Now that we've pulled apart the idea that newly-arrived immigrants are being fast-tracked to social housing ahead of indigenous Britains, it's worth a quick look at the myth that immigrants are somehow a drain on the economy; that there is a pressing need to "get tough" with them, send them home, afflict various hardships on them, whatever takes your right-wing fancy.
Now that we’ve pulled apart the idea that newly-arrived immigrants are being fast-tracked to social housing ahead of indigenous Britains, it’s worth a quick look at the myth that immigrants are somehow a drain on the economy; that there is a pressing need to “get tough” with them, send them home, afflict various hardships on them, whatever.
Much like the scaremongering over social housing, the perception that immigrants are somehow a drain on the country is built on a foundation of xenophobic sand.
As a 2009 study has noted, immigrants from the “A8 countries” – that is the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Poland – are around 60 per cent less likely than natives to receive state benefits or tax credits or to live in social housing.
The report added that “even if A8 immigrants had the same demographic characteristics of natives, they would still be 13 per cent less likely to receive benefits and 28 per cent less likely to live in social housing”.
In 2008-09 – the year prior to the study – A8 immigrants paid 37 per cent more in direct or indirect taxes than they received in public goods and services.
And here is the important bit: in 2008-09 – at the height of Labour’s policy of so-called “uncontrolled immigration” – A8 immigrants contributed 0.96 per cent of total tax receipts and accounted for only 0.6 per cent of total expenditures (see table).
As Left Foot Forward has previously pointed out, immigrants are helping to pay for our pensions.
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33 Responses to “EU migrants flooding over here…paying for our pensions”
LordBlagger
Typical left wing racist comment.
Immigrants contribute more than British people. British people are crap compare to migrants.
Same logic as we have muslim terrorists so all muslims must be terrorists.
Some migrants are good for the UK so all migrants must be good.
What you have missed off is taxes. Some migrants are paying their way. They pay more in tax than the govenrment spends on them. They are welcome migrants.
However there are large numbers who don’t. They can’t then pay for anyone’s pension, and aren’t needed.
LordBlagger
Or meejah studies
LordBlagger
How can migrants pay the 5,300 bn pension bill? Rising with inflation.ONS
Sparky
The Left are racists. They hate white working class people and would rather champion the cause of immigrants than help a white British person. How else do you explain the fact that they are always so pro-immigration? They never have explained the fact why all the posts about immigration on this site favour more and more immigration. Why are they so interested in the welfare of people from other countries? They are so preoccupied with it -why?
Mick
The Left certainly are racists. There’s a video called IT’S ONLY RACIST WHEN WHITES DO IT, which illuminates things like Labour’s policy of denying government contracts to areas which were still ‘too white’. Unintelligible to normal people but bread and butter to the ‘anti-racist’ idiots.
Too many from migrant families are also in prison, according to Home Office figures. Google BLACK PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO ENTER PRISON THAN UNIVERSITY to see for yourself. Though that’s a disgraceful indictment and one which shames the others.
I wonder if people can be vetted all the more?