But you also can’t ignore the population growth problems that would exist in this country without immigration. We would be Japan.
And the entire suburban growth Ponzi scheme that every post-1890s American city suffers from will be exacerbated by shutting off not just immigration but immigration of skilled labor.
How many countries would dream of educated people flocking to live in their country?
Unfortunately the whole discussion seems like one big digression. No matter which angle you approach this at, it’s just bad policies all around. You’d think that a policy built on training the vast US citizen population with better, more equitable education would be better than importing foreigners. You’d think that lowering the cost of education would help, that companies would prefer a large supply of educated citizens.
The problem is, all that thinking naively assumes our policymakers and the donor class don’t hold active disdain for their own constituents: because an H1B worker is a worker with no leverage and worse ability to quit.
If you read this whole comment and are confused at what position I’m trying to take, you’re not alone. I don’t even know anymore.