From: Thivai4062-AT-aol.com
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 09:16:13 EST
Subject: Fwd: Relocating Borderlands
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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In a message dated 12/1/98 9:10:22 AM Eastern Standard Time, MBenton723
writes:
<< OK, this is not exactly relevant to the list, but i think its important
info for Americans and may be of interest to our friends from other countries
(at least to let you know that not all Americans are anti-immigration)
If you are not interested, please delete immediately.
This is a fairly long essay attempting to put the lie to xenophobic attitude
of American anti-immigration forces----I don't necessarily agree with
everything in this article---but i do *definitely* believ that one of the US's
greatest resources has and will be the infusion of new peoples into our
country---diversity is important!!!
Thivai
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Immigration: An Open or Closed Door?
by Geoffrey Erikson
ISIL EDUCATIONAL PAMPHLET SERIES
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE NEW COLOSSUS
by Emma Lazarus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep your ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear vs. Hope
Certainly one of the most controversial topics of debate in the political
arena -- anywhere in the world -- is the topic of immigration. On the
question of immigration policy, opinions range from "open door" advocates of
free immigration to "closed door" advocates of zero immigration, and every
shade of the spectrum in between.
Most Americans fall somewhere in the middle. They recognize, that unless
they are Native Americans, their ancestors were once immigrants. They also
realize that political refugees who flee to the United States to escape
totalitarian regimes in their native lands do so because the U.S. has a
reputation of freedom. Most Americans, being proud of that reputation, feel
asylum is appropriate. Yet many fear immigrants, and most believe there is a
point beyond which immigrants should not be allowed to enter the country.
What are the real effects of immigration on society and the economy? Does an
anti-immigration policy really "save America for Americans"? What sort of
immigration policy is fair, just and sound?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Melting Pot
The United States in the 19th Century experienced the biggest wave of
immigration of any place or period in the history of the world, yet also saw
the greatest growth in production and the standard of living in the history
of the world. Most historians and economists agree that this was no
coincidence.
Although there was a massive influx of people, it did not eliminate jobs. In
addition to being workers, these immigrants were also consumers, creating a
greater demand for manufactured goods. Since these new workers saved and
invested their money, which created greater investment capital, they helped
to finance more production and a larger job market.
The misinformation surrounding immigration is based on the misconception
that the amount of wealth in a country is static. Many people imagine that
there is only so much money to go around, and the fewer people in the
country, the more wealth there will be for each person. However, this myth
falls apart when examined closely.
The larger the work force, the more there is being produced. Greater
production means greater wealth. Since, in a market economy, workers produce
for trade rather than for personal consumption, they produce more then they
consume. This means that the amount of wealth will expand beyond the number
of people who immigrate -- which means more wealth per person, not less.
Why then do people resist immigration?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Benefits of Diversity
One of the problems is simply xenophobia or fear of strangers. Many people
are afraid of people who are different than themselves. Yet historically,
immigrants have brought numerous benefits despite, or maybe even because of,
their differences.
Consider the arts, which are unique in America because of the influence of
ethnic and cultural diversity. The entertainment industry in America is by
far the largest such industry in the world. This can be attributed largely
to immigrants. Many of the major movie studios were started by immigrants or
their children. Entertainers from the Marx Brothers to Desi Arnaz to Mel
Gibson came from around the world to be part of the entertainment industry
in the U.S. Not only has this created thousands of jobs both for natives and
immigrants, it is also a major export industry, bringing in hundreds of
millions of foreign dollars annually.
American musicians are exposed to a broad range of "native" music from
various ethnic sources. Even such commonplace services as restaurants offer
an amazing number of choices in ethnic cuisine. The reason is cultural
diversity -- a benefit of immigration.
The benefits of variety, however, go beyond consumer and aesthetic
pleasures. Variety is a key ingredient of invention. Immigrants also
stimulate natives to produce more and to be more innovative in order to
adapt to a more diverse market mix.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open Door to Opportunity
The material wealth of the immigrant upon arrival is not an important
factor. While it is true that wealthy immigrants spend more money than poor
immigrants initially, many poor immigrants become wealthy due to their
vigorous pursuit of the opportunities offered by a more free-market economy.
U.S. history is filled with names of poor immigrants who started out pushing
a cart through the streets of New York City. People with names like Macy,
Marriot and Bill Graham, who went on to become builders of major businesses,
or a certain Mr. Azimov, who earned enough money selling candy from a
pushcart to send his son Isaac to school. History shows many examples of the
wealth immigrants bring to a country.
These observations are not limited to history. Statistics from modern day
Hong Kong reveal similar trends. After thirty years of a very open
immigration policy, wages in Hong Kong continue to rise rapidly. A report in
1993 showed the per-capita income in Hong Kong to have exceeded $18,000; a
far greater increase than anywhere else in Asia or most of Western Europe Despite the great numbers of immigrants that enter Hong Kong every year,
there is still a labor shortage. Positions for jobs such as receptionists go
unfilled because most people can easily find higher-paying jobs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Closer Look
A close examination of the charges leveled against immigration turns up a
number of myths. Noted economist Dr. Julian Simon, author of The Economic
Consequences of Immigration, puts the lie to several common claims:
* Immigrants take jobs away from natives.
False: "A solid body of studies shows that, contrary to [nativist]
assertions, immigrants do not increase native unemployment:
o Thomas Muller of the Urban Institute compared the labor-market
conditions in Los Angeles with those in the rest of the U.S. The
influx of immigrants in Southern California affected native
unemployment "little, if at all," he said.
o Thomas Espenshade of Princeton and Muller found that in West Coast
metropolitan areas "Black unemployment rates are not increased --
if anything they are decreased -- by a rise in the proportion of
Mexican immigrants.
o Joseph G. Altonji of Northwestern and David Card of Princeton
studied the effect of immigrants of less-skilled natives in
various cities. They concluded, "We find little evidence that
inflows of immigrants are associated with large or systematic
effects on the employment or unemployment rates of less skilled
natives."
"No research has shown noticeable unemployment caused by immigrants,
either in the United States as a whole, or in particular areas of high
immigration. One reason is that potential immigrants have considerable
awareness of labor-market conditions here and tend not to come if their
skills are in small demand. At the same time, immigrants increase the
demand for labor across the range of occupations; they consume goods
and services as well as produce them. In the long run, they create as
many jobs with their spending as they themselves occupy.
"Immigrants not only create new jobs with their spending, they do so
directly with the new businesses that they are more likely than natives
to start. A Canadian government survey, which should also describe U.S.
experience, found that almost 5% -- 91 of the 1746 single males and 291
single females -- had started their own businesses within their first 3
years in Canada. Not only did they employ themselves, they employed
others too, 'creating' a total of 606 jobs." Thus, roughly 1 in 3 new
jobs were created as well as held by immigrants.
* Immigrants abuse the welfare system.
False: "Solid evidence gives the lie to this charge. The most important
fact about immigrants is that they typically arrive when they are young
and healthy. Hence they use fewer welfare services on average than do
native families. New cohorts do not receive expensive Social Security,
Medicare and other aid to the aged. And for its first several decades
in America, the average immigrant family pays more in taxes than does
the average native family. Altogether, the immigrant family contributes
yearly about $2,500 more in taxes to the public coffers than it obtains
in services."
* Illegals are flooding across our borders to get on our welfare system.
False: "The case of illegal immigrants is more stark. Due to their
status, illegals such as Mexicans who cross into the United States get
little in welfare services. David North and Marion Houston of
Trans-Century Corporation -- a consulting firm -- found these
proportions of illegals using services: free medical care, 5%;
unemployment insurance, 4%; food stamps, 1%; welfare payments, 1%,
child schooling, 4%. Practically no illegals receive Social Security --
the costliest program of all -- but 77% paid social security taxes, and
73% had federal income taxes withheld."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Greatest Benefit of All
Immigrants bring with them the greatest of all benefits: human capital. As
Dr. Simon put it, "Though hard to nail down, the long-run benefits on
productivity of these additional workers and consumers are likely to dwarf
all other effects. Some of the productivity increase comes form immigrants
working in industries that are at the forefront of world technique. We
benefit along with others from the contribution to world productivity in,
say, genetic engineering, that immigrants would not be able to make in their
home countries. More immigrants mean more working persons to think up
productivity-enhancing ideas. As Soichiro Honda (of motorcycle and auto
fame) said, 'Where 100 people think, there are 100 powers; where 1000 people
think, there are 1000 powers.' Moreover, an immigrant's facility with
languages other than English is often valuable for industry in, for
instance, export projects."
"Other increases in productivity -- about which we have more solid evidence
-- come from increased production in particular industries through
learning-by-doing and other gains from larger industry scale. Also,
increasing the number of customers and workers increases investment, which
brings more new technology into use. Perhaps the greatest contribution of
immigrants is the push they give to this country's vitality and growth. They
contribute to the vitality of our institutions because they tend to be more
intellectually vigorous as well as harder-working than natives. How much of
this vigor is due to being 'hungry' rather than settled and affluent, how
much due to their being self-selected for vigor among the populations they
come from, and how much due to the stimulating effects of living in the
tension of two cultures are open questions, but not crucial in this policy
context."
When all of the benefits are examined, it is clear that the best policy on
immigration is an open door. Considering the many benefits open immigration
has to offer, it is unfair that immigrants are being used as scapegoats for
the government=B9s many job-killing policies and economic interventions.
Geoffrey Erikson is a staff writer, editor and researcher with the
International Society for Individual Liberty.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED READING
The Economic Consequences of Immigration (Simon) .......... $24.95
The Immigration Dilemma (Fraser Inst. Publ) ............... $19.95
For these and other books and tapes write: Freedom's Forum Books, 1800
Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102. Add $2.50 P & H for 1st book
and $1.00 for each additional item.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard copies of this two-color pamphlet are available for 5 cents each
(minimum order $1.00). Price includes shipping.
This pamphlet is produced as a public service by the International Society
for Individual Liberty. If you would like to receive free literature about
ISIL's activities around the world, and receive a sample copy of the FREEDOM
NETWORK NEWS newsletter and book catalog, please write:
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
1800 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94102 USA
Tel: (415) 864-0952 Fax: (415) 864-7506
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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