America should re-open its borders to immigrants. --- it's never been closed.
Not until 1924 did the government generally limit the number of people who could come to America --- Ethnic groups unable to influence immigration policy in their own interests will eventually be displaced or reduced in relative numbers by groups able to accomplish this goal. Jewish interest in liberal immigration policies stemmed from a desire to provide a sanctuary for Jews fleeing from anti-Semitic persecutions in Europe and elsewhere. Jews, much more than any other European-derived ethnic group in America, have viewed liberal immigration policies as a mechanism of ensuring that America would be a pluralistic rather than aunitary, homogeneous society the Jewish success in influencing immigration policy is entirely analogous to their success in influencing the secularization of American culture. As in the case of immigration policy, the secularization of American culture is a Jewish interest because Jews have a perceived interest that America not be a homogeneous Christian culture. "Jewish civil rights organizations have had an historic role in the postwar development of American church-state law and policy" (Ivers, 1995, p. 2). Unlike the effort to influence immigration, the opposition to a homogeneous Christian culture was mainly carried out in the courts. The Jewish effort in this case was well funded and was the focus of well-organized, highly dedicated Jewish civil service organizations, including the AJCommittee, the AJCongress, and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). On Tuesday, July 23, 2013 7:01:42 AM UTC-5, MJ wrote: > > > THOUGHTS ON FREEDOM > *Absorbing Immigrants > **Does America Have the Space and Resources to Allow Open Borders? > *JUNE 01, 2002 > by DONALD BOUDREAUX > > America should re-open its borders to immigrants. > > Not until 1924 did the government generally limit the number of people who > could come to America and make it their home. If America’s borders had been > closed, say, a century earlier, the civilization that we now call > “American” would not exist. The Irish, Germans, Italians, Scandinavians, > central and eastern Europeans, and many Asians arrived here in bulk during > the nineteenth century. Most would have been turned away under the > restrictive regime followed since 1924. > > When I talk with people about immigration, everyone agrees that the > open-borders policy of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth > centuries was a great boon to America. Without it, we would today be > unimaginably poorer and less vibrant. So I then ask: If open borders in the > past generated enormous benefits, why not open our borders today? I always > get the same answer: “Times change. America had more room and resources > then. We could then absorb immigrants better than we can today.” > > I disagree. > > > > *Room for Immigrants*Since 1820 the years that witnessed the greatest > influx of immigrants as a proportion of America’s population were the early > and mid-1850s, when annual immigration was about 1.6 percent of the > resident population. This figure was approached again in the 1880s and > during the first decade of the twentieth century. Today, annual immigration > is about 0.25 percent of the resident populationless than one-sixth its > level during the first half of the 1850s, and about one-sixth its level > during much of the 1880s and the first decade of the twentieth century. > (Some people argue that illegal immigrants are undercounted today. Taking > the largest estimate I’ve seen of uncounted illegal immigrants, total > annual immigrants as a proportion of the U.S. population today would be > 1.25 percent of the resident population. While likely overblown, accepting > this figure as accurate means that, as a percent of the resident > population, immigration today remains well below that of any of the peak > years of the past.) > > What about our ability to “absorb” theseand even moreimmigrants? > > An important element of the ability to absorb is living space. Americans > today enjoy record levels of residential living space. For example, in > 1915, the typical dwelling in America housed 5.63 people; today it houses > fewer than half of that number2.37 people. Combined with the fact that the > square-footage of today’s typical dwelling is, on the most conservative > estimate, 20 percent greater than it was a century ago, our ability to > “absorb” immigrants into our residential living spaces is today more than > twice what it was during the era of open borders. > > What about land? Contrary to a widely mistaken belief, the amount of land > devoted to urban and suburban uses is a tiny percentage of America’s land > (even excluding largely unsettled Alaska). While such land use has grown > significantly during the past century, today it is at most about 3 percent > of the land area of the lower 48 states. (The 3 percent figure is an > overestimate because, since about 1960, cities have increasingly > incorporated lands that remain largely rural in character but that are > classified as “urban.”) > > And since at least 1950, the amount of land devoted to public recreation > uses and to wildlife refuges has increased faster than has the amount of > land devoted to urban and suburban uses. Today, the land area devoted to > national and state parks, and to wildlife refuges, is more than seven times > greater than it was in 1900. America is nowhere close to being crowded. > > Also, we’re much better able to feed ourselves today, even though the > amount of land used to grow crops and to pasture animals is no larger now > than in 1900. Extraordinary increases in agricultural productivity enable > American farmers and ranchers to produce vastly more output on the same > amount of land. For example, each acre planted with wheat today produces > three times more output than it did a century ago. Similar, and even > greater, productivity increases have occurred for nearly all other > agricultural products. This productivity explosion is reflected in a much > more abundant food supply and lower food prices. > > > > *Absorbing Workers*Immigrants, of course, come to America not only to > consume but also to work. A measure of our ability to “absorb” workers is > capital invested per workerthe amount of machinery and other tools in > place for workers to use. Today, the amount of capital invested per worker > is more than nine times greater than in 1880 and about 8.5 times greater > than in 1924. Because a worker’s productivity rises when he has more > capital to work with and his pay is tied closely to his productivity, > workers entering the American economy today produce and earn more than > workers entering during the open-borders era. > > Don’t lose sight of our labor market’s great flexibility. It easily > absorbed the massive increase of women workers during the second half of > the twentieth century. Over this time, 46 million jobs were created for > women, which is more than half of the 80 million jobs created during that > same time. > > In many other ways, America today is far better able than in the past to > absorb more immigrants. For example, compared to 1920, per person today we: > > - have greater than ten times more miles of paved roads; > - have more than twice as many physicians; > - have 50 percent more dentists; > - have almost three times as many teachers; > - have 540 percent more police officers; > - have twice as many firefighters; > - produce 2.4 times more oilas known reserves of oil grow; > - produce 2.67 times more cubic feet of lumberas America’s supply of > lumber stands grows; > - have conquered most of the infectious diseases that were major > killers in the past.* <http://www.fee.org/vnews.php?nid=5068#fn1> > > > The fact is America today is much wealthier, healthier, spacious, and > resource-rich than it was a century ago. And we owe many of these advances > to the creativity and effort of immigrants. If open immigration worked > until 1924 to enrich America, it can do so now with even greater certainty. > Let’s welcome more immigrants so that they can help themselves, and us, > build even better lives. > > *My principal data sources for this article are Julian L. Simon, ed., The > State of Humanity (Blackwell, 1995), and Julian L. Simon, The Ultimate > Resource 2 (Princeton University Press, 1996), as well as various U.S. > Census Bureau reports > > http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/absorbing-immigrants#ixzz2Zq4yeNLR > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. 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