Comment by jrockway | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jrockway | Hacker News Reader

Oh why did I read the comments section on that article.

Why is everyone so afraid of immigration? I don't see the downside. We need to grow our tax base to support all of our borrowing against future tax revenue. There are two ways to do that: have kids, or allow immigration.

I always hear the argument "they're taking our jobs", but that's not true, is it? As the economy gets larger because of the influx of people, more jobs become available.

Watching this year's Presidential election makes me think I'm really out of touch with reality, living in a large city. But maybe everyone else is wrong and I'm right...

And even if you're afraid of immigration, why is allowing everyone to have fair representation in court so unappealing? I thought the whole point of America is that everyone is equal and everyone has a chance. That includes non-citizens; our laws apply, so our guarantee of a right to a fair trial should also apply. That's what separates us from North Korea, right?

There are different kinds of immigrants. There are ones who immediately add to the economy, typically professionals, and there are the uneducated undereducated who have low skills no skills whose contribution can take much longer to realize.

Many countries want the highly skilled to immigrate, and conversely countries don't want them to emigrate (brain drain). No one country with low skills emigrants puts of a fuss to keep them, they are happy to let them go and they have no concern about lowering population or concern for potential tax base loss.

In the end the question is, do you want to regulate immigration or just let anyone and everyone in? There is no reason to have two tracks where the ones who want to go the legal way have to wait years while others can just go the alternate route with few consequences.

And, w/re Mexico, they also deport a good number of illegal immigrants into their country, so it's not like they think one way and the US an Europe and Japan and China etc. think another way.

I wouldn't immediately discard the economic advantage of having a cheap labor pool...

You must be pro slavery. That's exactly the South argument for slavery.

besides the cheap analogy, your argument is... ?

It means the minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation. If people because of status or lack of skills are willing to work for low wages, this depresses the need of employers to hike their wages for our domestic low skills labor pool.

sure, that doesn't really help the low skill domestic labor pool (and the lack of a social security net makes it worse in the US), but in some cases, it might help the economy overall (at the expense of the low skilled domestic workers) e.g. in your example, by reducing the inflationary pressure of the minimum wage.

> Many countries want the highly skilled to immigrate, and conversely countries don't want them to emigrate (brain drain).

Not the US then? Even with degrees, skills & money (enough to live out a few lives) it is not easy to get in via 'conventional' means (i'm not aware of other means myself but I anticipate some 'if you pay x y z' you will get in). That always seems strange to me. Australia, New Zealand and the US have that and I don't know what they stand to lose to let people like that in without hindering them further; it adds taxes, skilled work, maybe starting companies etc. But if nothing else, taxes and not a burden.

In terms of large western democracies (ie: excluding city-states), Australia only has a lower immigration rate than Spain and Norway (pre- syria crisis) and basically shares a spot with Canada [1]. The US and New Zealand have half that rate. There's a persistent myth that Australia is anti-immigration, when we're taking in more through regular channels than most others. Curiously, Norway is another country perceived as isolationist and not big on accepting migrants.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_net_migra...

> I always hear the argument "they're taking our jobs", but that's not true, is it? As the economy gets larger because of the influx of people, more jobs become available.

Not back in my hometown.

A rust belt city experiencing a population decline and real income growing slower than the national average after thirty years of factory closings - that is now an asylum city, and one of the largest in the country in terms of refugees per capita.

People there find themselves competing for a shrinking pool of jobs with hardworking immigrants willing to work for less, and who often receive government assistance.

Naturally, there is complaining.

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