English literacy = better economic status?

From our Wiley reading, one of the points that caught my attention was the idea that there are tax payers who contribute to services that they do not necessarily benefit from, such as higher education. This intrigued me because I really feel that behind all the promotion for English literacy within the immigrant community, there is an underlying idea that becoming literate guarantees some sort of higher economic status. There is a sense that learning to read and write the English second language will open the doors to better paying jobs but the reality is that many immigrant SLA learners only develop basic oral language that allows them to "get by". They don't have the proper skills or educational background to compete with native speakers. In a way, I feel that the situation is not presented to them accurately.

How does everyone else feel about this?