Most countries have MUCH higher standards for immigration and their citizens much better off for it.
I think your math is off. The US is in the top 10 for GDP per capita, 99% literacy rate when the global average is 87%, the poverty rate is below average, the list goes on. Most countries in the world aren’t even considered developed nations. Immigration has been America’s core growth engine for two and a half centuries. There may be problems but you are deluding yourself if you think the whole economy hasn’t benefited from immigration. Even when that immigration was through chattel slavery.
As you're well aware, the US is just barely meeting replacement birth rate. Most developed countries are under it. And the big picture: the US is all about growth. Economic growth, cultural growth. If you want more of that, you need immigrants. Sorry, that's how the US has always worked. If you don't agree with it, then I'm not sure the US is the country for you.
There are plenty of developed, homogeneous countries. Diversity is what makes the US the US. Please, feel free to seek a country that better aligns with your beliefs.
Oh no, they'll have to raise wages due to lack of labor. How terrible for the working class (everyone).
> Diversity is what makes the US the US.
Is this meant as a joke? I can't tell, but it is completely ahistorical. The foundera wrote about their demographic intention extensively.
Of course racism existed when the founding father's were alive, we had slavery. But, from the beginning, the US has been a country founded on immigration and racial diversity. Yes, we did not, at the time, consider black Americans Americans. But we certainly do now, and have for a very long time.
I'm also not convinced immigration lowers wages. People throw this around, while providing no evidence. And, even if it did, I think it's obvious that wages is not the cause behind birth rate decline.
All the developed countries, with the high wages and standard of living, have poor birthrate. All the developing countries, with low wages and low standard of living, have high birthrates. Hmm.
If we look at the demographic progression of nations the "culprit" behind birthrate is development. Particularly, social development, the liberation of women. Turns out lots of women don't actually want to have children, and when we stop pressuring them socially, they don't. They work instead.
Obviously this is a hard problem to solve. If you want to solve birthrate, you need to de-develop your nation. Not good. Or, some other solution, which nobody has found yet. Or, you just have immigration, which we do and have had.
Only supply a demand economic denialists cannot understand than an increase in the supply of something leads to falling prices.
And for white collar labor, we have a lot of immigrants, too. But again, supply is not the issue. Yes we import a lot of things like doctors. But we certainly don't have nearly enough doctors.
Immigrants aren’t stealing those jobs. Those jobs no longer exist in the US, so nobody can steal them even if they tried.
That job is dead because we make furniture overseas, duh, and you know that.
Yes we still have carpenters to build houses. You think I don’t know that? But those jobs ARE NOT in short supply. We actually need MORE people to work those jobs, not less.
But the artisanal and even factory goods that used to be made in the US are long gone. Nobody is stealing those jobs because they don’t exist - there’s nothing to steal.
If you actually take the time to look at the blue-collar jobs that “immigrants are stealing”, you’d quickly realize all of those jobs are in high demand. Immigrants helps us meet the demand, but even with immigration we do not have enough labor.
There is zero threat to Americans, it doesn’t exist. It’s purely made up, and even a very small amount of analysis proves it. If you really think immigrants are stealing those jobs, then do yourself a favor and pivot to carpentry. You will see those jobs are not flooded with labor pulling down the wages.
Also, for the record, I am not pro “open borders”. I am just not anti-immigration. Anti-immigration is a purely anti-American and ahistorical ideology. It’s a very new ideology driven purely by MAGA. Even 10 years ago the republicans were pro immigration because EVERY AMERICAN WAS PRO IMMIGRATION. Do not make me out to be a psychopath, you are in the minority here, not me.
This is a misreading of pre-1965 history with respect to immigration. The Naturalization Act of 1790 explicitly states:
"any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof... making proof to the satisfaction of such Court, that he is a person of good character."
So the "diversity is our strength" slogan is a modern invention and an attempt to retcon our history.
Again, at the time we did not consider black Americans to be Americans. But we certainly do now, and have for a long time.
Yes racism existed in the 18th century. Congratulations, you are a connoisseur of history. Maybe next you can clarify if the Pope lives in the Vatican.
But, that doesn’t mean the US wasn’t diverse. It was, from the beginning. Both in terms of different European nationalities, and in terms of race.
Also, harkening back to 17 fucking 90 as a defense of anti-immigration policy is a poor argument.
People already largely think that anti-immigration sentiment is pure racism. And people think that exactly because of arguments like yours. I’m not saying you’re racist. But, just about everyone was in 1790. That’s not a good defense. That actually serves as a demonstration of what NOT to do, and highlights the social progression of the US. It’s good we’re no longer there, in that mindset.