Cracking down on illegals bad for Florida economy

Rep. William Snyder’s (R-Stuart) Arizona-style immigration bill passed the Economic Affairs Committee, setting the stage for a full House vote.
 
This is one more effort to attract tea party conservatives to Republican ranks.
 
The problem is the Florida core economy (agriculture, construction and tourism) would probably collapse without the “illegal” cheap labor.
 
So the GOP’s paradox is that the people who mainly oppose an Arizona-style immigration law are at the same time the GOP business community.
 
Let’s see the economics of cracking down on illegals in Florida:
 
Businesses continually compete for good workers at good “prices” (low wages). Technological breakthroughs and mechanization along with a great pool of workers often creates greater productivity, meaning less worker pay for a better product.
 
A large pool of workers (legal or illegal) is causing that some sectors of the Florida economy are becoming more like Third World economies, based on low-wage, low-skill and low capital investment.
 
If given the choice, most business people would prefer lower immigration and a somewhat tighter labor market for their businesses if they could be sure that their competitors would be operating by the same rules.
 
The problem is that in this global economy businesses cannot afford to compete unless they adjust to the wage and worker condition levels of the rest of the world.
 
This is why it’s important for the federal government to come up with an immigration control bill that is consistent to the needs of today’s global conditions.
 
Pandering to tea party followers with being tough on immigration is really very stupid.