The income of temporary Filipino pipefitters and Mexican green-card holders doesn’t “trickle down” either, since most dutifully send money back to needy families abroad. Indeed, some local citizens complained that imported Filipino workers don’t spend their money in local stores. Summing it up, Templet calculates that Louisiana “leaks” about a third of the gross state product, the sum of the value of all goods and services produced by the state.
