>[mbs] the income distribution is skewed to begin
>with; always has been. I don't think anybody has
>shown the 'new' component is normally distributed
>within itself. Whatever the answer to that, chances
>are there are not enough immigrants to alter the
>fact of skewness in the distribution -- only the
>degree. Nor is there any sign of more than one
one more point - there is also the floor in the form of minimum wage. Thus, the low end of the income scale is defined by law not by the purported "skill level" of the labor force - as the "human capital" ideologues claim. Stated differently, the pay scale, especially on the lower end, is pre-determined by the employer ("this is a minimum wage job") and the position is filled by anyone willing to take it - rather than set in response to real or preceived skill of the workers. Hence, the influx of immigrant is not the cause of proliferation of the low wage jobs (if anything, it can be the effect) - even if the distribution was more skewed than before, as claimed.
wojtek