134 sats \ 8 replies \ @kr OP 31 Jan \ parent \ on: What is an optimal immigration policy? culture
this would certainly make labor markets more efficient if people could transcend national borders to fill in-demand jobs.
however, this introduces a cultural question of how to maintain the social fabric of a society when people are coming and going on a whim…
however, this introduces a cultural question of how to maintain the social fabric of a society when people are coming and going on a whim…
Labor moving back and forth at a whim,'following the work' is how the US border historically worked until 1875 with the Page Act when they banned Chinese women specifically, and then eventually all Chinese people with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
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wouldn’t most of the labor during the late 1800s have been moving to the US and just staying?
In general yes, because the US wanted settlers out west - we offered land,work +political freedom (and sometimes straight payments to come over).
When it comes to our border with Mexico at the time - we end up having the Mexican American War it's just after that we setup the Immigration Act of 1891
we( being the US government) didn't track or care about the concept of immigration too much until non-white people tried to stay as well. And we also had the Mexican American War.
i also think there is a societal cost to continually uprooting people, where they’re not just moving once but are constantly moving to the flow of new jobs in perpetuity.
absolutely - but historically, labor has been easier to move than capital.
and if you think about it, constantly uprooting and moving to somewhere new in search of better is a pretty American thing to do.
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Labor is easier to move than capital?
I think it’s the opposite today. You don’t have to physically move capital
Capital needs to precede labor
Egg 🥚 vs chicken 🐓
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The job market would have to handle those fluctuations, but I agree that it would create some uncertainty, especially for small businesses.
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beyond the scope of business though, what happens to a community if/when they go from all speaking the same language and eating the same food and sharing similar values to interacting with different sets of languages, food, and values on a recurring basis?
imo humans aren’t very good at dealing with rapid change, i worry that could be a limiting factor to this idea
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We should be selective in who we let in- people that share our values. I’m in the Philippines right now and almost everyone here speaks pretty good English, has great work ethic, Christian and loves american culture. They are also so poor and would kill for the opportunities in the US.
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As long as people respect each other, I don't see difference as a negative factor, on the contrary. But as I said, there must be mutual respect. If someone who arrives does not respect the culture and way of life of the host country, there is only one way forward.
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