers?” Key Takeaway “We built a labor market where the employers willing to cheat thrive and the workers willing to endure anything survive. The exploitation isn’t incidental. It is the business model.” Listener Challenge For any general contractor or developer listening: ask your subs who is actually on the crew, and whether the certificate of insurance in your file covers four people or fifty on scaffolding. You are carrying that risk whether or not you’ve priced it. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. 

In this Episode 6 we look why the broken immigration system is not an accident that persists despite business. It persists because a segment of business profits from it, and the employers who follow the rules are the ones being punished.

Key Highlights

1.  What happened to Marke Brothers in Houston TX in 2009?

2.  Explain the labor broker model to someone who’s never encountered it.

3.  What does that do to the workers inside it?

4.  Enforcement is supposedly aimed at this. Is it helping?

5. “Business wants cheap labor. Isn’t this book just carrying water for employers?”

Key Takeaway

“We built a labor market where the employers willing to cheat thrive and the workers willing to endure anything survive. The exploitation isn’t incidental. It is the business model.”

Listener Challenge

For any general contractor or developer listening: ask your subs who is actually on the crew, and whether the certificate of insurance in your file covers four people or fifty on scaffolding. You are carrying that risk whether or not you’ve priced it.

RESOURCES

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 902 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 1 - The Math Doesn’t Work Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In Episode 1, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the math problem: the country has more open jobs than people to fill them, and there is no domestic pipeline to close the gap over time. KEY HIGHLIGHTS You open the book with a number, not an argument. What is it? Why talk semiconductors and health care? Employers hear ‘labor shortage’ and think ‘pay more.’ Why doesn’t that solve the problem? Is there any version of this where demographics bail us out? Why can’t we just hire more Americans? SOUNDBITE “We are trying to build a twenty-first-century economy on a twentieth-century workforce blueprint, and the blueprint hasn’t been updated since 1990.” CLOSE For listeners: count your own visa-dependent and hard-to-fill roles and ask how long each has been open. That number is the show’s subject. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 1 Loren Steffy Why the math around immigration does not work. Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In Episode 1, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the math problem: the country has more open jobs than people to fill them, and there is no domestic pipeline to close the gap over time. KEY HIGHLIGHTS You open the book with a number, not an argument. What is it? Why talk semiconductors and health care? Employers hear ‘labor shortage’ and think ‘pay more.’ Why doesn’t that solve the problem? Is there any version of this where demographics bail us out? Why can’t we just hire more Americans? SOUNDBITE “We are trying to build a twenty-first-century economy on a twentieth-century workforce blueprint, and the blueprint hasn’t been updated since 1990.” CLOSE For listeners: count your own visa-dependent and hard-to-fill roles and ask how long each has been open. That number is the show’s subject. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fab. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce issue and ends with what employers can actually do about it. The series’ theme is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.

In Episode 1, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the math problem: the country has more open jobs than people to fill them, and there is no domestic pipeline to close the gap over time.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  1. You open the book with a number, not an argument. What is it?
  2. Why talk semiconductors and health care?
  3. Employers hear ‘labor shortage’ and think ‘pay more.’ Why doesn’t that solve the problem?
  4. Is there any version of this where demographics bail us out?
  5. Why can’t we just hire more Americans?

SOUNDBITE

“We are trying to build a twenty-first-century economy on a twentieth-century workforce blueprint, and the blueprint hasn’t been updated since 1990.”

CLOSE

For listeners: count your own visa-dependent and hard-to-fill roles and ask how long each has been open. That number is the show’s subject.

RESOURCES

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 1227 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 5- We’ve Done This Before Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this Episode 5 we look at prior US government efforts at mass deportation twice in living memory. Both times it damaged the economy, failed on its own terms, and left the underlying labor demand untouched. Additionally we consider how these actions not only directly hurt not the US national economy but also the US national security.  THE CONVERSATION 1.  Why lead a business argument with a story from 1955? 2.  The two mass campaigns — what actually happened? 3.  Why does an approach with that record keep coming back? 4.  Put a price on doing it again. 5. “Enforcing the law isn’t optional. What’s your alternative — open borders?” SOUNDBITE “We ramp up enforcement, create labor shortages, watch prices rise, then quietly relax enforcement when the pain gets bad enough. That cycle started in 1954 and we are still inside it.” Listener Challenge Andy Harvey, a police chief in Palestine, Pharr, and Dallas, makes the point I’d end on: crime rates in immigrant neighborhoods are low, and if the only witness to a serious crime is too frightened to talk to police, everyone in that community is less safe.   RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 5 Loren Steffy Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this Episode 5 we look at prior US government efforts at mass deportation twice in living memory. Both times it damaged the economy, failed on its own terms, and left the underlying labor demand untouched. Additionally we consider how these actions not only directly hurt not the US national economy but also the US national security.  THE CONVERSATION 1.  Why lead a business argument with a story from 1955? 2.  The two mass campaigns — what actually happened? 3.  Why does an approach with that record keep coming back? 4.  Put a price on doing it again. 5. “Enforcing the law isn’t optional. What’s your alternative — open borders?” SOUNDBITE “We ramp up enforcement, create labor shortages, watch prices rise, then quietly relax enforcement when the pain gets bad enough. That cycle started in 1954 and we are still inside it.” Listener Challenge Andy Harvey, a police chief in Palestine, Pharr, and Dallas, makes the point I’d end on: crime rates in immigrant neighborhoods are low, and if the only witness to a serious crime is too frightened to talk to police, everyone in that community is less safe.   RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. 

In this Episode 5 we look at prior US government efforts at mass deportation twice in living memory. Both times it damaged the economy, failed on its own terms, and left the underlying labor demand untouched. Additionally we consider how these actions not only directly hurt not the US national economy but also the US national security. 

THE CONVERSATION

1.  Why lead a business argument with a story from 1955?

2.  The two mass campaigns — what actually happened?

3.  Why does an approach with that record keep coming back?

4.  Put a price on doing it again.

5. “Enforcing the law isn’t optional. What’s your alternative — open borders?”

SOUNDBITE

“We ramp up enforcement, create labor shortages, watch prices rise, then quietly relax enforcement when the pain gets bad enough. That cycle started in 1954 and we are still inside it.”

Listener Challenge

Andy Harvey, a police chief in Palestine, Pharr, and Dallas, makes the point I’d end on: crime rates in immigrant neighborhoods are low, and if the only witness to a serious crime is too frightened to talk to police, everyone in that community is less safe.

 

RESOURCES

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration


]]> 1093 Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 3 - The Trillion-Dollar Ledger Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In Episode 3, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the fiscal argument, which runs opposite the political one: immigrants are a net contributor at the federal level, and the country has already declined to collect on it once. Key highlights: What is the top-line federal number? Why does Social Security matter so much? In 2013, Congress had a bill scored as a major deficit reducer and didn’t pass it. What happened? Why doesn’t this land politically? Does this objection hold water: “Immigrants are a drain—they use services they never paid for.” Key takeaway: “It requires no new taxes, no benefit cuts, and no austerity. The work has already been done by the people doing the work.” Listener challenge: The ask of the audience: when a member of Congress talks about the deficit, ask them where they stood on the last bill CBO scored as a trillion-dollar deficit reducer. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 3 Loren Steffy Why immigrants are net contributors to America. Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. In Episode 3, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the fiscal argument, which runs opposite the political one: immigrants are a net contributor at the federal level, and the country has already declined to collect on it once. Key highlights: What is the top-line federal number? Why does Social Security matter so much? In 2013, Congress had a bill scored as a major deficit reducer and didn’t pass it. What happened? Why doesn’t this land politically? Does this objection hold water: “Immigrants are a drain—they use services they never paid for.” Key takeaway: “It requires no new taxes, no benefit cuts, and no austerity. The work has already been done by the people doing the work.” Listener challenge: The ask of the audience: when a member of Congress talks about the deficit, ask them where they stood on the last bill CBO scored as a trillion-dollar deficit reducer. Resources: Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply, and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, and competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is that America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.

In Episode 3, host Tom Fox and Author Loren Steffy look at the fiscal argument, which runs opposite the political one: immigrants are a net contributor at the federal level, and the country has already declined to collect on it once.

Key highlights:

  1. What is the top-line federal number?
  2. Why does Social Security matter so much?
  3. In 2013, Congress had a bill scored as a major deficit reducer and didn’t pass it. What happened?
  4. Why doesn’t this land politically?
  5. Does this objection hold water: “Immigrants are a drain—they use services they never paid for.”

Key takeaway:

“It requires no new taxes, no benefit cuts, and no austerity. The work has already been done by the people doing the work.”

Listener challenge:

The ask of the audience: when a member of Congress talks about the deficit, ask them where they stood on the last bill CBO scored as a trillion-dollar deficit reducer.

Resources:

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

]]> 986 no Reconstructing Immigration: Episode 8 - Who Is Going to Do This Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this concluding Episode 8 we explore why it will take the business community coming together as an organized constituency to get the US Congress off dead center. Steffy points to August 2022, during one of the most polarized periods in modern congressional history, the semi-conductor industry got $52 billion. Immigration reform advocates have almost never brought that level of commitment to stakes at least as large. Key Highlights 1.  Start with the sequencing. If someone handed you the pen, what happens first? 2.  You put the responsibility on business fairly bluntly. Why? 3. What should an individual company do Monday morning? 4.  Close it out. What’s the actual cost of continuing to do nothing? 5. “Congress is never going to act. Isn’t this all academic?” SOUNDBITE “A consortium without an industry willing to fund it is just a memo. A dashboard without sustained engagement is just a website. The choice isn’t whether the system needs fixing. It’s whether anyone will organize to fix it.” CLOSE End on the book’s own closing move: America has made this choice before, and made it well. The question is whether we do it again, and whether we do it better. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Mon, 19 Oct 2026 05:00:00 -0000 full 8 Loren Steffy Why business must lead the change in immigration policy Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth.  In this concluding Episode 8 we explore why it will take the business community coming together as an organized constituency to get the US Congress off dead center. Steffy points to August 2022, during one of the most polarized periods in modern congressional history, the semi-conductor industry got $52 billion. Immigration reform advocates have almost never brought that level of commitment to stakes at least as large. Key Highlights 1.  Start with the sequencing. If someone handed you the pen, what happens first? 2.  You put the responsibility on business fairly bluntly. Why? 3. What should an individual company do Monday morning? 4.  Close it out. What’s the actual cost of continuing to do nothing? 5. “Congress is never going to act. Isn’t this all academic?” SOUNDBITE “A consortium without an industry willing to fund it is just a memo. A dashboard without sustained engagement is just a website. The choice isn’t whether the system needs fixing. It’s whether anyone will organize to fix it.” CLOSE End on the book’s own closing move: America has made this choice before, and made it well. The question is whether we do it again, and whether we do it better. RESOURCES Loren Steffy Stoney Creek Publishing Purchase Reconstructing Immigration Immigration is argued in America as a question of borders, crime, and culture. It is actually a question of labor supply and the people who feel that most directly are the ones trying to staff a job site, a hospital floor, a kitchen, or a fabrication yard. This series makes the economic case, one argument per episode, in the language business owners already use: head count, cost base, compliance risk, competitive position. It does not relitigate the politics. It reframes the problem as a workforce problem and ends with what an employer can actually do about it. The theme of the entire series is: America has spent forty years treating its largest economic asset as a liability, and the bill is now coming due in wages, prices, and growth. 

In this concluding Episode 8 we explore why it will take the business community coming together as an organized constituency to get the US Congress off dead center. Steffy points to August 2022, during one of the most polarized periods in modern congressional history, the semi-conductor industry got $52 billion. Immigration reform advocates have almost never brought that level of commitment to stakes at least as large.

Key Highlights

1.  Start with the sequencing. If someone handed you the pen, what happens first?

2.  You put the responsibility on business fairly bluntly. Why?

3. What should an individual company do Monday morning?

4.  Close it out. What’s the actual cost of continuing to do nothing?

5. “Congress is never going to act. Isn’t this all academic?”

SOUNDBITE

“A consortium without an industry willing to fund it is just a memo. A dashboard without sustained engagement is just a website. The choice isn’t whether the system needs fixing. It’s whether anyone will organize to fix it.”

CLOSE

End on the book’s own closing move: America has made this choice before, and made it well. The question is whether we do it again, and whether we do it better.

RESOURCES

Loren Steffy

Stoney Creek Publishing

Purchase Reconstructing Immigration

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