6 Comments
May 3, 2023Liked by Akiva Malamet, Shikha Dalmia

Great summary of what it going on. Growing anti-immigration rhetoric and policies are one of the greatest threats to human progress going forward. The data are very clear, the free movement of people is generally is everyone's interest, including and especially, the receiving nation. It's deeply concerning to me that many simply get this wrong.

I think we may be able to soften some of the opposition through an immigration "tariff." That is, subject to health and background checks, people can move an immigrate freely, so long as they pay a fee or tariff. Crucially, that fee is scaled with age. It would allow more immigrants, raise billions, grow the economy and innovation, and eliminate virtually all illegal immigration. i discussed the merits of such a system here: https://www.lianeon.org/p/toward-an-optimal-immigration-system

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So, national leaders will continue to demonize and scapegoat refugees and marginalized groups.

But, global warming catastrophes will accelerate, water scarcity will spread quickly, income inequality will traumatize a new generation, unregulated AI will disrupt the job market...what happens when citizens realize that the politics of cruelty doesn't help their lives?

Is the future filled with totalitarian regimes? Even then, how long is that sustainable?

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Anti-immigrant sentiment is a powerful political force, especially the way Democrats have been wielding it, by attempting to flood the country with immigrants in the hopes that the immigrants will vote for them, but it's backfiring. The immigrants that come to the West are hard working, hungry and take pride in traditional family values - something most Liberals are not supportive of, and so these "immigrants" seem to choose Conservative values over extreme "Liberal" values. Maybe it's time for the Left and Right to work together to implement solutions rather than always look for reasons to disagree.

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