Free Exchange: The best policy

           This article details arguments for and against immigration, making a strong economic case for a continued flow of immigrants around the world. While it is true that those in lower-skilled jobs can suffer from immigration due to decreased wages, this fact misses the point that many of these workers are also subsequently pushed to specialize in other qualitatively better occupations. More significant, however, are the numerous economic benefits that come from sustained and higher levels of immigration. Among these is that immigration provides a urgently needed, yet not commonly discussed, solution to the demographic problem of an aging baby-boomer generation. Specifically, legal immigrants pay into Social Security thereby helping to secure retirement for U.S. citizens. Similarly, though a zero-sum argument is sometimes made that immigrants use healthcare services thereby excluding native-born individuals this analysis ignores several key facts. Namely, it is often migrants who end up staffing healthcare institutions like the NHS in Great Britain and, within the U.S., only legal immigrants are eligible for the healthcare benefits contained within the Affordable Care Act.
            Another compelling and frequently made argument is the so-called "Steve Jobs" case for immigration. This is the idea that, over time, migrants and their children invariably contribute to advances in the sciences, arts, and other realms due to the entrepreneurial spirit and energy they bring with them. In response, critics of immigration such as the Trump administration's Michael Anton make some version of the argument that immigrants cannot help but bring a "third-world" culture and values that are simply incompatible with the Western, liberal democratic values that have permitted our higher standards of living. Ultimately, this is nothing more than thinly-veiled prejudice masquerading as an actual economic argument given that such concerns were similarly raised about groups such as Catholics and Jews at various points in history. All of this is to say nothing of the fact that immigrants themselves almost always enjoy substantial benefits from immigration as the potential ceiling for income is vastly raised. By moving to a more developed country with the kinds of necessary infrastructure and institutions already in place, immigrants gain access to economic opportunities otherwise available. Importantly, as this article highlights, this move provides reciprocal benefits too that, in the end, raise the aggregate quality of life for everyone.


http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21718873-whatever-politicians-say-world-needs-more-immigration-not-less