The money just ... vanishes. That's the only explanation I can come up with for this reasoning:

“I think there is a misconception in many communities that these [illegal] immigrants are taking American dollars and sending it all back home,” Eathington said. “This really isn’t the case, because these people still pay sales taxes, rent and buy food. In some towns, they make up a significant percent of revenue that goes back into the community.”

And if we somehow discouraged illegal immigrants from taking those jobs, apparently the money that would have been paid them just leaves the economy entirely, *poof*. 'Cause if you had paid it to a legal worker, instead of "pay[ing] sales taxes, rent and buy[ing] food", they would have just buried that money in a pickle jar in the back yard. Or burned it for heat, or something.

The same reasoning can be seen at work in a Travel Industry Association "study" that USA Today reported on last month: Consumers pick home over flying; avoided trips cost economy billions.

The more than 100,000 trips a day that don't happen because of the hassle factor cost the U.S. economy an estimated $26.5 billion in forgone travel spending, TIA President Roger Dow said Thursday.

I can relate – Moira and I were going to go to Oregon this summer, but then we thought about the packing hassle and the airport hassle and the tiny-seat-pitch hassle, so we took all the money we would have spent and mulched it into our garden (all those cotton fibers – great for the soil!).

Posted by David Fleck at 22 June 2008 10:02 AM