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Crypto City: Guide to New York

This Crypto City guide looks at New York Citys crypto culture, its most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure, which retailers accept crypto, and where you can find blockchain education courses and theres even a short history of the..

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2 years ago

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This Crypto City guide looks at New York Citys crypto culture, its most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure, which retailers accept crypto, and where you can find blockchain education courses and theres even a short history of the controversial regulatory regime required to operate in the city.

 

Fast facts

City: New York
Country: United States
Population: 8.8 million
Established: 1624
Language: English

 

New York City is a bustling metropolis in the American state of New York. The city is divided into five separate boroughs the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island each with its own unique geography and culture. While the states capital is Albany, NYC is its most widely known city and is one of the most famous cities in the world.

The most populous city in the United States, NYC is home to an estimated 8.8 million people, with an additional 1 million people traveling to the city every day for work (pre-pandemic). In 2019, the city also welcomed nearly 70 million tourists seeking to take in the bright lights of Times Square, see a Broadway musical, visit the Empire State Building, and enjoy NYCs dining and nightlife, among the many other sites and attractions the city offers.

New York City has been the setting for countless major films and television shows, which adds to its attraction as a tourist destination. Some of the most famous movies filmed in NYC include The Godfather, Ghostbusters, King Kong, Taxi Driver, West Side Story, Goodfellas, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Saturday Night Fever and many, many others. Sitcom classics Seinfeld and Friends were set in the city, and the long-running live sketch show Saturday Night Live broadcasts every weekend from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

With Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange located in lower Manhattan, the city is generally recognized as the financial capital of the United States, perhaps even the world. Its also the nations fashion capital and one of its major technology, music, film and television hubs. Home to around 3 million immigrants, NYC is widely known for its cultural diversity, with the Statue of Liberty famously inscribed with the words: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

 

 

New York
View of New York City skyline. Source: Pexels

 

 

The citys status as a hot location for crypto and blockchain culture has a lot to do with it being a major junction where finance and technology meet, according to Michael Moro, CEO of digital asset prime brokerage Genesis: New York City has always been the epicenter of the capital markets and, over time, has earned a global reputation for being an innovation and technology hub.

NYC is also a very wealthy city. The advantage of the city is really Wall Street, right? says Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks an institutional digital asset custody, transfer and settlement platform. You have a huge concentration of people who understand finance. You have a huge amount of capital flowing in from traditional finance into crypto. All the big venture capitalists are based in New York and are pushing into crypto.

 

 

 

 

Crypto culture

New York City has a long, well-established culture around cryptocurrency and blockchain. Way back on New Years Eve 2013/2014, Bitcoin Center NYC, a brick-and-mortar center dedicated to promoting and educating the public on the premier cryptocurrency, was launched by Nick Spanos a real estate executive turned Bitcoin evangelist. The center quickly became a hub for fans of the still fairly underground cryptocurrency.

Spanos tells Magazine that Bitcoin Center NYC brought Bitcoin from the back alleys to Wall Street, from something hidden to something celebrated, from something unknown to something open and transparent.

Bitcoin Center NYCs brick-and-mortar space. Source: Bitcoin Center NYC

Spanos later also founded the Blockchain Center, which is dedicated to education on the power of blockchain technology. He adds that while Bitcoin Center NYC has been relatively quiet during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a new space and are looking at bringing back the popular Satoshi Square gatherings with an embrace of the growing crowd of Wall Street blockchain specialists and new believers.

The Big Apple hosts a number of major blockchain and crypto conferences, including the annual New York Blockchain Week. Though it was ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Blockchain Week 2020 was set to feature Consensus, the Digital Asset Summit, Ethereal Summit, The Block Summit, Magical Crypto Conference, ETH NYC and Smart Contract Summit #0. Some of the events went virtual, and the conference was again put on hold in 2021.

In-person conferences reappeared toward the end of 2021, including Blockworks Digital Asset Summit 2021, Mainnet 2021 and SALT, which were held in September, and CoinGeek Conference in early October, while NFT.NYC 2021 is scheduled for November.

Alex Mashinsky, a New Yorker who serves as CEO of crypto borrowing and lending platform Celsius Network which is headquartered just across the river in New Jersey tells Magazine that New York really is a crypto city: You have money, you have people, you have tech, and you have a lot of customers who consume this technology. Its a very cosmopolitan city, so you have people from every country and walk of life. He adds, We see a lot of wealth here. If rich people want to put 1% to 5% of their wealth into crypto, its going to happen here.

 

 

 

 

New York City has also been part of the burgeoning nonfungible token art scene. In March 2021, the artist collective Superchief opened what it alleged to be the first-ever brick-and-mortar NFT art gallery, and the Postmasters gallery in lower Manhattan has an NFT-focused division called PostmastersBLOCKCHAIN. Meanwhile, Beeples $69-million sale of Everydays: The First 5000 Days in March took place via the NYC branch of auction house Christies.

However, some warn that NYC has been undergoing a brain drain that has seen top talent going elsewhere, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, other cities and states have been aggressively courting the crypto community with business, tax and regulatory incentives, and some have chosen to leave, says Moro.

Mashinsky adds, When you look at how fast Miami is moving, they created a coin for the city. They did all kinds of stuff, so were definitely behind. Were almost reacting instead of enacting.

Maybe thats why crypto has been shaping up as an election issue. In June 2021, Eric Adams, the Democratic frontrunner for NYCs next mayor, proclaimed that he would turn the city into the center of Bitcoins. Meanwhile, his Republican competitor, Curtis Sliwa, has pledged to make New York the most cryptocurrency-friendly city in the nation.

 

 

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Projects and companies

Many crypto and blockchain companies have called the tech and finance hub home. While New York States strict regulatory requirements may have prevented some exchanges from setting up shop (more on that later), Gemini still has its headquarters in NYC, as does the decentralized exchange Uniswap. Blockchain.com also maintains its U.S. headquarters in New York City, though it recently announced that it intends to relocate to Miami.

Several investment firms active in the crypto space are based in NYC, including New York Digital Investment Group, Galaxy Digital, Grayscale Investments, Union Square Ventures and Digital Currency Group.

Research firm Chainalysis is headquartered in NYC, as are infrastructure provider Bison Trails (which was recently acquired by Coinbase); financial services providers Fireblocks, Paxos and Paxful; digital-asset prime brokerage Genesis; NFT marketplace OpenSea; Ethereum-based software engineering firm ConsenSys; crypto-centric PR firm Ditto; peer-to-peer trading protocol AirSwap; and media company Cointelegraph. At least one-half of the team behind NFT tokenization platform Fractional is based in New York City.

Genesis Moro, a native New Yorker, tells Cointelegraph that he has always loved the energy, grit and determination that defines New York. He adds that Genesis has no plans to leave the city:

Genesis was born here. Our clients are based here. As an institutional prime brokerage, we think its important for us to be here. Because of the elite and diverse talent looking to enter the industry, particularly from the universities and Wall Street, our strong preference is to continue to grow our business here.

Several other companies are headquartered elsewhere but have a physical presence in the city, such as Pantera Capital, Bitwise and Horizen Labs. Meanwhile, Celsius used to have an office in the city but shuttered it when the pandemic struck. (A recent letter from the New York State Attorney Generals Office asking for details about the business may be a factor in whether Celsius reopens its office)

The city has itself launched blockchain projects. For example, in January 2019, the New York City Economic Development Corporation opened the NYC Blockchain Center, a 4,000-square-foot facility that operated for one year and focused on supporting entrepreneurship and promoting diversity and education.

New York Citys Blockchain Center initiative. Source: NYC Blockchain Center/New York City Economic Development Corporation

Financial infrastructure

New York City is a notoriously difficult place in which to trade cryptocurrencies, as only exchanges that have been awarded a coveted BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services are allowed to offer virtual currency services to New York-based customers. At the time of writing, only three centralized exchanges Coinbase, Coinbase Pro and Gemini are accessible to New York residents. In addition, the number of coins available to trade on these platforms is limited when compared with what is available in other states. For New Yorkers who are willing to brave the waters of decentralized exchanges, all of the top DEXs such as Uniswap, 1inch, PancakeSwap, SushiSwap and others can be accessed from the city.

The citys hustle and bustle may result in you needing to buy BTC on the go. Thankfully, the city that never sleeps has dozens of Bitcoin ATMs scattered throughout the five boroughs though only a small handful of them allows you to also sell BTC. The city also has a Bitcoin Cash ATM located in the Bronx, an Ether ATM located in downtown Manhattan, and one ATM in the Bronx that will let you buy and sell Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Dash and Zcash.

NYC residents have a number of options when it comes to traditional banking, including Chase Bank, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One and more. But when it comes to using the money in ones bank account to purchase crypto, banks have historically been somewhat hesitant, with credit card purchases a notorious sticking point. In February 2018, crypto exchange Coinbase reported that customers of Chase, Bank of America, Citibank and Capital One were being blocked from purchasing crypto via the exchange.

However, banks seem to be easing up, and Mashinsky points out that August and September were very good months for crypto from a bank standpoint, with multiple major Wall Street banks announcing crypto services. Definitely plenty of progress this year from the tier-one banks.

NYSE
New York Stock Exchange building, located on Wall Street. Source: Pexels

Where can I spend crypto?

If you want to spend your hard-earned cryptocurrency, most retailers still wont accept it. However, New York City does have a small handful of crypto-friendly locations, according to Coinmap although many of them appear to be now closed.

If you are craving a bite to eat, bagel spot Forest Hills Bagels, Middle Eastern restaurant Shawarmania and Chinese food eatery Yong Sheng all located in Queens accept BTC. But if shopping is more your thing, vintage womens clothing store Marmalade in Brooklyns Greenpoint neighborhood, family-friendly apparel boutique Little Hippie in Williamsburg, or mineral seller Astro West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan may interest you.

The Postmasters art gallery in lower Manhattan accepts Bitcoin and Ether for any object available for purchase. The sale is done as a wallet-to-wallet transaction, and digital art sales come with freshly minted NFTs certifying ownership. Tamas Banovich, co-director of Postmasters, tells Magazine, There is this whole new market opening up with people having cryptocurrency. I think very soon, they will be interested in all kinds of art, not just digital and NFTs, and I want to be there early and make it available.

Meanwhile, private gym The Fitness Office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan accepts crypto, as do non-alcoholic bar Kavasutra in Manhattans East Village and Yeras Restaurant Sports Bar in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Education

There are multiple educational and training programs in New York City. Graduate students at Fordham Universitys Gabelli School of Business in the Bronx can take on a secondary concentration in blockchain technology. The program promises to give students the opportunity to master the skills needed to stand out in this space. Enrollees will take courses exploring the technology itself, the role and function of cryptocurrencies, and the business and legal concerns surrounding the space. The school also hosts the Fordham Fintech Network, which connects students with fintech firms and professionals.

New York Universitys Stern School of Business in lower Manhattan offers a fintech specialization that includes courses such as Accounting and the Blockchain, Topics in Cryptocurrency Investing and Digital Currencies, Blockchains, and the Financial Services Industry. Separately, students at NYUs School of Professional Studies can receive certificates in alternative investments and in fintech, both of which include a course titled Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. Those looking for further on-campus engagement can join the Blockchain Lab @ NYU student group.

While Columbia University in upper Manhattan doesnt have a specific crypto concentration or certificate program, students can enroll in several courses focusing on blockchain and its various implementations, offered by Columbias engineering and business schools. The university also hosts the Columbia-IBM Center for Blockchain and Data Transparency, which is focused on education, research and innovation around blockchain and data. In addition, high school students can participate in a summer university immersion program and take a three-week Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, AI, and Beyond course.

Meanwhile, Hunter College on Manhattans Upper East Side has previously offered an Intro to Blockchain course, and Cornell University, which is upstate in Ithaca, has an MBA program through which students can participate in an NYC-based fintech intensive consisting of four courses including Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies that are taught over seven weeks in the spring.

 

 

 

 

Regulatory controversies

New York City and crypto represent an interesting dichotomy. On one hand, NYC is a major hub for finance, technology and innovation; on the other, the state of New York is the most highly regulated place to do business in the nation. Any organization seeking to carry out virtual currency business activities in the state or to serve customers located in the state is required to acquire a license known as a BitLicense. The application process, maintained by the New York State Department of Financial Services, is known to be long, costly, arduous, confusing and highly complicated. Companies may also choose to apply for a limited-purpose trust charter and face even stricter regulations but receive additional benefits, such as fiduciary powers.

When the requirement was first implemented in mid-2015, a significant number of companies that had been serving NYC residents simply stopped offering their products to New Yorkers rather than go through the intense application process. At the time, the New York Business Journal dubbed it The Great Bitcoin Exodus.

Spanos tells Magazine, The NY DFS BitLicense was the death knell for crypto innovation in the entire state. It was the ultimate backroom deal cut in a smoke-filled room that allegedly protected consumers but actually harmed New Yorkers and restricted their free choice. He adds, If you do not have massive capital, you will not get off the ground.

Some of those that pulled out of the state include exchanges Kraken, Poloniex, ShapeShift and Bitfinex; peer-to-peer marketplace LocalBitcoins; mining firms BTC Guild, Genesis Mining and Eobot; and payments service GoCoin. While Paxful remains headquartered in the city, it is in the strange situation of not being able to actually serve anyone who lives there.

Mashinsky tells Magazine, The BitLicense was not put in place to protect the consumer or protect the community. That was something that this or that regulator put to create a job for themselves. He adds that the requirement also reduces healthy competition, resulting in higher fees for customers such as those seen on Coinbase. The reason they can get away with it is because they have a BitLicense and others dont.

However, Shaulov holds a different perspective, saying that the citys firm regulation is ultimately beneficial. At least there is some level of clarity of what is required in terms of what its like to operate in the city, he tells Magazine, adding, In the long term, where regulation will exist everywhere, clarity even if its somewhat unclear is best.

The inconvenient reality is that you cant escape regulation forever. At some point, you need to deal with it.

In 2019, the state initiated a new crackdown, this time on Bitfinex and Tether. It alleged that the sister companies lied about the backing of USDT and intentionally covered up massive financial losses. In February 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that the two companies neither of which has a BitLicense were banned from all trading activity involving New Yorkers, would pay a fine, and would submit to mandatory reporting requirements. A week later, James issued a warning to the industry: You either play by the rules or we will shut you down.

In addition, cryptocurrencies must be approved by the state before they can be listed or used in New York. The Department of Financial Services maintains a Greenlist of preapproved assets, which includes a handful of major coins, such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Litecoin and Binance USD. Crypto assets not included on the Greenlist must be individually certified.

These controversial regulatory decisions trickle down to the average investor as well, as the opportunities to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies in New York City are rather limited. Its no wonder that Reddit is full of posts asking questions like Why is it so hard to buy cryptocurrency in New York state? and Why does New York suck so much ass for crypto investors?

Notable figures

New York City is home to a wide range of interesting characters, including many crypto pioneers, entrepreneurs and advocates. Some of its more notable figures include:

Hayden Adams, creator of Uniswap and CEO of Uniswap Labs; Charles Cascarilla, co-founder and CEO of Paxos; Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of OpenSea; Michael Gronager, CEO of Chainalysis; Robert Gutmann, co-founder and CEO of NYDIG; Letitia James, attorney general of the State of New York; Joe Lallouz, co-founder and CEO of Bison Trails; Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and co-founder and CEO of ConsenSys; Alex Mashinsky, founder and CEO of Celsius Network; Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis; Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital; Anthony Pompliano, prominent investor; Michael Shaulov, co-founder and CEO of Fireblocks; Laura Shin, host of crypto-centric podcasts Unchained and Unconfirmed; Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group; Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments; Nick Spanos, founder of Bitcoin Center NYC and the Blockchain Center; Ross Stevens, founder and executive chairman of NYDIG; Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and president of Gemini; Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder and CEO of Gemini; Andrew Yang, former presidential candidate and cryptocurrency advocate; and Ray Youssef, co-founder and CEO of Paxful.

Cointelegraph team members and contributors based in New York City: Jay Cassano, Jonathan DeYoung and Gordon Meyer.

Suggestions for additions to this guide are welcome. Please email: j.deyoung@cointelegraph.com

 

 

 

 

 

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Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

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A new survey reveals that only 20% of Americans view covid-19 as "a major threat"…

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Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

A new survey reveals that only 20% of Americans view covid-19 as "a major threat" to the health of the US population - a sharp decline from a high of 67% in July 2020.

(SARMDY/Shutterstock)

What's more, the Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 showed that just 10% of Americans are concerned that they will  catch the disease and require hospitalization.

"This data represents a low ebb of public concern about the virus that reached its height in the summer and fall of 2020, when as many as two-thirds of Americans viewed COVID-19 as a major threat to public health," reads the report, which was published March 7.

According to the survey, half of the participants understand the significance of researchers and healthcare providers in understanding and treating long COVID - however 27% of participants consider this issue less important, while 22% of Americans are unaware of long COVID.

What's more, while Democrats were far more worried than Republicans in the past, that gap has narrowed significantly.

"In the pandemic’s first year, Democrats were routinely about 40 points more likely than Republicans to view the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. This gap has waned as overall levels of concern have fallen," reads the report.

More via the Epoch Times;

The survey found that three in ten Democrats under 50 have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older.

Moreover, 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, while only 24 percent of Republicans ages 65 and older have done so.

“This 42-point partisan gap is much wider now than at other points since the start of the outbreak. For instance, in August 2021, 93 percent of older Democrats and 78 percent of older Republicans said they had received all the shots needed to be fully vaccinated (a 15-point gap),” it noted.

COVID-19 No Longer an Emergency

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued its updated recommendations for the virus, which no longer require people to stay home for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.

The updated guidance recommends that people who contracted a respiratory virus stay home, and they can resume normal activities when their symptoms improve overall and their fever subsides for 24 hours without medication.

“We still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses, this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.

The CDC said that while the virus remains a threat, it is now less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity and improved tools to prevent and treat the disease.

“Importantly, states and countries that have already adjusted recommended isolation times have not seen increased hospitalizations or deaths related to COVID-19,” it stated.

The federal government suspended its free at-home COVID-19 test program on March 8, according to a website set up by the government, following a decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

According to the CDC, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 and influenza diseases remain “elevated” but are decreasing in some parts of the United States.

Tyler Durden Sun, 03/10/2024 - 22:45

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Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says “I Would Support”

Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says "I Would Support"

Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on Friday hinted that he may jump…

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March 10, 2024

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Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run - Musk Says "I Would Support"

Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on Friday hinted that he may jump into the race to become the next Senate GOP leader, and Elon Musk was quick to support the idea. Republicans must find a successor for periodically malfunctioning Mitch McConnell, who recently announced he'll step down in November, though intending to keep his Senate seat until his term ends in January 2027, when he'd be within weeks of turning 86. 

So far, the announced field consists of two quintessential establishment types: John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota. While John Barrasso's name had been thrown around as one of "The Three Johns" considered top contenders, the Wyoming senator on Tuesday said he'll instead seek the number two slot as party whip. 

Paul used X to tease his potential bid for the position which -- if the GOP takes back the upper chamber in November -- could graduate from Minority Leader to Majority Leader. He started by telling his 5.1 million followers he'd had lots of people asking him about his interest in running...

...then followed up with a poll in which he predictably annihilated Cornyn and Thune, taking a 96% share as of Friday night, with the other two below 2% each. 

Elon Musk was quick to back the idea of Paul as GOP leader, while daring Cornyn and Thune to follow Paul's lead by throwing their names out for consideration by the Twitter-verse X-verse. 

Paul has been a stalwart opponent of security-state mass surveillance, foreign interventionism -- to include shoveling billions of dollars into the proxy war in Ukraine -- and out-of-control spending in general. He demonstrated the latter passion on the Senate floor this week as he ridiculed the latest kick-the-can spending package:   

In February, Paul used Senate rules to force his colleagues into a grueling Super Bowl weekend of votes, as he worked to derail a $95 billion foreign aid bill. "I think we should stay here as long as it takes,” said Paul. “If it takes a week or a month, I’ll force them to stay here to discuss why they think the border of Ukraine is more important than the US border.”

Don't expect a Majority Leader Paul to ditch the filibuster -- he's been a hardy user of the legislative delay tactic. In 2013, he spoke for 13 hours to fight the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director. In 2015, he orated for 10-and-a-half-hours to oppose extension of the Patriot Act. 

Rand Paul amid his 10 1/2 hour filibuster in 2015

Among the general public, Paul is probably best known as Capitol Hill's chief tormentor of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease during the Covid-19 pandemic. Paul says the evidence indicates the virus emerged from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. He's accused Fauci and other members of the US government public health apparatus of evading questions about their funding of the Chinese lab's "gain of function" research, which takes natural viruses and morphs them into something more dangerous. Paul has pointedly said that Fauci committed perjury in congressional hearings and that he belongs in jail "without question."   

Musk is neither the only nor the first noteworthy figure to back Paul for party leader. Just hours after McConnell announced his upcoming step-down from leadership, independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr voiced his support: 

In a testament to the extent to which the establishment recoils at the libertarian-minded Paul, mainstream media outlets -- which have been quick to report on other developments in the majority leader race -- pretended not to notice that Paul had signaled his interest in the job. More than 24 hours after Paul's test-the-waters tweet-fest began, not a single major outlet had brought it to the attention of their audience. 

That may be his strongest endorsement yet. 

Tyler Durden Sun, 03/10/2024 - 20:25

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The Great Replacement Loophole: Illegal Immigrants Score 5-Year Work Benefit While “Waiting” For Deporation, Asylum

The Great Replacement Loophole: Illegal Immigrants Score 5-Year Work Benefit While "Waiting" For Deporation, Asylum

Over the past several…

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March 10, 2024

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The Great Replacement Loophole: Illegal Immigrants Score 5-Year Work Benefit While "Waiting" For Deporation, Asylum

Over the past several months we've pointed out that there has  been zero job creation for native-born workers since the summer of 2018...

... and that since Joe Biden was sworn into office, most of the post-pandemic job gains the administration continuously brags about have gone foreign-born (read immigrants, mostly illegal ones) workers.

And while the left might find this data almost as verboten as FBI crime statistics - as it directly supports the so-called "great replacement theory" we're not supposed to discuss - it also coincides with record numbers of illegal crossings into the United States under Biden.

In short, the Biden administration opened the floodgates, 10 million illegal immigrants poured into the country, and most of the post-pandemic "jobs recovery" went to foreign-born workers, of which illegal immigrants represent the largest chunk.

Asylum seekers from Venezuela await work permits on June 28, 2023 (via the Chicago Tribune)

'But Tyler, illegal immigrants can't possibly work in the United States whilst awaiting their asylum hearings,' one might hear from the peanut gallery. On the contrary: ever since Biden reversed a key aspect of Trump's labor policies, all illegal immigrants - even those awaiting deportation proceedings - have been given carte blanche to work while awaiting said proceedings for up to five years...

... something which even Elon Musk was shocked to learn.

Which leads us to another question: recall that the primary concern for the Biden admin for much of 2022 and 2023 was soaring prices, i.e., relentless inflation in general, and rising wages in particular, which in turn prompted even Goldman to admit two years ago that the diabolical wage-price spiral had been unleashed in the US (diabolical, because nothing absent a major economic shock, read recession or depression, can short-circuit it once it is in place).

Well, there is one other thing that can break the wage-price spiral loop: a flood of ultra-cheap illegal immigrant workers. But don't take our word for it: here is Fed Chair Jerome Powell himself during his February 60 Minutes interview:

PELLEY: Why was immigration important?

POWELL: Because, you know, immigrants come in, and they tend to work at a rate that is at or above that for non-immigrants. Immigrants who come to the country tend to be in the workforce at a slightly higher level than native Americans do. But that's largely because of the age difference. They tend to skew younger.

PELLEY: Why is immigration so important to the economy?

POWELL: Well, first of all, immigration policy is not the Fed's job. The immigration policy of the United States is really important and really much under discussion right now, and that's none of our business. We don't set immigration policy. We don't comment on it.

I will say, over time, though, the U.S. economy has benefited from immigration. And, frankly, just in the last, year a big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.

PELLEY: The country needed the workers.

POWELL: It did. And so, that's what's been happening.

Translation: Immigrants work hard, and Americans are lazy. But much more importantly, since illegal immigrants will work for any pay, and since Biden's Department of Homeland Security, via its Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency, has made it so illegal immigrants can work in the US perfectly legally for up to 5 years (if not more), one can argue that the flood of illegals through the southern border has been the primary reason why inflation - or rather mostly wage inflation, that all too critical component of the wage-price spiral  - has moderated in in the past year, when the US labor market suddenly found itself flooded with millions of perfectly eligible workers, who just also happen to be illegal immigrants and thus have zero wage bargaining options.

None of this is to suggest that the relentless flood of immigrants into the US is not also driven by voting and census concerns - something Elon Musk has been pounding the table on in recent weeks, and has gone so far to call it "the biggest corruption of American democracy in the 21st century", but in retrospect, one can also argue that the only modest success the Biden admin has had in the past year - namely bringing inflation down from a torrid 9% annual rate to "only" 3% - has also been due to the millions of illegals he's imported into the country.

We would be remiss if we didn't also note that this so often carries catastrophic short-term consequences for the social fabric of the country (the Laken Riley fiasco being only the latest example), not to mention the far more dire long-term consequences for the future of the US - chief among them the trillions of dollars in debt the US will need to incur to pay for all those new illegal immigrants Democrat voters and low-paid workers. This is on top of the labor revolution that will kick in once AI leads to mass layoffs among high-paying, white-collar jobs, after which all those newly laid off native-born workers hoping to trade down to lower paying (if available) jobs will discover that hardened criminals from Honduras or Guatemala have already taken them, all thanks to Joe Biden.

Tyler Durden Sun, 03/10/2024 - 19:15

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