On MSNBC, economist Jared Bernstein dismantles Trump administration excuses for ending DACA

Bernstein: AG Jeff Sessions' economic arguments for destroying DACA “veered from misleading into lie”

From the September 5 edition of MSNBC Live:

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STEPHANIE RUHLE (CO-HOST): President Trump -- who touts himself a pro-business president, a job creator -- has got to answer to [Berkshire Hathaway CEO] Warren Buffett, [General Motors CEO] Mary Barra, [Facebook CEO] Mark Zuckerberg, and 300 other business leaders urging the president not to do this. Why? This isn't just a social issue for them. This is about business. There's a real economic impact.

JARED BERNSTEIN: You're absolutely right, and I'll get into the analysis in a second. But first, I just have to say this: What we just heard from [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions was one of the most shameless presentations I've heard, and that's saying a lot these days. Some of what he said, especially on the economy as you suggested, veered from misleading into lie. And I'll be specific. But if you guys could zoom in on the Statue of Liberty right now, I suspect she'd be shedding a tear. This is a dark day for our country.

Look, when it comes to jobs, Sessions just asserted that the Dreamers, the DACA recipients, are taking jobs from native-born workers. There is zero evidence for that. Completely unsubstantiated, and, in fact, is not the case based on some of the numbers that Ali [Velshi] was citing. The fact that these folks have been here since they were kids. Many of them in the labor market. Over 90 percent -- about 95 [percent] working or in school. He mentioned they were a drain on Social Security: lie. The Social Security actuaries have told us that, in fact, the opposite is the case. Same with [Congressional Budget Office's] budgetary analysis, the DACA recipients seem to contribute more in revenues than they cost in spending. These are folks who disproportionately pay taxes. These are folks who disproportionately start businesses. This is really kicking in the own goal when it comes to helping the economy.

Previously:

CNN's Rick Santorum pushes discredited myth linking immigration to wage stagnation

Cable news reports on DACA ignored its economic benefits

Media run with discredited nativist group's research to claim more than half of immigrant households receive “welfare”