“If you’ve been following the big immigration debate, you might get the impression that the primary economic advantage of liberal economic immigration policies is that they supply America with low-wage workers willing to do grueling, unskilled jobs that native-born Americans won’t touch. Not true: They are the source of America’s success. The secret to America’s wealth is that we were settled by restless, driven, overconfident, risk-taking dreamers. America is an amazing natural experiment — a continent populated largely by self-selected immigrants. All these people had the get-up-and-go to pull up stakes and come here, a temperament that made them different from their friends and relatives who stayed home. Immigrants are the original venture capitalists, risking their human capital — their lives — on a dangerous and arduous voyage into the unknown. Not surprisingly, given this entrepreneurial spirit, immigrants are self-employed at much higher rates than native-born people, regardless of what nation they emigrate to or from. And the rate of entrepreneurial activity in a nation is correlated with the number of immigrants it absorbs. According to a cross-national study, “The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor,” conducted jointly by Babson College and the London School of Economics, the four nations with the highest per capita creation of new companies are the United States, Canada, Israel and Australia — all nations of immigrants. New company creation per capita is a strong predictor of gross domestic product, and so the conclusion is simple: Immigrants equal national wealth”. –John D. Gartner, writing in the Washington Post
have you read the book the rise of the creative class? someone was telling me that the author of this book also referred to immigrants as risk-taking entrepreneurs. how necessary they are for the a bourgeoning economy.
No, I haven’t read it, but it sounds interesting, and truthful.
The issue isn’t immigration, it’s 3 things:
[1] Illegality. This, too, is a self-selection. Unsurprisingly, accepting millions of people whose self-selecting feature is disdain for laws that inconvenience them is not seen as a net positive. In contrast with immigrants who come through official channels, and thereby demonstrate a respect for those laws that ensures the foundation of a successful and safe society.
[2] Assimilation. We wouldn’t be having this debate at nearly the same intensity if America’s credo was still patriotic assimilation. But it is not, which creates significant long-term vulnerabilities; and the various quotes by Mexican officials and activists on both sides of the border re: reconquista are not, to put it mildly, going over well. The Mexican flags were the true face of the movement, the rest since a total sham.
[3] Security. If millions of illegals can get past America’s southern borders and disappear, so can al-Qaeda. Or organized agents of countries like Iran. Post-9/11, that’s simply unacceptable.
These three huge negatives far outweigh any benefits from immigration.
America can become very welcoming of immigrants, including many immigrants from Mexico. All that is required is to fix the 3 negatives, and the demand for labour + NAFTA will drive the rest. But until those things are fixed, you don’t have much of an argument here with respect to the present debate.