Labor economics is a big area with a lot of literature. It's probably the area of academics that can most completely address the exceedingly complex issue of immigration and it's effect on societies.
Tim Wu doesn't know labor economics. His article on Slate is what happens when amateurs write about difficult economic issues. Things get simplified, things get ignored, and so TIm gets things wrong. If I were writing on Tim's areas of expertise, copyright and telecom law, I would try to avoid sweeping policy recommendations and conclusions. Tim on the other hand seems unaware of his ignorance. It's the things that you don't know that you don't know you don't know that get you into real trouble.
What does Tim seem unaware of? Mostly negative externalities and the divide between the interests of elites and the interests of the country. These things are so obvious it is painfully annoying to review them, but patient people have done just that:
Negative externalities
Elites vs. the rest
Practicing law without a license is a crime. Writing about economics without a clue isn't, and shouldn't be, but it's tacky, and at the margin damages the national discourse.
So please, a little humility when you write outside your field. Read a study, or maybe even two.
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