WaPo claims illegal immigration is reason for 'roaring' economy as US food prices soar

The Washington Post published an article fawning over the "roaring" economy and attributed the growth to illegal immigration. At the same time, Americans are spending a greater percent of their income on food than they have in 30 years. 

The corporate media outlet headlined an article on Tuesday titled, "The economy is roaring. Immigration is a key reason." According to Axios, as well as the Wall Street Journal, Americans are spending a greater share of their income on food than they have since 1991.   

Analysis originally published by the WSJ showed that Americans are having tougher time with food as inflation keeps prices rising higher than ever in the economy on products such as eggs, vegetables, and other everyday food items. Prices at eateries and restaurants have increased by over 5 percent since January and groceries are up 1.2 percent. Many American voters have placed blame for the price hikes on the economic policies of President Joe Biden.

In 1991, consumers spent 11.4% of their disposable personal income on food and most recent 2022 U.S. Agriculture Department data shows spending has reached the same high level again. 

The outlet reached out to readers in an attempt to gauge how they have managed given the prices of food and shared some accounts in the article.

One woman in Las Vegas, Sarah Smith, told the outlet that her family has gone from cooking nice meals to simple dishes like meatloaf and tuna casserole. “It’s just egg noodles, canned tuna, canned cream of mushroom soup, onions and garlic," Smith said. “It’s not healthy, but it’s food.”   

Another man told the WSJ that he had reverted to beefing up his garden instead of buying from the store to get fresh vegetables. “It makes a difference going to the grocery store,” Bernard Brothman, a 67-year-old retired human-resources executive, told the outlet. He plans on teaching his grandchildren to do the same. He buys food in batches. When a kosher butcher offered a sale on a roast for $5.99 a pound, he bought out the whole store of the meat and filled a separate freezer with it. 

Some have started hunting more instead of buying up meat at the store. Others have done extreme couponing practices in order to take the edge off. 

The WaPo article took a different tact. Written by several journalists at the outlet, it led with, "Immigration has propelled the U.S. job market further than just about anyone expected, helping cement the country’s economic rebound from the pandemic as the most robust in the world."  

It said that "50 percent of the labor market's" growth was from immigration between Jan. 2023 and Jan. 2024. The article labeled this growth as "extraordinary" and attributed the closing of the labor gap left by the pandemic lockdowns to the "foreign-born labor force."  

The WaPo reporters attributed inflation to the "snapback" of the demand in the economy as well as blaming the inflation on labor shortages. The article published says that all the illegal immigration flowing across the southern border filled these positions and "strength[ened] of the U.S. economy" and "benefited American workers and foreign-born workers alike." 

Illegal immigration has soared under President Joe Biden to the point where blue “sanctuary cities” in places like New York have forced Mayor Eric Adams to declare the city is “out of room” for more immigrants.  

Crime as a result of the influx in New York has also been highlighted by recent cases wherein NYPD officers have been shot at as well as beaten up by the illegal immigrants.